For Nothembile Vayo, a 57-year-old woman from Tshezi Village in the former Transkei, the consequences of municipal dysfunction are deeply felt. “I struggled to walk after my stroke, and the tap near my house never had water,” says Vayo. “I had to walk down to the river just to collect water.” In rural communities across South Africa, local government failing to provide services is not an abstract governance problem: it affects dignity, health, and quality of life.