Local Government Development Research Articles

Urban Autonomy in South African Intergovernmental Relations Jurisprudence

Abstract The notion of urban autonomy is increasingly significant in a global era where city governments are playing an ever-growing role in development, as well as in domestic and international politics. While extending significantly beyond legal configurations of local government powers and functions, urban autonomy is importantly shaped, enabled and protected by constitutional and legal provisions. This is so especially where urban governance happens in a resource-strapped and often politically volatile environment. This article considers the extent to which formal constitutional structures, and their justiciability, enable and channel urban autonomy in the developing world, with a focus on the constitutionally ensconced powers and functional authority of cities in South Africa. Through an overview of relevant constitutional and statutory provisions and of court decisions upholding urban autonomy in intergovernmental disputes, the article illustrates that South African cities have been served well by a constitutional framework emphasising cooperative governance and developmental local government, as well as by the justiciable entrenchment of local government’s executive, legislative and administrative authority.

Fostering a Culture of Performance Management in Municipalities: Perceptions of Municipal M & E Practitioners in Kwazulu Natal

Creating a culture that considers monitoring and evaluation as an essential tool for performance improvement is not an easy task. Some employees are likely to resist due to a lack of awareness of the value of monitoring and evaluation while others could do so due to fear of the accountability and transparency implicit in the implementation of such a system. Nonetheless, it is imperative that performance management is prioritised in municipal development interventions. This article is based on a doctoral study that used qualitative participatory research techniques to gather data from evaluation practitioners’ municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal. It presents these practitioners’ perspectives on fostering a culture of performance management in local government. The article expounds on their lived experiences that reflect on how performance management could facilitate an effective monitoring and evaluation culture within this sector. The study found that monitoring and evaluation practitioners were sloppy towards their responsibilities and this contributed to poor tracking of the impact of municipal interventions, thereby compromising their abilities to fulfil their constitutional mandates. Furthermore, the study found that there is no political will to enforce performance in most municipalities. The implication of this study is that a culture of performance management must be enforced by government as a critical institutional norm towards achieving accountable, effective, efficient and responsive developmental local government. Municipalities must harness the necessary political will for this to become a reality in municipalities towards promoting good governance in local government supported by a culture of performance.

The “Metropolitan City” in Italy: New Spaces for Dialogue and Interaction Between the City and the Mountain

The mountain areas live a period of new dynamism, in which the connection with the urban context has an important role in terms of cultural redesign of values, physical and functional connections with the local areas and creation of urban-mountain interactions. The article focuses on Italian mountain system, comprising experimentation and excellence, but even rupture and depopulation perspectives, in which the city and mountain are no longer simply the borders of an entre-deux (“between two”, Bourdeau 2015) relationship.The article taking into consideration the current direction of Metropolitan Cities, the newborn institutions established as an intermediate level in local governance. The new Metropolitan Cities were officially born in 2014, following the approval of Law n° 56 “Disposizioni sulle citta metropolitane, sulle province, sulle unioni e fusioni di comuni” (Provisions concerning metropolitan cities, provinces, and unions/fusions between townships). Metropolitan Cities are defined as wide-scale local entities and they are institutional body with task of planning and local development government, in many cases regarding urban and mountain territories.The article proposes a wide range of situations in which forms of strategic planning for the systemization of city-mountain relationships has been adopted. At first level, it has been considered Strategic plans that give formal indication about the exchange between urban and mountain areas. Three significant cases: the Piano Strategico della citta e del territorio di Cuneo 2020 (2020 Strategic plan for the city of Cuneo and its surroundings mountain areas); the Piano Strategico territoriale della Provincia di Belluno (Strategic plan for the mountain-urban area of Belluno); and the Piano Strategico Metropolitano di Bologna 2020 (2020 Strategic plan for the metropolitan city of Bologna and its surroundings mountain area ).At second level the analysis regards the initiatives carried out by the Aosta Valley region (the Strategic Plan for Aosta) and the experience of the “Piano Strategico dei Comuni dell’Alto Canavese” (Strategic Plan for the townships in the Alpine upper Canavese area, within the Metropolitan City of Turin). Wide areas in which the actors have experimented a strategic planning in order to create strong interactions between urban and mountain context through a process of local governance.The results of the analysis permit to highlight some issues: the definition of mutual benefit between city and mountain context; the construction of a strategic polycentric vision inside the urban-mountain territories; concerns inter-territoriality as a tool to build metropolitan identity.

