Evolving local government in post conflict South Africa: Where to?

Abstract

Protracted negotiations between the main role-players steered in the new South African state on 27 April 1994 and final Constitution, 1996, which constitutionalised local government. A cursory analysis points to some municipalities which are pockets of excellence; however, local government generally is in ‘distress’. Local communities are rapidly losing confidence in the system as the majority of municipalities are unable to discharge even basic functions. Local government has been characterised by violent service delivery protests; abuse of political power and increasing corruption; financial challenges; poor infrastructure planning/maintenance/investment; political strife and factionalism and staff turbulence. Despite governmental interventions to improve local governance, there are still major constraints hampering good governance, namely political posturing and factionalism; corruption; lawlessness and poor service delivery, symptomatic of virtually all post conflict states. Good local governance is an integral part of post conflict reconstruction and development and is key to building a new local government dispensation.

Keywords

corruption governance political factionalism post conflict states South Africa South African local government

Introduction

Several factors have served as constraints to development in Africa, but none more than the issue of conflict. Since 2011, African countries involved in wars have exceeded 28 and the majority of the countries on the Continent are viewed as being in conflict, periodic conflict or a post conflict situation. The resultant legacy has been poverty, breakdown in structures, systems and societies; control of the economy politically; rampant corruption and a volatile governance climate (Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA, 2011: 6). However, comparatively, the South African experience was very positive, as it involved a negotiated settlement despite 48 years of apartheid rule.

The South Africa population of 56.52 million is quite diverse consisting of four core ethnic groups: 80.80% Black African, 8.80% Coloureds, 7.9% Whites and 2.6% Indians/Asian people (Statistics South Africa, 2017: 1–2). The country is currently one of the most highly urbanised and industrialised countries continentally and this has implications for municipal governance (Picard and Mogale, 2015: 7). A new constitutional democracy was shaped on 27 April 1994, following the celebrated countrywide general elections held. A National Assembly (400 members) and a National Council of Provinces (90 members) constitutes Parliament and government is divided into three, independent, interrelated and interdependent spheres translating eventually into 9 provinces and 273 municipalities nationwide. The Provinces vary in scope, population and geography, with the legislatures having members ranging from 30 to 80 (Thornhill and Cloete, 2014: 16–17).

A post conflict representative state was ushered in 1994, with a highly acclaimed internationally recognised model, which placed emphasis on socio-economic development and public participation in terms of responding to basic needs (Bekink, 2006: 3). Local government has been constitutionalised relative to its functionality and the allocation of resources between the governmental spheres. Despite local democracy being deeply rooted in South Africa post 1994, there is a firm consensus (Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, 2010: 1) that local government is in ‘distress’ as a significant number of the municipalities countrywide are dysfunctional, resulting in lack of confidence in the local government sphere by local communities (Mle, 2015; Reddy, 2016a; Tshishonga, 2015a). This article briefly reviews the conceptual and theoretical framework for post conflict governance and development; evaluates the policy/legislative framework for local government in South Africa post 1994, within the context of good local governance, and the constraints/challenges impeding the system; and recommends what needs to be done to ensure that the system is on track in terms of achieving its constitutional mandate in the third decade of democracy. Some policy recommendations are proposed as a rejoinder to some of the thematic questions underscored. The article is a critique of both primary and secondary literature impacting on the focus area. Consequently, the basis of the study was desktop research which included inter alia, legislation/policies; official publications; books; journals; publications of international development organisations; newspapers and websites. There were also focused consultations with senior municipal practitioners and members of local civic/community structures, some of whom are senior postgraduate students in local government.

Conceptual/theoreticalframework

The notion of post conflict demystified

Conflict as a phenomenon has been present from time immemorial and is as old as humanity itself, but the notion of post conflict reconstruction has been on the agenda for a fairly short period of time. The United Nations has only since the 1990s focused separately on post conflict reconstruction, apart from peacemaking and conflict prevention. Prior to the 1990s, United Nations literature alluded to the fact that conceptually, ‘post conflict reconstruction’ was not on the agenda or used on an ad hoc basis during the post Second World War and post-colonial and post communism periods. The post conflict terminology used earlier is given in Table 1 (United Nations, 2010: 7).

Table 1.

Post conflict terminology usage by international organisations historically.

