South Africa, July 23 -- The timing is deliberate. Three months before the November municipal elections, service delivery is no longer just an administrative question but also a political one. Water that runs, lights that stay on, roads without potholes, and grants that reach the people they are meant for, this is what the electorate will judge. The Summit convenes the director-generals, deputy director-generals, chief directors and municipal leaders responsible for that delivery, alongside the business leaders and civil society partners for the benefit of SA Inc under a single banner: The Delivery Playbook.

"This is not a conference about what is wrong with the government, South Africans live that story every day and do not need it narr...