Authority of Local Government in Development of Nature Tourism in Baning Area Sintang District West Kalimantan Indonesia

Authority of Local Government in Development of Nature Tourism in Baning Area Sintang District West Kalimantan Indonesia

О РАЗРАБОТКЕ ТИПОВЫХ МОДЕЛЕЙ (РЕКОМЕНДАЦИЙ) РАЗВИТИЯ ОТДЕЛЬНЫХ ТЕРРИТОРИЙ С ВЫСОКОЙ КОНЦЕНТРАЦИЕЙ ПРОМЫШЛЕННОГО ПОТЕНЦИАЛА

The paper features some topical issues of industrial development strategic planning for territories with high concentration of industrial potential. The author has investigated a role of regional authorities in rendering methodological support to local governments in development of documents of strategic planning in the sphere of the industry: as a result, standard models (recommendations) of development have been defined for certain territories. The research has revealed some features of goal-setting in the sphere of industrial policy and definition of mechanisms of activity stimulation at industrial enterprises on the regional and local levels. This system of indicators allows one to identify types of economy of municipal units (as in the case of the Voronezh region), to characterize their industrial potential, and to give recommendations on stimulation of activity in the sphere of the industry of separate municipal units in the Voronezh region. The author concludes that there is a strong need for coordination when developing strategic planning documents in the sphere of industrial development on the levels of state (federal, regional) and municipal management. Moreover, the author stresses the importance of the regional industrial policy standardization and integrated approach to consideration of territorial aspects.

The role of Local Economic Development Agencies in South Africa’s developmental state ambitions

South Africa’s Local Economic Development Agencies have emerged as appropriate institutional structures for advancing socio-economic development in the local government-led development landscape, due to the inability of local municipalities to lead local economic development. This shift signifies that South Africa is turning to local economic development strategies to address developmental challenges, such as poor socio-economic conditions (unemployment, poverty and inequality), by creating local development solutions and employment opportunities. This article utilises the developmental state theory to examine the role of Local Economic Development Agencies in South Africa’s aspirations of becoming a capable developmental state. While the developmental state literature is concerned with the central role of the state in economic development, this article extends the developmental state theory to the subnational level by arguing that the developmental local government is the local developmental state. In addition, the article locates Local Economic Development Agencies within the developmental state paradigm by showing that Local Economic Development Agencies were established as economic development coordinators at the subnational level to assist local government in addressing South Africa’s triple challenges. Although the roles and functions of South African Local Economic Development Agencies are aligned to the developmental state ideology, their developmental mandate is undermined by the lack of coordination within local institutions.

Strategy of Local Government in Tourism Development of Marina Beach in Bantaeng Regency South Sulawesi Province

This research was focused to analyze strategy of local government in the development of tourism in Marina Beach, Bantaeng regency, South Sulawesi province, and the supporting and inhibiting factors as well as efforts to overcome them. Design used in this research is descriptive qualitative through SWOT analysis concept from Rangkuti, with calculation by Litmus test from Bryson to find the most strategic applicable issue. As for the affecting factors in strategy, there are supporting and inhibiting factors, while inhibiting factors can be overcome by efforts based on mapping of internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats). And therefore, 16 applicable strategies have been formulated, consisting of S-O strategies: advancing promotion by employing technology of both electronic media such as website and printed media such as tabloid, brochure and magazine; making regulations on Preservation of Tourism Regions and giving strict sanction to any violation; W-O strategies: reevaluating tourism development programs by providing better supporting facilities and infrastructures; employing technology optimally in the development of tourism object since initial to final phase; S-T strategies: encouraging conducive atmosphere among communities for better security and order to provide secureness for both local and foreign tourists; W-T strategies: preserving unity and integrity to reduce individuality in community and to prevent acculturation and negative influence of foreign culture; placing staff ac-cording to their skill, especially the one with competence in the field of tourism.

Innovation in local government and governance: observations on emerging practice in New Zealand

This article addresses aspects of the evolution of local government and governance in New Zealand – arising largely from some unintended consequences of major public sector reform initiatives of the late 1980s and early 1990s which are now being adapted to the more demanding conditions of the early 21st century. Observations are included on the emerging practice and its potential to play a positive role in the on-going debate about the future proper role and function of local government and governance.