Year	Term	Context
1992	Post conflict peacebuilding	Term captured in Agenda for Peace: Secretary General’s Report
1995	Post conflict countries	Financing instrument for institution-building: in post conflict countries: International Monetary Fund
1997	Post conflict reconstruction	1997 Framework: World Bank Investment in Post Conflict Reconstruction/Post Conflict Fund created. Development Assistance Committee/Task Force: guide investments in post conflict countries: created by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
2005	Post conflict peacebuilding and recovery	Peacebuilding Commission established by United Nations

Critical peacebuilding milestones are summarised below (UNDP, 2008: xviii, 2010b: 4–5):

Violence/hostilities ceased;

Peace agreements signed;

Demobilisation/disarmament and reintegration;

Refugees/internally displaced persons (IDPs) return;

Basics for a working state created;

Reconciliation/social integration commenced; and

Economic recovery initiated.

The concept ‘post conflict state’ cannot be precisely defined given the complexities of post-conflict circumstances. Nkurungiza (2008: 5) points out that if the nomenclature

Post conflict is justified on the grounds that countries emerging from civil war have specific characteristics that differentiate them from peaceful countries, a post conflict period should end in theory when the specific attributes inherited from the conflict cease to have influence. In reality, however, it is impossible to say exactly when a country returns to normality from its post conflict state. Hence the post conflict period is arbitrarily defined as the 10 year period following the end of a conflict.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP, 2008) points out that

A post conflict country should be seen as lying somewhere along a continuum on each of these milestones, recognizing that it could sometimes move backwards. As long as a country does not slip back on too many of these milestones at once, it can reasonably be expected to continue towards recovery.

Three distinct goals in post conflict environments for national reconstruction are (1) ensuring security/peace; (2) promoting social reconciliation/cohesion and upholding human rights; and (3) encouraging socio-economic development (United Nations, 2010: 16). It has been emphasised that security and peace is key to development and furthermore it can decrease some of the strains that has given rise to the conflict. Ending conflict and violence in society are the prerequisites for development (United Nations, 2007: 14). Government delivers rudimentary services to the population, notably social, infrastructure, personal security services irrespective of whether it is provided directly or privatised. The capacity of the State to discharge public services will be contingent on several issues, namely the current socio-economic and political conditions; security levels within the country and resource adequacy, namely staffing/skills; systems and public infrastructure (United Nations, 2010: 107–108).

Public administration reconstruction challenges in post conflict societies

On a global level, key challenges in rebuilding public administration post conflict includes inter alia, the following:

Developing Effective Public Sector Leadership: transforming public administration implies changing the beliefs, attitudes and behaviours of public functionaries to perform effectively in democratic settings. Leadership and institutional development is complementary as skilful leadership tends to channel conflict to relevant legal/political institutions;

Creating Effective Public Institutions: comprehensive institutional development is necessary. Political/private and non-governmental sector institutions have to be revamped taking cognizance of the country's needs and the cultural, historical and political context. Public service values of impartiality, integrity and dedication which are generic have to be imbibed;

Strengthening Public Sector Human resources: beliefs, behaviours, attitudes, and capacities of public functionaries have to be transformed to function effectively in a democratic setting;

Establishing Mechanisms for Inclusive Governance: all social groups should be an integral part of the transformation process. Decentralisation can facilitate participation and commitment to peaceful progress; and

Enhancing Citizen-Centric Public Service Delivery: government has to respond to public services. Vibrant democracies through a stable public service and fair social policies should promote just and efficient public administration, nationally, provincially and within localities (United Nations, 2010: 20–22; UNDP, 2010b: 10).

It is imperative that there are some firm pre-requisites that need to be adhered to in creating a strong post conflict sustainable state.

Enhancing participatory local governance

Post conflict countries have to develop structures that support and promote local community involvement in defining the content and direction of their socio-economic development. A key strategy is decentralisation which seeks to strengthen municipalities and related local structures by providing a platform for local role-players/stakeholders. Decentralisation, whether it is de facto or explicitly implemented is empowering in that the local communities are involved in planning and managing local development. Critical elements of successful participatory local governance include the following:

Legal framework/structures to devolve power to local governments/communities;

Greater local capacity to execute governance functions (service provision; planning/decision-making; revenue generation/fiscal management; investment management for development; personnel management/performance monitoring (Picard and Mogale, 2015: 14);

Responsiveness/accountability of local government to local communities and national government;

Enhanced role for private/NGO sectors working in collaboration with national/local governments;

Firm resolve/evidence by government to enhance local living standards (United Nations, 2010: 88).

