Local Government In South Africa Research Articles

Financing Local Governments in South Africa

The intergovernmental fiscal architecture for local governments in South Africa is a product of the negotiations in the late 1990ties to end apartheid, a thorough consideration at the time of what funding system for local government would serve a democratic South Africa the best, and the many developments that the system has undergone since its inception around the turn of the century. The architecture reflects South Africa’s integrated system of multilevel government. The national government has a virtual monopoly on all taxes, and provinces almost rely almost entirely on transfers. Municipalities fund their budgets with own revenue, complemented by an equitable share of national revenue and conditional grants. This contribution sets out the considerations that influenced the system of financing local government, designed to usher in democracy at local level. It then examines the framework for own revenue generation by municipalities as well as the system for determining intergovernmental transfers. It considers practical challenges with the implementation of this framework, the extent to which the assumptions that underpin the architecture are still valid, and the system’s capacity to respond to changing circumstances.

Rethinking the Role of Local Government in Service Delivery in South Africa: Towards Digital Transformation

The article provided insights into why local government and service delivery must be rethought in light of digital transformation. It exposed the significance of digital transformation in solving local government and service delivery challenges. The article followed a qualitative research approach. It employed document analysis and literature review as data collection instruments. It argued that digital transformation can help local governments in South Africa fulfil constitutional obligations and meet policy goals. It demonstrated how digitally transformed local government can solve service delivery problems through the deployment of digital technologies that improve decision-making, cut costs, streamline operations, and offer efficient services. The article revealed that the digital divide, lack of technical expertise, data security concerns and resource constraints are some of the challenges that can affect the digital transformation of local government and service delivery in South Africa. These challenges must be resolved for digital transformation to play a significant role in improving the effectiveness of local government in service delivery. The article recommended that local governments in South Africa digitally transform in ways that foster equality and deliver local government services to all citizens. The article contributes to scholarship advocating for public sector innovation broadly, and specifically, illustrates the criticality of embracing digital transformation of local government and service delivery. Keywords: Digital Transformation, Digital Technologies, Local Government, South Africa, Service Delivery

A more than 21-year odyssey of developmental local government in South Africa

This paper is an assessment of 21 years of developmental local government as advocated through the 1998 White Paper on local government. In the 21st century, local governments have developed into hubs for developmental objectives. This suggests that they are now expected to go beyond the fundamentals of providing services. For instance, the agenda of local governments has automatically adopted South Africa's idea of a developmental state that primarily prioritises economic development and the need to consider the most suitable intervention scales. With the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP) in 2012, South African authorities formalised their intention to pursue a developing state. The authorities' conviction that the developmental state approach is a factor for development is evident from reading the NDP. Because of the vertical connections between regional, sub-regional and local processes of change, strategies must be well-suited to one another, different interventions may be most effective at various spatial scales, and strategy and implementation may also be most effective at particular scales. This study used a multi-site case study as the sole type of research methodology. The study took an exploratory approach, because it constituted contextual research, allowing the researcher to investigate and record research phenomena in line with diverse participant interpretations. The study discovered that despite the ideals outlined in the 1998 White Paper, National Development Plan, and District Development Model, emphasising the influence of the local sphere as closer to citizens, and thus more responsible for their welfare and development, factors such as public participation, a lack of skills, and sub-par infrastructure delivery have negatively impacted developmental local government outcomes. In the end, local government is unable to fulfill its responsibility for development. The paper contends that local government's performance, assessed against its constitutional purposes, hinders the realisation of a progressive state in South Africa against a backdrop of local government incapacity.

The Perpetual Decline of the State of Local Government in South Africa

The Perpetual Decline of the State of Local Government in South Africa

Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation: A Comparative Analysis of Reports Produced for Local Governments in South Africa and South East Queensland, Australia

Climate change is dominating social, political and economic agendas. Because of the salience of the issue, scientists, researchers and consultants have developed a plethora of climate adaptation strategies. In this article I analyse two such strategies: Adapting South African Cities and Towns: A Local Government Guide to Climate Change Adaptation Planning by Ziervogel and Methner; and Climate Change Vulnerability in South East Queensland: A Spatial and Sectoral Assessment by Choy et al. For this analysis I utilised the PULSE3 analytical framework. My analysis indicated that the two adaptation strategies were predominantly positivist in scientific orientation. Other paradigms and theories are also applicable in explaining the issue of climate change and how to adapt to it.