Strengthening Community Participation in the Integrated Development Planning Process for Effective Public Service Delivery in the Rural Limpopo Province

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the participation of local communities in the integrated development planning process with the hope of enhancing the provision of public services in the Limpopo Province. Legislations on developmental local government in South Africa provide provisions for local communities to participate in the integrated development planning process within their municipalities to ensure that the provision of public services is effective. Municipalities are constitutionally required to develop five year integrated development plans (IDPs) for strategic, inclusive and responsive governance of the municipality which allows effective participation of local communities in the development planning. Thus, it is a requirement for and the responsibility of municipalities to ensure that local communities participate adequately and effectively in the integrated development planning process. The paper argues that despite the provisions for local communities to participate in the development planning processes, communities are still, in most cases, over-looked and shut out of the development planning processes. As such, the application of community participation as an approach to effective and sustainable delivery of public services needs reinforcement. The paper concludes that lack of participation by local communities remains pervasive in rural settings such as those in the Limpopo Province. This is attested to by the prevailing poor socio-economic conditions as well as the violent public service delivery protests in rural areas. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n25p225

SOME PARTICULAR ASPECTS OF THE LEGAL STATUS OF LOCAL ADMINISTRATION IN THE ROMANIAN AND FRENCH CONSTITUTION

Part of a wider comparative research focused on the evolution of local government in Romania and France during the last twenty years and, in particular, on the progress made by the two countries in their common way towards decentralization, this study takes into account the relatively recent changes in the Constitution relating to local law and wants to emphasize the sometimes different approaches of legislators as reflected in the specifics of constitutional status in each country, especially the coordinating role assigned to the County Council, under Romanian law, and to the Senate as a national forum of local communities, under French law.

Does local government have capacity for enabling local economic development? Lessons from Jamaica

Implementation of the Caribbean Local Economic Development Project (CARILED)1began in 2012 in seven countries for a duration of six years, to support sustainable economic growth in the region. CARILED has introduced the idea of local economic development (LED) to the ‘development’ debate in the region but has also brought the organisational capacity of local government, and local government’s role as ‘facilitator’ of LED,to the fore. This paper assesses organizational behaviour and capability in local government in Jamaica to determine the state of readiness for a developmental role. The paper draws on two sets of research data to aid its analysis–a capacity audit (CAPAUD) conducted in 2010 and an organisational analysis (OA)commissioned by the Ministry of Local Government in 2010, both of which targeted a sample of local authorities in Jamaica.The study found that when assessed against established criteria for an LED organisation, ie: research and information provision; marketing and coordination; learning and innovation; and leadership - local government’s institutional and organisational capacity for development is unevenly distributed. For instance, local leaders understood organisational purpose but efforts to give effect to this appeared undeveloped, sporadic and uni-directional. It was also evident that participatory strategies are used to gain information from communities but these were often devoid of systematic research methodologies rendering formal community impact on local planning negligent. Finally there is strong potential for the kind of administrative leadership required by a developmental local government to evolve,indicated by the quality of training, quantum of managerial/supervisory staff, and stability of staff establishment. However, this potential is threatened by the deficiencies in the non-traditional functional areas that are strategic to the organisation’s effectiveness as a ‘facilitator’ of LED, ie:alignment of community engagement/interface with LED priorities, diffusion of information technology in organisational processes, and utilisation of policy analysis and development. These findings contribute important policy relevant information to the discourses in the region about the construction of alternative solutions to institutional and organisational problems in response to the economic crises of small island developing states (SIDS).

Revitalisation of the Old Township of Ipoh, Malaysia

Purpose – This paper aims to propose a direction for rejuvenating the declining Ipoh Old Town through a conservation-based approach. Design/methodology/approach – Recommendations for revitalisation are based on comparison between the local government's development proposals and historical study of revitalisation initiatives undertaken in neighbouring countries. Findings – The review has found that the revitalisation of Ipoh should be more towards servicing the needs of its residents than to gain from tourism development. Practical implications – Findings of the review have blurred the distinction between purist and ameliorist stances of conservation and suggest that the policy development should be a partnership of all stakeholders, vested with powers to implement. Originality/value – This paper provides an insight into urban regeneration for smaller, more local-dependent historic towns.

