Decentralisation Afrique Du Sud

7/30/2019 Decentralisation Afrique Du Sud

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Area : 1 221 040 sqkmPopulation : 47 430 000 inhbts

Density : 38,9 ctzns/km2Average growth: 0,8 %

FOCUS

Local democracy and Capacity strengthening for Communities

The 1995 Community Elections were widely seen to be the closing chapter in South Africa'stransition to democracy. These elections provided citizens with a direct and equal voice ingovernment at the most basic level. They were also seen as the vehicle, which would restore

to local government the legitimacy necessary to begin the process of reconstruction anddevelopment.In his State of the Nation address on 14 February 2003, President Thabo Mbeki identified theneed for a new public service echelon of multi-skilled community development workers(CDW). Deficiencies in service delivery to communities were revealed and a need wasidentified to examine where the state currently stands regarding delivery of services to thepoor and how service delivery can be improved. The programme thus envisaged to deployCDWs to maintain direct contact with the people where they live and to ensure thatgovernment sharply improves the qualities of the outcomes of public expenditure and thedelivery of essential services. This approach was also formulated on the need to makeinformation accessible to the people at points that are most accessible to communities.The implementation of the CDW programme is coordinated by all three spheres ofgovernment (National, Provincial and Local). The Department of Provincial and LocalGovernment facilitates the relationships between these three spheres around CDWs whilethe Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) is responsible for the overallcoordination of the programme. Provincial Administration are the employers of the CDWswhile the South Africa Local Government Association (SALGA) and the municipalities,among other things, provide the workplace for the CDWs and create the necessaryenvironment for them to perform their duties. Finally, Provincial Local GovernmentAssociations and the offices of the speakers within the municipalities are tasked withoverseeing the creation of an enabling environment for the CDWs. The programme hascommenced in all provinces with initial training of CDWs before their deployment intocommunities.

SOUTH AFRICA Capital : Tshwane


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GENERAL INDICATORS

Human Development

HDI 0,666

Total GDP (millions $US) 501 667

GDP/per capita (units of $ US) 10 603

Annual Growth (2001) 3,7

Life Expectancy 49 ,0

Literacy (%) Men 84,1

Women 80,9

Access Internet/1000 ctzn) 68,20

Decentralization

Communalized Population 100%

Average Communal area

Urban Population 56,9

Number and Tiers of local governments Provinces 9

Metropolitan

Municipality (Cat. A).

6

Local Municipality

(Cat. B)

231

I- The decentralisation policy

Evaluation:The administrative organisation is all geared towards decentralisation. The process hasbenefited from the new era of democratisation since the end of the Apartheid policy. The newlegal framework ensures the vertical division of powers between the three ties of governance.The administrative arrangements are consistently geared towards ensuring the cooperationbetween the governance tiers with respect to their autonomies.

Indicators:

1.1. Establishment of the LG system : 1.2. Consistency of the legal framework:1.3. Consistency of administrative arrangements:

The establishment of the local governance systemPrior to 1994, the vast majority of SouthAfricans were denied access toopportunities, and forced to live in povertyand underdevelopment. Under thedecentralization policy of the apartheidgovernment, various own managementstructures were introduced for blackresidents at a local level. Bantustans wereestablished, where traditional leaders weregiven powers over land allocation anddevelopment matters in areas communallyowned. These Bantustans however,distorted the national space economy, andtogether with influx control laws, underinvestment in infrastructure and inferioreducation served to create a situation ofmass unemployment and poverty in thecountry. The Community Councilsintroduced in 1977 were elected bodiesbut also had no political credibility or

meaningful powers. In 1982, theCommunity Councils were replaced byBlack Local Authorities (BLAs). The BLAs

had no significant revenue base and wererejected by the majority of the communitiesit supposedly represented.Since 1994 the government has been on avigorous transformation process toaddress the imbalances of the apartheidera. The transformation process wasbroadly outlined in the Reconstruction andDevelopment Programme (RDP). TheRDP was underpinned by the vision of Abetter life for all. The RDP containedinterrelated objectives of meeting peoplesbasic needs, building the economy,democratizing the state and society,developing human resources, and buildingthe nation. The RDP set out the socialdevelopment targets for the country andlaid the context for a people-centredapproach to development including theestablishment of a developmental local

government system. The White Paper onLocal Government outlines thecharacteristics and outcomes of


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developmental local government system,which provides the legislative framework

for local government.

The Legal frameworkLocal government is enshrined in Chapter7 of the Constitution. Section 152 of theConstitution defines the objectives of localgovernment as:

- To provide democratic andaccountable government;- To ensure the provision of services ina sustainable manner;- To promote social and economicdevelopment and a safe and healthyenvironment;

- And to encourage the involvement ofcommunities and community organizations

in the matters of local government.

-To achieve the objectives of localgovernment as outlined in the constitution,various pieces of legislation which havebeen enacted. These include:

- The Municipal Structures Act (1998),- The Municipal Demarcations Act(1998),- The Municipal Systems Act (2000),

-The Municipal FinanceManagement Act (2003) (MFMA)

- The Municipal Property Rating Act(2004).

The Administrative OrganisationBased on the constitution South Africa is aunitary state subdivided into nineprovinces. The Constitution makesprovision for three distinctive but inter-dependent and inter-related spheres ofgovernment; namely: national, provincialand local government. While each spherehas exclusive powers and functions, theyalso share concurrent powers.

There are nine provinces in South Africa,namely: Gauteng, Eastern Cape, FreeState, KwaZulu Natal, Mpumalanga,Northern Cape, North West Province,Limpopo and Western Cape.Each Province has a unicamerallegislature with representatives electedaccording to proportional representationfor a term of five years. ProvincialPremiers are elected by the legislatureand Provincial Ministers (MECs) areappointed by the Premier.

