New research suggests the leadership model for the public service in South Africa may have to be overhauled to improve service delivery.

South Africans need to invest in a common cause rather than their fondness for self-indulgence and deception.

The decision to remove the Lekwa municipality mayor was a ”very painful” one, but should serve as an example, Sicelo Shiceka said on Thursday.

Members of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) will visit all nine provinces next week to gather information about service delivery.

The government plans new laws to improve the lives of the poor, but for squatter Ntombi Khumalo this may already be too late.

Gaps in service delivery need to be tackled by all three spheres of government, President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday.

After weeks of vandalism and battles between township residents and police, Jacob Zuma asked South Africans on Saturday to desist from violence.

With discontent growing, government acknowledges that it needs to address the problem.

As service-delivery protests continued to rock parts of SA on Thursday, the government released the first findings of a probe into such action.

Police on Wednesday fired tear gas and rubber bullets at township protesters demanding improved services and more jobs.

A wave of protests has erupted in townships across SA over public services, adding to pressure on President Jacob Zuma to fight poverty.

Police fired rubber bullets to disperse about 200 hostel dwellers in Thokoza on the East Rand on Tuesday, who were protesting over service delivery.

A wave of service-delivery protests in recent weeks shows a government still treading water in the race to keep democracy afloat, analysts say.