The Use of Social Media for Internal Communication within South African Local Government

Contemporary organisations have embraced a wide variety of social media platforms. Social media provide companies, institutions and government departments with the quickest way to communicate with employees. The platforms allow for instantaneous, two-way and cost-effective communication. This paper uses Grunig’s two-way symmetrical as a lens to understand the challenges associated with the use of social media for internal communication within local government in South Africa. Quantitative data was collected through questionnaires, while qualitative data was gathered using interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the findings. Four categories of challenges emerged from the data analysed: lack of social media policies, compliance and adherence with the policy, and lack of organisational support. The absence of social media policy proved to be a significant factor that leads to the ineffective use of social media for internal communication. Municipalities with social media policies had few employees who knew about the policy, whereas the remainder failed to adhere to the policy. Lack of organisational support emerged as a challenge that hampers the use of social media for internal communication in local government. This paper contends that while the use of social media has increased significantly in municipalities, significant challenges associated with the management of social media need to be addressed if the Government Communication Policy is to be implemented effectively.
 
 Received: 02 March 2023 / Accepted: 14 May 2023 / Published: 5 July 2023

An investigation into the effectiveness of public participation mechanisms on service delivery within the Newcastle local municipality

A little over two years ago, from the 9th to the 18th of July 2021, South Africa experienced one of the worst incidents of civil unrest since the beginning of its democratic dispensation. Although the main catalyst for this unrest was not directly issues of service delivery or public participation, many observers, experts or not could not help but see the connection to issues of poverty, unemployment and overall lack of service delivery. Public participation has long been established as a vital tool in the hands of the government for efficient service delivery & development. The Newcastle Local Municipality (NLM) as an institution in South Africa, is governed by numerous public participation legislation which essentially states it must always consult & involve all its citizens on all issues that affect the community at large. Despite its adherence to these stipulations, this brief study, through a qualitative inquiry making use of an interview schedule, finds that NLM practices a type of participation strategy known as “Degrees of tokenism” where the result is the appeasement and placation of the masses as opposed to true participation that gives the masses real power. The results indicated that the officials entrusted with ensuring the implementation of the public participation mandate faced numerous challenges that rendered their stellar efforts inefficient. Issues such as a lack of understanding of the fundamental importance of good governance and public participation led to a shortage of resources and increased apathy toward municipal affairs. In investigating the nature of the public participation framework in NLM the researcher aimed at providing more insight into the complex issues at play responsible for the largely concerning state of local government in South Africa, thus possibly providing solutions in the process.

Strengthening Developmental Local Government in South Africa: The Role of Capacity Building

Strengthening Developmental Local Government in South Africa: The Role of Capacity Building

A conceptual framework for sustainable waste management in small municipalities: the cases of Langebaan, South Africa and Swakopmund, Namibia

Municipal waste management is a major challenge for local governments in South Africa and Namibia, as in other developing countries. The circular economy concept in waste management is an alternative sustainable development framework that has the potential to combat resource depletion, pollution, and poverty while achieving the SDGs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current waste management systems in Langebaan and Swakopmund municipalities resulting from municipal policies, procedures, and practices in the context of a circular economy. A mixed method approach was used to collect qualitative and quantitative data through structured in-depth interviews, document analyses, and direct observation. The study found that the Langebaan and Swakopmund municipalities have not yet fully implemented the circular economy concept into their waste management systems. A mix of waste consisting of papers, plastics, cans, tyres, and organic products is dumped into landfills weekly at a rate of about 85%. The main challenges to implementing the circular economy concept include: lack of technical solutions, inadequate regulatory frameworks, insufficient financial resources, lack of private sector involvement, insufficient human resource capacity, and inadequate information and knowledge. A conceptual framework was therefore proposed to guide the municipalities of Langebaan and Swakopmund in implementing the circular economy concept in their waste management systems.