Participatory local governance has to within a realistic period translate to efficient, effective and responsive service delivery and an improved standard of living for the local citizenry.

Towards the sustainable development goals

Municipalities internationally are critical to activities for enhancing development and facilitating growth, and at the same time, making certain that there is ongoing progress towards the attainment of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The vision globally is to develop a public governance system that has the capability to transform international consensus into local deeds and ultimately concrete results for local communities (United Nations, 2013: 1). Good local governance, visionary, legitimate and credible leadership are critical to attaining sustainable equitable people centred development for the SDGs. Local governance and more specifically local growth is critical to translating the international development agenda to reality locally. The local sphere within a defined legal framework and resultant statutory functions provides a vibrant formal base to co-ordinate local initiatives and activities and develop a linkage between local, national, continental and international goals, and in doing so being a pivotal reference point for advancing local development and the SDGs (UNDP in Reddy, 2015: 339). Post conflict countries globally have not recorded any progress on the MDGs or of late SDGs thereby impacting negatively on human development (UNDP, 2010b: 4; Saferworld, 2014: 1–2).

South Africa post 1994: Towards constitutionalized, democratized local governance

Local government democratised/restructured and transformed

The then new 1994 democratic South African Government energetically commenced with a post conflict recovery process following almost forty eight years of apartheid rule which impacted on virtually every aspect of societal life. The Government embarked on a wide ranging negotiation process for a post-apartheid constitution that also sought to at the same time address the popular demand for decentralisation to promote socio-economic development (United Nations, 2010: 91). A fundamental principle governing negotiations then, was the need to mobilise the populace towards empowering the local citizenry and eradicating apartheid in whatever form, more specifically the then segregated and ‘group areas’.

The 1996 Constitution provided for strong and entrenched local government (Picard and Mogale, 2015: 158). Chapter 7 of the Constitution demarcated local government, providing for three municipal categories, i.e. metropolitan (A) discharging all powers, local (B) sharing of powers and creating a district (C) (Bekink, 2006: 114). It was supplemented and reinforced by Chapters 3, detailing co-operative government values and 13 highlighting the basics of local government financing. Other Acts impacting on the day-to-day activities of local government are highlighted shortly. Local government was expected to prioritise basic needs in its localities by discharging several supporting functions for the higher spheres of government. This implies subsidiarity where the lowest level of government with the requisite capacity implements government policy (Picard and Mogale, 2015: 158).

Transitional councils were introduced in the early 1990s in the pre-interim phase and the original 1000 municipalities inherited were reduced to 843 during the interim phase. Transitional council elections held in six Provinces in November 1995 and Kwazulu Natal in May/June 1996 were historic, being part of the post 1994 dispensation (Reddy and Naidu, 2012: 91). Despite a third of the electorate being rural communities, limited provision was made for them. The new councillors discovered thereafter that there was no administrative infrastructure to facilitate their work and the mobilisation of local communities had to be done through traditional leaders (Picard and Mogale, 2015: 168).

‘Developmental local government’ in the Constitution (Chapter 7) was defined and elaborated on in the White Paper on Local Government (Republic of South Africa, 1998). The seven year transition period ended after the second demarcation process and elections were held in December 2000 (Steytler, 2005: 188). The March 2006 elections gave some firm overall indication of the success or otherwise of the post 1994 local government dispensation, that is, its effectiveness and overall impact. Municipalities were reduced to 278 (now 257) in preparation for elections held in May 2011. The November 1995, May/June 1996, December 2000, March 2006, May 2011 (Thornhill and Cloete, 2014: 4), and August 2016 elections bear ample testament to free and fair elections being held regularly post 1994. Local democracy is deeply embedded in the governmental system (Reddy, 2010: 66).

In pre and post 1994, certain key policy/legislative enactments introduced sought to democratise, transform and ensure that a responsive local governance system was in place. This included chronologically (Reddy, 2015: 325; Reddy and Naidu, 2012: 7; Siddle and Koelble, 2012: 82–83; Thornhill and Cloete, 2014: 106–108; Van der Waldt, 2014a: X1–X11, 16) the Local Government Transition Act of 1996; Interim Constitution of South Africa Act of 1994; Development and Facilitation Act of 1995; Electoral Commission Act of 1996; Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act of 1996; Organised Local Government Act of 1997; Batho Pele Principles (1997); Local Government: Municipal Electoral Act of 2000; National Framework for Public Participation (2007); Electoral Act of 1998; Local Government White Paper (1998); Local Government: Municipal Structures Act of 1998; Local Government: Municipal Demarcation Act of 1998; Municipal Electoral Act of 2000; Local Government: Municipal Systems Act of 2000; Municipal Financial Management Act of 2003; Disaster Management Act of 2002; Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act of 2003; Municipal Property Rating Act of 2004; Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act of 2005; Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations Act of 2007; and Municipal Fiscal Powers and Functions Act of 2007.

