Abstract
This article examines the state of collaboration between a district municipality and its local municipalities using Ehlanzeni District Municipality as a case study. This is important because in terms of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998 , district municipalities are established to coordinate and support their local municipalities to enable them to deliver services to the communities that they serve. In spite of this, literature on local government shows that there is ambiguity regarding the roles of district and local municipalities within the sphere of local government. The study was essentially qualitative in design with the use of a semi-structured interview as a data collection instrument. The findings of the study reveal that local municipalities have an executive and legislative authority, which limits the district municipality towards holding them accountable for failure to execute their constitutional obligations. The study further affirms that there is ambiguity in legislation regarding the discharge in roles and responsibilities between a district and a local municipality. Thus, it is suggested that for the district municipalities to strengthen their roles of coordinating, intergovernmental forums between a district and local municipality should be used as a starting point. The article concludes that there is a need to review legislation regarding the extent to which a local municipality should account to a district municipality, as well as clarity regarding the discharge in roles and responsibilities between a district and a local municipality.
Highlights
It remains true that the regime of apartheid in South Africa has left the vast majority of communities severely affected, where marginalised black communities live in rural areas with lack of infrastructure, poor social services and a shortage of basic services such as access to water, sanitation, provision of electricity, as well as proper roads
A South African context In South Africa, government is categorised into three spheres – national, provincial and local government – which should work together guided by the principles of cooperative governance as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996
This article sought to investigate the state of collaboration between a district and its local municipalities, as well as trying to find ways in which these collaborations can be enhanced to ensure improved service delivery, with EDMEDM being used as a case study
Summary
It remains true that the regime of apartheid in South Africa has left the vast majority of communities severely affected, where marginalised black communities live in rural areas with lack of infrastructure, poor social services and a shortage of basic services such as access to water, sanitation, provision of electricity, as well as proper roads. In the democratic South Africa, which came into place after the 1994 elections, the imbalances of the past needed to be robustly addressed This view is supported by Pretorius and Schurink (2007), who explicate that access to public services is a legitimate entitlement that all people of the Republic of South Africa should enjoy, in particular, those who belong to previously disadvantaged groups. This democratic era saw the establishment of the three spheres of government, which are national, provincial and local government. This is followed by the discussion of the findings of the study, as well as the conclusions and recommendations thereof
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