CAPACITY BUILDING AS A TOOL FOR EFFECTIVE LOCAL GOVERNANCE IN SOUTH AFRICA

In South Africa, local government is responsible for administering various activities in municipalities, towns and cities. The effectiveness of governance at a local level is based on the delivery of essential services and the management of public affairs. Many municipalities in the country face several challenges, such as lack of administrative capacity, shortage of skills and lack of essential service delivery. These challenges have presented an opportunity to improve governance and delivery of services. In order to mitigate these challenges and maximise these opportunities, capacity building is a tool that can be used to develop the ability of local government to effectively deliver essential services by enhancing human capital. In this paper, the concept of local government is introduced in section 2; a background follows this on the state of local governments in South Africa and a summary of the challenges faced and opportunities available for local governments. In section 3, capacity building is introduced, and theoretical frameworks and models for capacity building are discussed. Section 4 of the essay consists of the discussion, which links section 3 and section 2. The identified theories are linked to background on local governance in South Africa, and the section demonstrates how capacity building can be used as an effective tool for local governance. Recommendations and conclusions are documented in section 5 of the essay. This section includes closing remarks on the discussions made and a summary of suggested critical points for consideration by local governments on how to proceed further by using capacity building to strengthen governance at the local level.

THE MEANING OF SERVICE DELIVERY PROTEST: A CASE STUDY OF SOUTH AFRICAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The purpose of this article is to investigate the causes of service delivery protests in South African local government. The study utilized secondary data for the purposes of data collection. Local government in South Africa has witnessed lots of service delivery protest throughout the country and the cry is for effective and efficient public service delivery to the local communities throughout the country. It is vital to highlight that most of these protests are taking place as a result of corruption and bad management in South African local government. The general population is aware of this since media coverage of comparable incidents in South Africa is often quite public. The majority of South Africans are unemployed and they have to endure insurmountable poverty and deplorable living circumstances. As a consequence, the number of violent demonstrations in South Africa has increased.

Contending for the designs and features of integrated development planning in South Africa? An empirical analysis of the Limpopo Province

Background: The Sphere of Local Government in South Africa serves a pertinent role of realising the provision of basic municipal services. In this case, the legislative interventions consider it mandatory for every municipality to develop integrated development plans (IDPs) to facilitate their developmental agendas. These municipalities are required to undertake approval process of IDPs to eventually generate measurable municipal agenda as the basis for basic municipal service delivery.Aim: This empirical study sought to analyse contentious issues regarding the structural design and operational features of the IDP process.Setting: Some municipalities in the Limpopo Province were selected for case study purpose where data were collected. This was in two district municipalities.Methods: Semi-structured interviews with adept municipal officials and councillors as well as surveys with some members of the community were conducted to gather relevant data so that informed analysis could be generated.Results: The findings highlight that the fundamental challenges of designs and features manifest on both the development and the implementation parts of the IDP process.Conclusion: It is therefore proposed, on the one hand, that there is a need to strengthen municipal capacity building for officials to facilitate an effective IDP process. On the other hand, municipal councils are considered necessary to have the capacity to undertake their oversight role over the municipal executive and functions in driving the IDP process agenda. In this way, a remedial consideration suitable for various categories of municipalities should be introduced.Contribution: No contentious issues regarding the structural design and operational features of the integrated development planning process was discovered and also demonstrates that there is no one-size-fits-all regarding municipal planning and implementation.

‘A luta continua’, will it ever end? The reality of local government in South Africa

No abstract available.

Local government elections and the illusion of pragmatism

ABSTRACT The emphasis on and centrality of service delivery in political party manifestos brings about an illusion of local government as a de-ideological and value-free sphere of governance. Whilst the focus on service delivery implies a strict pragmatism of sorts, it can be argued that this occurs against a backdrop of prevailing paradigms or frameworks of ideas which determine the parameters for political action even at this sphere of government. Moreover, the emphasis on service delivery in party manifestos gives the impression that political parties are interchangeable as the focus is on pragmatic and ‘neutral’ service provision. The short history of local government in South Africa, however, does have episodes of neoliberal approaches at the municipal level and that past has been ignored. Following the 2021 local government elections, A fair few analysts have advanced the notion that local government is about pragmatism and service delivery and not grand narratives and ideology.

Outsourcing Governance: Local Government and the Future of Democracy in South Africa

This article analyses the decline and near collapse of local government in South Africa through a political and legal lens. Given the paralysis of constitutionally envisaged political accountability procedures in the post-Mbeki period, residents and local businesses have increasingly resorted to courts and chapter 9 institutions, in addition to local organisation, protest and a range of direct actions. Courts previously afforded municipalities a significant margin of discretion in dealing with local government affairs and stayed out of constitutionally mandated political oversight processes, but have, since 2016, become increasingly interventionist. Some recent judgements go as far as to bypass conventional accountability processes altogether and to endorse community self-help, thereby potentially signalling an evolution in judicial conceptions of civic responsibility. At a political level, however, the future of local government is treacherous, given the loss of faith among voters.