Rural areas incorporated as part of the broader democratisation and transformation process provided connotation and perspective to the conception of ‘wall-to-wall’ local government nationally. The implication was that all parts of the country were part of the jurisdiction of municipalities (Van der Waldt, 2014a: 17) and an attempt was made to bridge the urban–rural divide as the latter in these municipal areas could benefit equally from the process. Two strategic issues of non-racialism and local democracy initially prioritised have since been addressed post 1994. Several other challenges have since constrained the post 1994 system; the major one being the consolidated municipalities had to take on the additional burden of extending municipal facilities to the new jurisdictions with limited financial support (Buhlungu and Atkinson in Reddy, 2015: 326). However, this was expected given historical developmental backlogs in rural areas, where local government was non-existent previously during the apartheid era (Van der Waldt, 2014a: 14). Municipalities have to work around this issue daily that is public expectations from the indigent and marginalised for basic services and the declining financial base (Picard and Mogale, 2015: 171; Siddle and Koelble, 2012: 3). Equitable and sustainable service delivery to areas incorporated recently is an ongoing challenge and has yet to be addressed as a significant number of the local residents are unemployed, or are unwilling to pay (Thornhill, 2013: 1; Van der Waldt, 2014a: 17).

Party politics is deep-rooted in the local government system and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has been in power since 1994. The Democratic Alliance (DA), the Official Opposition, has since taken control of the Western Cape Province, including local government. However, the politicisation of local government has also created its own set of challenges, as discussed later.

Developmental decentralised local governance

The strategy declaration for the ANC in the watershed 1994 elections was the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) (Reddy and Naidu, 2012: 93). It was the base document for the steering in of developmental local government conceptualised as (Republic of South Africa, 1998: 17) ‘committed to working with citizens and groups within the community to find sustainable ways to meet their social, economic and material needs and improve the quality of their lives’. Local government is the main conduit for responding to basic local needs and consequently this has transformed the role and priorities of the third sphere of government. An enabling and innovative local governance system has to be in place relative to outcomes. The White Paper (Republic of South Africa, 1998) viewed municipalities as mechanisms for planning, co-ordination and mobilisation, and critical for local economic development and integrated development. However, according to Picard and Mogale (2015: 162), the White Paper was protracted on policy, but short on implementation strategies.

An integrated development plan is a legal prerequisite for municipalities and it has to be jointly developed with all strategic stakeholders/role-players as part of the new legislative and policy framework (Venter, 2014b: 102). Key to facilitating the process was the creation of the Integrated Development Representative Forum consisting of a wide range of role-players/stakeholders, including inter alia, municipal functionaries; traditional leaders; representatives from organised groups/formations and resource persons (United Nations, 2010: 91). Consequently, an inclusive platform is provided for joint local negotiations/decision-making. This has also facilitated effective communication between all the key role-players/stakeholders and ongoing monitoring of the development/implementation processes. Local communities are empowered to participate in socio-economic and political decisions impacting on their lives. Overall, the Forum institutionalised participatory decision-making relative to local governance and enhanced peaceful interaction, particularly at the local level (United Nations, 2010: 91).

