Introduction / Barry Munslow and Anne Mc Lennan -- The delivery paradox / Anne Mc Lennan -- Delivering the democratic developmental state in South Africa / William M. Gumede -- Beyond the ballot and the brick: continuous dual repertoires in the politics of attaining service delivery in South Africa / Susan Booysen -- Decentralisation and service delivery / Pundy Pillay -- Dispatches from the war on poverty in South Africa's 21 poorest rural and urban nodes, 1996-2006 / David Everatt -- The potholes of service delivery: reflections on the Eastern Cape Department of Education / Wendy Ngoma -- Amanzi Wabenzi and the national democratic revolution: the politics of water supply during South Africa's first decade of freedom / Mike Muller -- Building and sustaining systems for delivering education: the role of the state / Stephanie Matseleng Allais -- Conclusion / Barry Munslow and Anne Mc Lennan.