100 South Africa 41% 51% 7% Source: TNS Research Surveys, Press release, 6 March 2011. The survey measured citizens’ satisfaction with the services by government. The gap between those dissatisfied and satisfied is still not more than 10% and in some metros the levels of satisfaction with service delivery are quite high and, of course, in others the situation is a cause for concern. In 2012, the situation seems to have deteriorated and the increase in the number of service delivery protests suggests growing public discontent. The figure below shows the number of service delivery protests recorded ‘Service-delivery’ protests - Major Service delivery protests, 2004–2012.75 Year Protests 2004 - 10 2005 - 34 2006 - 2 2007 - 32 2008 - 27 2009 - 105 2010 - 111 2011 - 81 2012 - 113 Source: Municipal IQ, Hotspots Monitor, 17 September 2012. The table above suggests a steady increase in public protests over government services between 2004 and 2008. This exposition of discontent in 2009 coincided with the election year. This is on top of many smaller and less publicised pickets mostly concerned with local issues ranging from ward committees deficiencies, the malfunctioning of public facilities, the breakdown of water or energy services, long housing allocation lists, and lack of councillor access and accountability. There were also special protests around questions of demarcation and geographical location of municipalities. These last longer, thus prolonging the damage to social pacts and order in these communities. In total, there was a 710% increase in public protests between 2004 and 2011. This is both an indication of the scale of public anger, but is also a signal of the extent of public participation and activism on the part of citizens. Protests convey useful messages to government and other organs of society about the pressures that people at community level, especially in poor areas on the periphery of major towns, face on a daily basis. They provide a useful sense of the state of socio-economy in these areas, revealing for instance, that while a lot of progress has been registered in the state provision of basic services, there remain huge backlogs. Some are directed against perceived corruption, sudden enrichment and conspicuous consumption by municipal councillors and staff76. They can indicate the exact nature of the problems both in terms of 75 SA Institute of Race Relations: 2012 Survey – Politics and Governance, SAIRR, Johannesburg, p. 811 76 Atkinson, D. Taking to the Streets: has developmental local government failed in South Africa? In Buhlungu, S, et. Al. State of the Nation—South Africa 2007. Cape Town, HSRC Press. 100