Local government post 1994: Challenges and the way forward

Introduction

Local government performance especially in the past decade has been receiving extensive media coverage for inter alia, poor service delivery/public protests; fiscal challenges and poor audit outcomes; lack of capacity; grossly inadequate investment in infrastructure; corruption/abuse of political power/political infighting/factionalism; and loss of values/ethics among the political class (Picard and Mogale, 2015: 249; Reddy, 2015: 334–336; Siddle and Koelble, 2012: 1; Venter, 2014a: 98–99). Local government has made some progress and political gains post 1994, and some municipalities have performed well, despite the constraints. However, there are severe challenges impacting on the basic functionality and financial sustainability of municipalities that require immediate attention. Local government capacity to deliver on its constitutional mandate, and particularly basic services, has been questioned by local communities and concerned groupings (Bardhil and Hamza, 2015: 309; Picard and Mogale, 2015: 173; Reddy, 2015: 335; Tshishonga, 2015b). The continuing service delivery protests/demonstrations over the past two decades against debauched governance needs an urgent response, as local government has been operational within a constitutionalised and very advanced and enabling policy/legislative structure. Government has acknowledged some of the challenges and has intervened nationally, provincially and locally to stabilise municipalities and improve local governance. There have been several initiatives by Government in the past two decades to improve municipal performance and enhance service delivery, namely Project Consolidate (1997), Local Government Turnaround Strategy (2010); Operation Clean Audit (2014) and Back to Basics Programme in Local Government (2014), none of which have actually had any impact on local government performance.

State of local government: What went wrong and government’s response?

Government publicly acknowledged in 2009 that local government has failed to discharge its basic functions, and consequently a comprehensive shift was needed to ensure that the system was back on track again. Key aspects highlighted in the 2009 Report (Republic of South Africa, 2009: 17–18) was governance/leadership failures; mammoth backlogs in service delivery; corruption; weak financial management; scarce skills/limited capacity/poor training; ineffective performance management and large number of vacancies (Picard and Mogale, 2015: 171, 174; Venter, 2014a: 98–100). Other deficiencies included (Republic of South Africa, 2010: 3) defects in the local government system; legislative/policy concerns; political dynamics; poor accountability; capacity limitations; poor oversight and intergovernmental support and resultant challenges. As indicated above, several governmental initiatives were introduced to capacitate and strengthen local government (Republic of South Africa, 2010: 17–18).

An efficient, effective, responsive, accountable local government system, not tainted by corruption constituted the base of the Local Government Turnaround Strategy (LGTS). It sought to respond to those aspects undermining local government, through improved service delivery planning/oversight; addressing legislative/institutional weaknesses; enhancing co-ordination; firming up labour relations; ensuring administrative stabilisation/professionalisation; centred governance; dedicated LED focus and remodelling the intergovernmental fiscal system (Republic of South Africa, 2009: 29–41; Venter, 2014a: 98–101). However, Government interventions introduced over the years including Project Consolidate, the Five Year Strategic Local Government Agenda, Local Government Turnaround Strategy and the Back to Basics Programme was not successful as the foremost challenges was not acknowledged and addressed, namely blatant politicisation and resultant weak municipal leadership. Furthermore, the absence of co-ordinated action by the three spheres compounded the problem (Reddy, 2015: 328–329).

Government in response to recurrent poor audit outcomes in municipalities by the Auditor General and the resultant poor financial management introduced the Operation Clean Audit Programme to ensure that all provinces/municipalities have clean audits by 2014 (Thornhill and Cloete, 2014: 94, 118). The Programme had limited success due to capacity limitations (Department Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, 2010; Independent on Saturday in Reddy, 2015: 329). Municipal Public Accounts Committees (MPACs) were introduced in municipalities to enhance financial management. A Municipal Infrastructure Agent was created on May 2012 (Hartley, 2014: 11) to provide additional technical support and facilitate development in localities. A need exists for greater resourcefulness and creativity in forging partnerships with the private/NGO sectors to enhance service delivery (Johnson in Reddy and Naidu, 2012: 96–97; Thornhill and Cloete, 2014: 123).

Key challenges: Charting the way forward

Politicisation of municipalities

Booysen (in Reddy, 2016a: 5) has pointed out that municipal politicisation has resulted in poor service delivery and loss of confidence in the system by local communities Politicisation is the ‘substitution of political for merit-based criteria in the selection, retention, promotion and rewards and disciplining of members of the public service’ (Pieter and Pierre in Tshishonga, 2015a: 130). ‘Cadre deployment’ as a guiding principle of the ruling Party has also compounded the problem, particularly where there were no skills assessment done of the elected/appointed candidates. According to Siddle and Koelble (2012: 118), cadre deployment basically connotes a practice where party loyalists are ‘deployed’ to public sector positions, based on political dependability rather than their appropriateness. Appointments made initially to address the issue of representativity of the municipal bureaucracy progressively graduated to rewarding party loyalists with jobs. Politicisation/cadre deployment has been widespread at the municipal level where unsuitable appointments, low morale, poor discipline and ineffectual staff are some of the challenges (Siddle and Koelble, 2012: 117). Thornhill (2013: 1) has alluded to this pointing out that executive appointments are generally made on the basis of political affiliation implying that municipal managers and chief financial officers might not have the required expertise to address fiscal challenges (Thornhill and Cloete, 2014: 143). Stability on the politics/administrative interface and a reduction of the politicisation of senior/executive appointments in municipalities was alluded to in the National Development Plan, as critical to addressing the dysfunctionality in local government (Zybrands in Reddy, 2016a: 5). Executive municipal functionaries should have the required vision and passion to improve delivery and enhance the quality of localities. Deployees of political parties to municipalities should be committed to the task on hand and ensure that they discharge their political/developmental mandate to the best of their ability (Reddy, 2016a: 7).

