Putting ‘developmental local government’ into practice: The experience of South Africa’s towns and cities

Abstract

One of the key features of the late twentieth and the early twenty-first centuries is the apparent re-definition of the role and place of the 'city' within national and global economies. Globalization has been accompanied by changing perceptions of the role of the locality within an increasingly integrated global system, which reflects the dominance of economic orthodoxy, independent action and the search for innovative ways to participate within a redefined global economic context. These trends have gone hand in hand with a notable policy shift around the world, which is enhancing the status, role and functions of local authorities, and simultaneously devolving to them many of central governments' social and economic responsibilities (Hambleton et al., 2002; UNCHS, 2001). Within this context, "cities are becoming central to economic development. They are increasingly taking on the role of focal points of economic growth" (Jouve and Lefevere, 2002, p. 186). In order to mediate their newfound role and status, cities are being challenged to significantly enhance the range of strategic socio-economic interventions which they undertake, in an effort to secure investment, encourage growth and deal with issues of social exclusion and poverty. The net result is the identification of an impressively diverse portfolio of city development strategies and interventions (Clarke and Gaile, 1998; Hambleton et al., 2002). Within this context of devolution, global integration and increasing responsibility in terms of issues of socio-economic transformation, it is timely to examine South African local authorities as they respond to the challenges of their radically altered powers and responsibilities, and as they attempt to deal with a daunting range of socio-economic challenges which are a legacy of the apartheid era before 1994. The greatly enhanced status of local authorities in South Africa, which are now constitutionally mandated to promote social and economic development (RSA, 1996a), makes them key agents for transforming South Africa's society and economy in the post-apartheid era. Local government has been transformed significantly