Decentralization of local government in Ukraine as a problem of political science: theoretical characteristics of the study, normative-legal basis and influence of other countries experience

The article deals with the theoretical, methodological and normative principles of the formation of local politics in Ukraine. Conceptual approaches to the definition of the essence of concepts and evolution of local government are revealed. Particular attention is paid to the development of normative and legal sources in the field of local government. The process of decentralization of power as the main factor of changes in the system of local government bodies of Ukraine is determined. It is established that Ukraine has European experience and experience of other countries in the decentralization of the public power due to the processes of reforming and regulatory legal regulation of the system of local government in different EU states. It has been proved that an important key to the success of the decentralization reform in Ukraine is the existing base and the creation of new doctrinal developments.

From Lark Rise to the Storied City

In Lark Rise to Candleford, Flora Thompson, through her character Laura Timmins, tells stories about the daily struggles of the residents of a poor English hamlet coping with the wrenching changes of late 19th Century England. Cooperative working of open fields which had supported self-sufficiency is replaced by enclosed landholdings, industrialization and imminent starvation. The contrasts between the stories of Queenie, the beekeeper and Dorcas Lane, the postmistress, reveal the evolution between an agrarian communal society and an industrialized economy. Their stories tell so much more than conventional legal description could provide. This article proposes "The Storied City" as a better way to understand what is at stake in regard to local government authority and to help us to arrive at better solutions. The article describes a cognitive science approach to law, uses it to critically evaluate conventional "pyramid" legal analysis of local government authority, and suggests stories as alternative models for defining such authority. The article illustrates the storytelling analytical approach in three situations: a local government's condemnation of private property for resale to a private developer, the delegation of land use control authority to neighborhood groups, and local government attempts to zone out nontraditional families. Part I describes a cognitive science approach to law. Part II traces the evolution of local government powers and focuses on the particularly intractable problem of adequately defining their proper scope. Part III unpacks conventional local government legal analysis by exploring the writings of Frank Michelman, a prominent local government law theorist. Part IV reveals the unstated assumptions of conventional legal analysis and the serious and unsettling consequences of those assumptions for defining local government authority. Part V reconstructs conventional local government legal analysis in cognitive terms and Part VI concludes by suggesting stories as alternative cognitive strategies for defining local government authority.

Editorial

This issue is published on the eve of the CLGF Research Colloquium, hosted by Ugandan Institute of Management on 13/14 May 2013 in Kampala, to launch the 2013 Commonwealth Local Government Conference. The theme − Developmental Local Government: Putting local government at the heart of development − ushers in some exciting new papers, covering issues of urban finance and development, strengthening local democracy, local economic development, and the crucial Post- 2015 agenda, which will be published in the next edition of CJLG. Our thanks to Rose Namara and Sylvester Kugonoza, coordinators at UIM, Philip Amis of the University of Birmingham, who chairs the CLGF research group, and Gareth Wall who organised the Colloquium.

The Rights-Based Approach to Local Government Development and Service Delivery: Putting Women (back) in the Centre of Attention

A telephone survey of municipalities throughout South Africa undertaken in May 2010 by the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) produced a baseline of the status quo with regard to local government responses to gender equality and women's empowerment across six key municipal indicators: capacity, policy, strategies or plans, integrated development plans (IDPs), service delivery and budget implementation plans (SDBIPs) and performance management (PM). The article poses three key questions relating to the findings: Against the backdrop of developmental local government, what is the mandate of local government as far as gender equality and women's empowerment are concerned? Taking into account the survey results, what does a rights-based approach to local government mean? If local government does not, at present, adequately address the gender equality concerns of women as a group, what do we need to do differently to see different results?

Effective Communication as Catalyst of Developmental Local Government and Rural Development amid Threats of Overpopulation

South Africa’s population has risen from 40.5 million in 1996 to 44.8 million in 2001 and to 51.77 in 2011. Africans are in majority making 79.2% of the whole population. About 22.3% of blacks have received no schooling with the unemployment rate of the blacks at 28.1%. Most of these unemployed and uneducated blacks are found in rural areas. This compelled government to introduce Developmental Local government. Developmental Local government refers to the layer of public service that has the capacity to deliver and account to the people in a responsive, accountable, and efficient manner. It is also described as a sphere that encourages community participation in matters of governance and developmental initiatives. However, Developmental Local government is hindered by continuous growth of population which is likely to lead to overpopulation. Overpopulation is characterised by lack of basic resources such as water and food. Developmental Local government on the other hand is expected to deliver on these needs. Lack of fulfilment of goals of Developmental Local government is attributed to lack of effective communication between local government and community members. Although population growth is not attributed only to high birth rate, governments around the continent have introduced measures to encourage healthy reproductive life. However, this needs community members that are self-motivated to be active participants in government initiatives. This is not achievable as there is an indication of lack of effective communication. This paper’s main focus is the provision of effective communication model at local sphere which will see community members working together with government on matters of their own development including initiatives to preserve limited resources amid the challenges of overpopulation. This paper is based on the qualitative study on effectiveness of communication in Mutale local municipality on the enhancement of Developmental Local government and rural development. The study indicated weaknesses and suggests for the development of new model of communication.