Capacitation/skills development

Basic capacity has to be in place to ensure that local democracy has the resultant impact on local communities and localities. Even a political team that has noble intentions cannot overcome incompetent administration (Siddle and Koelble, 2012: 201). However, politicised recruitment heightened by poor training, mismatch between post and skills requirements; low morale, lack of interest and commitment; dysfunctional staff; limited investment in human resources; weak leadership/management/technical expertise; non-stipulation of basic competencies for strategic positions are some of the concerns highlighted (Tshishonga, 2015a: 131; SALGA in Reddy, 2015: 328). Municipalities are hamstrung by critical executive appointments/vacancies/dismissals due to blatant politicisation in recruitment practices which has resulted in constrained capability for retaining/attracting technical skills and performance management being compromised as alluded to by Ajam (in Reddy, 2015: 335). The overall vacancies for municipal managers and chief financial officers in 2011/2012 were 21% and 23% respectively and the posts have been vacant for a year (Auditor-General’s Report in Bardhil and Hamza, 2015: 309).

Local government training has not been formally evaluated and consequentially remedial action, if required was not taken (Financial and Fiscal Commission, 2012: 2). Substantial financial investment in skills and capacity development over the years has yet to translate to an efficient and response workforce or enhanced service delivery (Picard and Mogale, 2015: 173).

Bardhil and Hamza (2015: 310) highlighted several initiatives undertaken to remedy the situation, namely a performance management system; standards setting and a ‘hands on approach for professional development and capacity development’. The first initiative focused on guaranteed professional levels of performance to agreed standards while the second focused on the professional regulation of requirements nationally for office bearers, through the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act of 2011 and Municipal Regulations on Minimum Competency Levels (2007). Project Consolidate, the third initiative concentrated on the short-term deployment of technical experts to respond to capacity challenges in designated municipalities (Bardhil and Hamza, 2015: 312–313).

Government (Republic of South Africa, 2011: 365–368) was of the view that a merit-based recruitment system clearly linked to career pathing; skills improvement and enhanced professionalisation is a priority in local government. The most skilled and capable municipal functionaries have to be recruited, retained and developed to enhance responsive, effective and efficient service delivery. In this context, Picard and Mogale (2015: 211) point out that the success of any government depends on addressing recruitment problems and consequently if local government has to succeed, it needs to gain access to skilled staff.

Corruption/fraud

The local government sphere is characterised by a dearth or lack of ethical conduct, integrity and good governance by municipal functionaries who are generally viewed as unresponsive, dismissive and corrupt (Mle, 2015: 148; Picard and Mogale, 2015: 164; Siddle and Koelble, 2012: 200). The trust and confidence of local communities has yet to be won in a local government context as nepotism, patronage and corruption are unacceptably high (Reddy, 2010: 81). Corruption diverts resources away from local development and certain individuals or elite groups are given preferential treatment thus eroding confidence in the system. Violent community protests and demonstrations against municipal service delivery, maladministration and corruption are a daily occurrence. Adverse audit opinions are also testimony of the absence of poor governance, professionalism, ethics and integrity (Kondlo and Maserumule in Mle, 2015: 118). The corruption culture has become deeply rooted in post conflict societies and it will take a considerable amount of time before it is completely eradicated. Recognising the corrosive effect of corruption, many post conflict governments have established anti-corruption institutions; however, they have failed to address the issue and unfortunately South Africa falls in that category (DBSA, 2011: 30). The UNDP (2010a: 8) adds that a strategic aspect of the rebuilding process is securing good governance, more specifically through a responsive and anti-corruption framework. Consequently, there has to be resolve to eradicate corruption and enhance equitable service delivery continentally and in South Africa (UNPAD/Pan African Parliament in Reddy, 2015: 339).