The legal accountability of local government in South Africa for the failure to deliver sanitation services

There is evidence, past and present, to the effect that local government or municipalities in South Africa do at times renege on and violate their duty to provide basic services to residents within their jurisdiction. In view of this, the paper starts by establishing the links between local government’s constitutional and legislative duties regarding service delivery, and particularly sanitation-service delivery. Once this is clarified, and with a view to demonstrating how civil society and citizens could pursue judicial avenues for the enforcement of their service-delivery rights, the discussion then evaluates past and present case law to determine the extent to which, and the methods through which, courts are holding local governments accountable for failing to deliver on sanitation services.

Fostering digital innovations to accelerate service delivery in South African Local Government

Service delivery protests in the recent past demonstrate the dire state of local government in South Africa. The absence of public sector innovation can be linked to service delivery backlogs hence embracing digital innovations (Internet of Things (IoT), Big data and analytics, cloud, Biometrics, computers, mobile applications, 3D machines) in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is strategic for enhancing municipal service provision and uplifting the living standards of citizens in communities. The study utilised an explorative qualitative case study design premised on an extensive literature and document review analysis to examine the barriers facing the City of Tshwane from adopting digital innovations in the 4IR. The analysis of documents revealed digital hesitancy, leadership void, lack of innovative research culture, weak municipal preparedness, and digital divide in adopting digital innovations are barriers to digital innovation adoption to enhance service delivery. The paper observes further the lack of systematic and evaluative studies to inform public sector innovation, or growth in digital innovations often led to implementation challenges in the City of Tshwane. Conclusions drawn for the article revealed that adopting digital innovations can be the panacea to accelerating urban service delivery in the City of Tshwane; hence institutional readiness, improved revenue streams, including a stable regulatory and policy environment, are imperatives in achieving a digitalised local government in the 4IR.

The Interplay between Civil Society and Local Government in South Africa: Conflict and Collaboration in the Delivery of Public Services

In recent years, following the dawn of democracy in South Africa, there has been a renewed thrust by civic organisations in matters of local-level service provision. The role of formal and informal organisations in highlighting inadequate provision of basic services by municipalities has attracted the attention of, first, the media, and now researchers and policymakers alike. The interest is mainly due to the abrupt and often violent nature of civic involvement in service delivery protests often directed at local municipalities in diverse and far-flung areas of the country. In this conceptual paper, a discussion of civic involvement in pre- and post-South Africa’s democratic local government is advanced by exploring the historical development of civic organisations' role, notably how that role has been reconfigured since the dawn of South Africa’s democracy. In the context of poorly resourced municipalities, a critique of collaborative ventures in developing and delivering essential water and sanitation services is provided while exploring the complexities of network governance arrangements and the opportunities they present for livelihoods. The paper then concludes by looking at prospects for the future and making recommendations on how poorly resourced municipalities could leverage civil society organisations’ role through collaborative network governance for the greater good of promoting sustainable livelihoods in South Africa.

Is South Africa Building a Capable State through Developmental Local Government?

It is widely agreed that service provision is the biggest challenge facing South African municipalities, particularly smaller municipalities. This paper is a South African Municipality document study and focuses on creating a capable state through the developmental government and the effects of these problems in order to find ways to reduce the problems of service delivery. A qualitative approach was used, and data was collected from various jurisdictions through record review and telephone interviews to fill the data gaps in knowledge. Clean water, work prospects and free basic services have been described by most municipalities as the key service delivery obstacles that hinder the realization of a vision for the developmentally competent local government in South Africa. The study found that yet another problem is political intervention in municipal administration. Although public engagement in civic affairs is a legal necessity, much remains to be done to bring about meaningful participation. Sanitation has always been a challenge for service delivery, particularly in rural communities, due primarily to a lack of infrastructure. Lastly, it was found that municipalities need to do more to create human resources to provide services that resemble a status of a developmentally competent South African local government.

Book Notice: Anél du Plessis (ed) Environmental Law and Local Government in South Africa 2 ed (2021)

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