Local Governments in Nigeria: Relevance and Effectiveness in Poverty Reduction and Economic Development

This paper examines the local government system in Nigeria, its relevance and impact in poverty reduction, economic growth and sustainable development. After a review of the local government system in Nigeria as an example of political, fiscal and economic decentralization, it examines the nature and evolution of local government in Nigeria as well as the roles and responsibilities of the local governments in the Nigerian context. In examining the deficiencies of the local government system in Nigeria one of the major issues seem to be a problem of accountability of local governments along with serious capacity issues. The paper concludes with a treatment of the imperatives for optimizing the effectiveness of local governments in Nigeria.

Discourses of Infrastructure and Citizenship in Post-Apartheid Soweto

In this article, I locate Soweto at the epicentre of the changing relationship between state infrastructural capacity on the one hand, and imaginations of citizenship on the other. Far from the ‘hidden’ or merely technical functioning of urban governance, infrastructure has always been central to the urban politics and everyday life of townships in South Africa. The infrastructural capacity of the apartheid state entrenched the segregated apartheid urban system, and was simultaneously the target of political protest in the 1980s. Infrastructure plays a significant role in political expectations in post-apartheid South Africa. Through policies such as the Reconstruction and Development Program and Developmental Local Government, the post-apartheid state has attempted to re-frame citizenship of South Africans, especially in townships, through the provision of housing and basic services. The emergence, therefore, of service delivery protests in townships and informal settlements in the early 2000s marked the possible limits of a post-apartheid citizenship. Based on field research conducted in Soweto in the mid 2000s, and a number of follow-up interviews in 2010 and 2011, I trace the shifting relationship between infrastructure and citizenship as it emerges in the everyday life of contemporary Soweto. I show how electricity disconnections by the municipality and state electricity utility Eskom in the early 2000s—and the subsequent protests they sparked—provided the context for challenging the limits of post-apartheid citizenship. Residents of Soweto were able to link the ‘hidden’ infrastructure of electricity cables and wires to a particular narrative of place. Returning to Soweto in 2010, in the midst of protest action against water prepaid metres in Phiri neighbourhood, issues of access to basic services, housing evictions and unemployment still characterise the everyday life of Soweto. As with protests against electricity disconnections, protests against water prepaid metres have linked urban infrastructure to articulations of citizenship that reside in particular narratives of place. But so too do newer forms of ‘consumer citizenship’, particularly in the form of a new shopping mall that was opened in 2008, and which stands in stark contrast to the politics of basic services.

Developing a national cadre of effective leadership towards sustainable quality service delivery in South Africa

The application of the three (3) dimensional leadership competency model has the likelihood of having a positive impact on a sustainable developmental local governance framework. The purpose of the study was to explore the relevance of the Three (3) dimensional leadership competency model so as to suggest leadership traits that can be used in the enhancement of a developmental local governance framework. The lack of leadership with the requisite competencies and capabilities in the local government system has been the source of corruption and maladministration, and therefore necessitates an intervention in the development of leadership competencies. The research design, approach and method focuses primarily a qualitative approach, namely face-to-face in-depth interviews using a structured interview schedule triangulated through the review of published documents and publications. The findings show that significant progress has been achieved in many areas of the ideal of a developmental local governance framework, yet the lack of a value-based cadre of leaders is reversing the gains that have been achieved in the last 15 years of the ANC rule. Managerial competencies that are key components of leadership limit the acceleration of a developmental governance framework. This study indicates the relevance of the Three (3) dimensional leadership competency model in the enhancement of a developmental local governance framework, and has suggested key elements of leadership traits within the context of what can be used to achieve the objects of a developmental local governance framework. Key words: Three dimensional leadership, developmental local government, qualitative study, grounded theory, South Africa.