Effective monitoring/evaluation (M and E)

Municipalities nationally are still demystifying and unpacking the process of monitoring and evaluation, despite it being a government priority nationally (Govender and Reddy, 2014: 176). It needs to extend beyond being a compliance issue with emphasis being placed on receptive operative delivery of basic services for the attainment of local development mandates through good governance. Good governance in a South African context denotes the commitment of municipal functionaries to comply with the policies/legislation impacting on performance for an improved society (Govender, 2015: 92). Municipalities need to develop capacity for M and E thereby ensuring that they have a strategic approach to the process. The then Department of Provincial and Local Government (Govender, 2015: 92) emphasised that a collaborative governance approach should be adopted ensuring that policies/programmes/projects are managed through a system of monitoring and evaluation which prioritises enhanced governance, service delivery and performance

Poor public accountability

Public accountability provisions at the local level have been well documented in sections 152 (1) and (139) of the Constitution. Powerful interest/pressure groups namely, the ruling Party; Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party have signified that service delivery protests nationally demonstrate that municipal functionaries are not receptive to local needs and there is no or limited public accountability. The culture of public accountability internally within municipalities and externally to the role-players/stakeholders (local communities and political parties) has yet to be taken seriously and this needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency (Picard and Mogale, 2015: 171). According to Siddle and Koelble (2012: 200), public accountability channels have been created; however, enforcement is a challenge, particularly in relation to prosecuting corrupt officials. There is a lack of will as it implies that the ruling Party would have to prosecute many of its local activists and operatives.

Lacking political and management will

Political and management will is imperative at the municipal level to address challenges of local government (Bardhil and Hamza, 2015: 316; Picard and Mogale, 2015: 250). If concerted action is not taken by the political parties and high-ranking municipal functionaries, the political gains made post 1994 are likely to be diminished resulting in minimal local engagement and a disillusioned, cynical and apathetic electorate. Firm and decisive action is required on governance issues namely, by-laws implementation; corruption; poor performance; non-payment and backlogs in basic services (Reddy, 2015: 336, 338).

The political and management will by executive municipal functionaries to facilitate infrastructural development and respond to local development challenges will ensure the success of localities. The global picture emerging is that the country can become a continental powerhouse economically and politically. The 2010 World Soccer Cup hosted by South Africa was a tremendous success due to high levels of political and management commitment at the local level (Reddy, 2015: 336). A similar commitment to creative and positive energy for supporting and resourcing local government to respond to basic delivery challenges will certainly strengthen and contribute to good local governance.

Developmental local government/decentralisation: Quo vadis?

Picard and Mogale (2015: 165) divided the evolution of institutionalised decentralisation into three parts namely, ushering in of the Interim Constitution (1994); the 1996 Constitution which introduced the unitary system of government and post 2000 when a series of legislative decisions and executive actions streamlined local government and strengthened control over municipalities. The majority of munici-palities nationally have yet to improve service delivery despite local government having the status ‘developmental’. Rural municipalities have been particularly disadvantaged, given the limited pool of employees to cater for rapidly urbanising communities.

Public participation, consultation and community engagement, despite being legislated for is a symbolic and compliance issue. Public participation has not been effectively achieved, despite all the legislation, policies and participation mechanisms (Picard and Mogale, 2015: 171) This then places a question mark on the authenticity of such municipal initiatives (Buccus in Reddy, 2015: 331–332). Integrated development planning and municipal budgets are supposedly discussed at advertised scheduled public meetings; however, there is a very limited discussion and dialogue, and the municipalities generally use it as an opportunity to distribute information on its structures, systems and modus operandi (Reddy and Naidu, 2012: 102). Fiscal decentralisation, given the crucial significance for basic municipal service delivery poses a particular challenge for citizen participation as a result of its technical complexity. Participation tends to exclude the vast majority of local citizens despite paying taxes and consuming services as it is restricted to select groups and individuals (Kumar and Balwanth, 2015: 202–203). They alluded to the fact that participation has been legislated for, but effective implementation has yet to take place. It would appear that the groundwork for effective and vibrant participation has been laid, but it will be some time before the desired outcomes are delivered.

