Policy Process on the System of Provincial and Local Government: A Presentation on the Background to Policy Questions, Process and Participation[1] By Ms Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela, Director-General: Provincial & Local Government Pretoria, 31st July 2007

SUMMARY

Decentralized local government has played a valuable role in supporting the implementation of national and provincial programmes and in discharging its own assigned duties. But there are policy aspects that have to be improved.

At a provincial level, many provinces have displayed the ability and potential to perform a valuable and innovative role in discharging their powers and functions, and mediating a positive relationship between national and local government. However, challenges remain.

National government will need to re-assess its support role to provinces and municipalities and some of the functions that it currently discharges, as they relate to provincial and local government.


CONTEXT

The advent of democracy in 1994 saw South Africa emerge as “one, sovereign, democratic state” and being “constituted as national, provincial and local spheres of government which are distinctive, interdependent and interrelated”. The current governance model, according to the Constitution (1996) is premised on the principles of cooperative government, even though each sphere of government has distinctive functional responsibilities.

Rationale for policy process

Local government underwent a lengthy process of transition that eventually resulted in the establishment of the new system of local government. Provincial government, by contrast, was established as a result of a negotiated settlement. Whilst the Constitution created the provincial sphere of government, with particular powers and functions, there was no coherent policy or framework to guide its evolution.

It is within this context that Cabinet mandated the Department of Provincial and Local Government to initiate a process of developing a White Paper on Provincial Government and reviewing the White Paper on Local Government.

This review process is by no means an indication of failure by any of the spheres of government nor does it question their existence. Many countries, within the developed and developing world, undertake similar processes in order to balance the governance systems with the demands of the electorate. Notwithstanding the review process, our Government has, in the past 13 years as a fledgling democracy, achieved significant successes, particularly with regard to the provision of basic services to the majority of the previously deprived communities. Having regard to the above, government now seeks to refine this system so that it can accelerate the pace and quality of development to higher levels.

Also, we have learnt useful lessons from specific programmes and interventions, such as Project Consolidate in 2004. At that point, we indicated that our interventions are two-fold. Firstly, we continue to engage the whole of government, the private sector and other development agencies to develop the capacity of municipalities to perform their mandate. We also indicated that, in addition to this, we will undertake a process of refining policy, fiscal and institutional matters to enable the consolidation of the local government system in the medium to long-term.

Improving Local Government

Since the introduction of the local system of government in 2000, many pieces of local government legislation, guided by the Constitution (1996) and the White Paper on Local Government (1998), were developed, such as :-

  • Municipal Demarcation Act (1998)

 

  • Municipal Structures Act (1998)

 

  • Municipal Systems Act (2000)

 

  • Disaster Management Act (2002)

 

  • Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act (2003)

 

  • Municipal Finance Management Act (2003)

 

  • Municipal Property Rates Act (2004)

 

  • Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act (2005)

 

There is no doubt that some in-roads have been made by government in the fight against poverty. For example, with regard to basic local services, the following achievements have been recorded:

  • Access to water: 59% of households had access to water in 1994, and this has increased to 86% in 2007.

 

  • Access to sanitation: The access to sanitation increased from 48% of households in 1999 to 73% in 2007.

 

  • Access to electricity: In 1994, 30% of households in South Africa had access to electricity and, in 2006 this increased to 73%.

 

  • Housing: Since 1994 to 2007, 2,35 million housing units were completed.

 

Some of the emerging policy questions and proposals focus on the following:

  • Community involvement, improvement in the quality of local democracy, municipal responsiveness and accountability

 

  • Meaningful partnerships with community organizations, labour organizations, and the private sector

 

  • Functional and structural challenges of the 3 categories of municipalities (Metros, Districts & Locals)

 

  • The importance of the environment in the context of sustainable development

 

  • Financial and revenue generation

 

  • Local Economic Development

 

Provincial Government

 

  • Given that local democracy has generated new opportunities for more responsive and efficient governance, a clear and coherent framework is critical. Some of the emerging policy questions and proposals, therefore, focus on:

 

  • The role of the provincial sphere (purpose, structure and functions, number, sources of funding)

 

  • Legislative functions, if any

 

  • Potential synergies within and between geographical spaces/ spheres that could result in improved developmental imperatives.

 

National Government

 

As we may all know, the economic outlook for the country is positive, with the real GDP growth showing an increase from 3.12% (2003) to 5% (2006), and forecasted to reach 5.4% in 2009. The national efforts to also share this growth are espoused by the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative-South Africa (ASGI-SA). Some of the emerging policy questions and proposals are focused on:

 

  • Ensuring effective intergovernmental relations for improved development

 

  • Authority and accountability mechanisms

 

  • Reviewing Powers and Functions

 

Some of the emerging questions and policy proposals in this area of focus on powers and functions allocated to the three spheres of government are based on:

 

  • The appropriate location of functional responsibilities between spheres

 

  • An evaluation of the concurrency principle and its’ appropriateness

 

  • Improving Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation

 

Some of the emerging questions and policy proposals focus on:

 

  • Integrating plans and frameworks to achieve the national vision (National Spatial Development Perspective, Provincial Growth & Development Strategy, Integrated Development Plan)

 

  • Effective contribution of Provincial Growth & Development Strategies to economic growth and social development

 

  • Addressing semi-urban and rural characteristics of municipal areas

 

  • Coordinating, monitoring and evaluation of service delivery and development

 

Policy Process

 

Following public inputs from August until 31 October, and further extensive research, a Green Paper on Provincial Government and a discussion document on Local Government will be published by December 2007. After the Green Paper has been commented on and inputs received from the public, work will commence on the final White Paper by mid 2008.