Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Governance and Development: Has the Tide Turned in South Africa?

Abstract

The post-apartheid government ushered in on 27 April 1994 through a progressive Constitution (1996), with a developmental ethos that was perceived as key to responding to basic service delivery challenges inherited from the apartheid era. A superficial exploration of post-1994 public sector governance does indicate that certain public institutions are performing beyond the norm relative to service delivery. However, in general the public sector state entities are in “distress”, relative to effectual and responsive service delivery. The South African populace are fast losing confidence in the government as a significant number of public institutions are dysfunctional and incapable of discharging even rudimentary public services. The public governance system has in the past decade been marked by lawlessness; misuse of party—political power; endemic corruption; dysfunctional public institutions; financial challenges; crumbling infrastructure; political strife/turbulence and factionalism and violent protests against poor service delivery/governance. Despite government intervention to improve service delivery and public governance, there are still constraints hindering good governance, characteristic of all states in the developing world categorized as being in the realm of post-conflict. Good public governance is an integral part of reconstructive growth and is critical to constructing an efficient, effective and capable state discharging its governmental role and responsibilities, and South Africa needs to move rapidly in that direction.