Decentralisation, as a basic component of developmental local government, enhances and complements participatory local democracy in responding to basic needs; however, there is a gap in praxis, characteristic of the public sector post 1994. Decentralisation implementation has been a challenge due to lack of competence/skills; unfunded mandates; institutionally/financially weak provinces; limited involvement in development locally and poor capacity to monitor by national/provincial government in terms of an oversight role. These challenges can be addressed by (UNDP and CLGF/UNCDF in Reddy, 2015: 332) prioritising basic local needs; reducing corruption; promoting efficiency/effectiveness and public accountability; enhancing performance/professionalism; improving oversight nationally/provincially and local partnerships solidification (local communities, civil society and local government). Siddle and Koelble (2012: 201) are also of the view that the dearth of capacity and a substantial injection of skilled staff at the local sphere are the constraints to decentralisation.

Local Economic Development (LED) is an integrated, multidisciplinary approach targeting poverty alleviation through pro-poor growth by supporting sustainable municipal activities. It is intersectoral and the responsibility of all governmental spheres, the private sector (corporate social responsibility) and non-governmental organisations which are community based (Van der Waldt, 2014b: 160). It is key to developmental local government as it enables the creation of jobs; alleviation of poverty and increasing the financial base of municipalities. LED implementation challenges are

limited understanding of LED/processes;

need for greater integration/co-operation between stakeholders/sector depart-ments;

revitalising the provincial role;

gaps in LED practice being closed between large/small municipalities;

information on good practices not being disseminated;

ensuring professionalisation of LED through capacity development/developing professional careers;

developing LED networks/sustainable knowledge platforms for systemic learning;

LED funding and economic data enhancement for LED planning/understanding local economies;

business support services/entrepreneurial skills are very poor;

private investment lacking in job-richsectors;

formal/informal business interaction limited; and

inability to advance LED strategy in IDP (Report on the Strategic Review of Local Government in South Africa in Koma (2016: 259); SALGA and Phutiagae in Reddy, 2016b: 97; Van der Waldt, 2014b: 153).

Political stability, good governance and a municipal vision are critical for LED success which has to be a local priority in terms of enhancing the fiscal base of municipalities and responding to unemployment and poverty challenges.

South Africa as a developmental state does have adequate capability to drive an inclusive transformative and sustainable human development agenda presently and in the future (Reddy, 2015: 334). However, a progressive link has to be created between developmental local government and the developmental state which by implication means responding to basic needs in localities. It is acknowledged that managing expectations in a changing environment in post conflict societies can be complex as basic needs are massive and requires some urgency, and on the other extreme there are inadequate resources and fragile public institutions. Consequently, it will be difficult to achieve success on persistent demand in a short period. Municipal functionaries have to engage meaningfully with divergent role-players/stakeholders thereby monitoring public perceptions with a view to a common understanding of the priorities/challenges (UNDP, 2010a: 4). The country needs to achieve ‘good enough governance’ at the local sphere through a framework suitable for its needs and capacity implemented in such a manner that it avoids making ‘the best the enemy of the good’ (Siddle and Koelble, 2012: 227).

Conclusion

South Africa has attained local democracy more than twenty-three years ago through a process of reform and transformation guided by a set of policies/legislation that has served as its overarching framework. Local government constitutionalised and conceptualised, as ‘developmental’ has yet to discharge its mandate detailed in the Constitution and White Paper on Local Government. The post 1994 historical backlogs has yet to be addressed; however, it seems that governmental action in responding to these issues are inadequate, given the increasing service delivery protests nationally, which are a daily occurrence. Municipalities have to be more open, accountable and responsive to the local populace relative to service delivery and more broadly virtuous local governance. A large number of municipalities are dysfunctional nationally due to local government politicisation, resulting in continuing public protests against their non-performance. The non-existence of the required governmental resolve to take firm and conclusive action on key local governance issues has aggravated the situation and further contributed to municipal failure leading to a cynical local electorate who have lost confidence in the system.

Local communities have to be educated on civic obligations, commencing at a grassroots level. Given that councillors render account only to their political parties, the proportional representative electoral system has to be urgently reviewed as public accountability and civic engagement has been severely comprised in the electoral system.

Limited or no LED and the resultant high unemployment rate has been a constraint on the majority of rural municipalities becoming financially viable. If local government is still viewed as the vehicle for change in delivering an enhanced quality of life in previously disadvantaged localities, then drastic action has to be taken in responding to issues highlighted and ensuring that local government gravitates back to basics in terms of provision of services. Local government has to be nurtured and sustained politically, managerially and financially if it is going to impact profoundly on localities in South Africa.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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