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Eight in ten South Africans say that they live in communities where people are taking over the responsibilities of the government.

This is according to a survey* conducted by The Common Sense in conjunction with the Social Research Foundation.

The following was put to respondents: “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: In my community, people are increasingly taking on the responsibilities of government, because it has failed to deliver. Things like basic services (the condition of roads, or water provision and electricity) and fighting crime (private security and community forums) are increasingly done by my community as a response to the neglect.”

Eighty percent of respondents agreed that people in their community were taking over the responsibilities of the government and only 19% disagreed (the remainder did not answer or were unsure).

The chart below shows the responses among all South Africans, together with black South Africans, white South Africans, and supporters of the four largest political parties in the country on whether they agree or disagree that people in their communities are taking over the responsibilities of the government.

Across the political and racial spectrum, most South Africans believe that the responsibilities of the government are being taken over by people in their local communities.

This is part of the continuing enclavisation of South Africa, where people live in areas where the role of the government is receding. In addition, it is clear that this is not a phenomenon restricted to enclaves for people on higher incomes – if that were the case the proportion of South Africans who see this retreat of the state in their local community would be far lower than 80%.

The Common Sense has reported extensively on the phenomenon of South Africa’s growing enclavisation and has argued that without a change in the country’s economic growth trajectory the Union formed in 1910 may de facto cease to exist.

* The Social Research Foundation’s Q2 2026 Market Survey was conducted in conjunction with The Common Sense and carried out by Victory Research among 2 214 registered voters between 8 and 31 July 2026 using telephonic CATI interviews. National results are based on the full sample of 2 214 respondents. Metro results are based on samples of 504 respondents in Johannesburg, 508 in Tshwane, and 500 in eThekwini. A single frame random digit dialling design was used, drawing from all possible South African mobile numbers to ensure that every number had an equal probability of selection. National SIM card penetration exceeds 250.0%, more than 90.0% of adults own a phone, and mobile networks cover 99.8% of the population, providing universal practical coverage. The samples were fully weighted to match the relevant registered voter populations across all key demographics, including language, age, race, gender, education, income, and urban or rural location. Turnout modelling assigned each respondent a probability of voting based on questions measuring their likelihood of participation, with the primary turnout model set at 56.0%. The national results carry a margin of error of 2.1% at a 95.0% confidence level, while the Johannesburg, Tshwane, and eThekwini results each carry a margin of error of 4.4%. The survey has a design effect of 3.7938.