The changes brought about by thelegislation include the rationalization ofmunicipalities from 843 to 248 and theestablishment of three categories ofmunicipalities. Category A comprised ofself-standing municipalities referred to asmetropolitan municipalities. Category Bmunicipalities are local municipalities andthe Category C are district municipalities.There are six metropolitan municipalitiesand 231 local municipalities under 47districts.

Special StatusMetropolitan municipalities (Cat. A):The six biggest cities of the country areunder the (Category A) Metropolitanmunicipality status. They have more than500 000 voters and the metropolitanmunicipality co-ordinates the delivery ofservices to the whole area. There aremetropolitan municipalities in

Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban,Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and the EastRand. These municipalities are broken intowards. Half the councillors are electedthrough a proportional representationballot, where voters vote for a party. Theother half are elected as ward councillorsby the residents in each ward.

Local municipalities (Category B):Areas that fall outside of the sixmetropolitan municipal areas are divided

into local municipalities. There are a totalof 231 of these local municipalities andeach municipality is broken into wards.The residents in each ward arerepresented by a ward councillor. Onlypeople who live in low population areas,like game parks, do not fall under localmunicipalities. The areas are called DistrictManagement Areas and fall directly underthe District Municipality. Half thecouncillors are elected through aproportional representation ballot, where

voters vote for a party. The other half are


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elected as ward councillors by the residents in each ward.

Table 1 : Administrative and territorial organisation

Territorial Division Local Govt Constituency Delib. Organ Executive Organ

Name. No

Provinces 9 Yes No Provincial Assembly Provincial Premier

MetropolitanMunicipality (Cat. A)

6 Yes No Metropolitan Council Mayor

Local Municipality

(Cat. B)

231 Yes No Municipal Council Mayor

District Municipality

(Cat. C)

47 Yes No District Council Mayor

Ward No Yes Ward Committee Chairperson

District municipalities (Category C):District municipalities are made up of anumber of local municipalities that fall inone district. There are usually between 4 -6 local municipalities that come together in

a district council. Some districtmunicipalities also include nature reservesand the areas where few people live -

these are called district managementareas. They fall directly under the districtcouncil and have no local council. Thedistrict municipality has to co-ordinate

development and delivery in the wholedistrict. It has its own administration (staff).

Ward CommitteesWard committees may also be set up inmunicipalities where the ward committeemodel is being used. The purpose of award committee is to:

- get better participation from thecommunity to inform council decisions,- make sure that there is more effective

communication between the council andthe community,- assist the ward councillor withconsultation and report-backs to thecommunity

Ward committees are elected by thecommunity they serve. A ward committeemay not have more than 10 members andwomen should be well represented. Theward councillor also serves on the wardcommittee and should act as thechairperson. Ward committees have no

formal powers but can advise the wardcouncillor or make submissions directly tocouncil. It should also participate indrawing up the integrated developmentplan of the area.

II- The implementation strategy

Evaluation:The process has got an implementation planning in the first phases. The transfer competencies isquite effective and the national spatial planning is connected to LGs planning policies. There is areal co-ordination between local, provincial and national government with the Ministry forprovincial and local government playing a role of first-aid worker.

Indicators:

2.1. Implementation planning :2.2. Transfer of competencies and sector-based policies:2.3. Structuring of decentralization and spatial planning:2.4. Technical support and M&E of the process:

The decentralization implementation planningThe first five years of democracy wasessentially marked by the adoption by thenew Constitution, the establishment of the

three spheres of government and thelegislative framework towards changingthe apartheid state and society.

The Local Government Transition Act(LGTA) of 1993 sketched out the processof change for a new local government. The

three phases of transition included the:- Pre-interim phase which madeprovision for the establishment of local


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forums to negotiate the appointment oftemporary councils, which would governuntil the municipal elections- Interim phase which would begin themunicipal elections and lasting until thenew local government system has beendesigned and legislated upon- Final phase, which would be theestablishment of a new local governmentsystem

Since 1994, the local government systemhas reformed through the abolition oracially demarcated local authorities, thefirst democratic local elections held in1995 and the publication of the WhitePaper on Local Government in 1998. Anew demarcation of local governmentboundaries reduced the number of localauthorities from 843 to 284 in December2000, also substantially reducing thenumber of elected members.

The Institutions in charge of technical support and monitoringThe Minister for Provincial and LocalGovernment is responsible for thedevelopment of local government policyand legislation, strengthening the

institutions of government at a provincialand local level, and promoteintergovernmental relations between allthree spheres. According to the

Constitution of the Republic of SouthAfrica1996 and Municipal Systems Act2000, the National Minister and MECresponsible for local government are

empowered to intervene wheremunicipalities are failing to fulfil theirobligations in terms of relevant legislation.

The transfer of competencies and sector based policiesMunicipalities have administrative andlegislative power with regard to functionalareas outlined in Schedules 4B and 5B ofthe Constitution. Both national andprovincial spheres may intrude on theseareas, but in a regulatory fashion as

outlined in the guidelines (Notice 636 of2005) published on 22 April 2005.Local government also has fiscal powerswhich are entrenched in chapter 13 of theConstitution. Unlike provinces that requireenabling national legislation to imposetaxes, according to Section 229 (1),municipalities have the power to imposerates on property and surcharges on userfees for services provided. Finally, withinthe system of cooperative government,local government has a non-voting right to

participate in the National Council ofProvinces.

The Constitution allocates powers andfunctions of government. In the absence ofassignment and delegation, national,provincial and local governments haveoriginal legislative and executive powers,with respect to the functions listed in

Schedule 4 and Schedule 5 of theConstitution. Functions that do not appearin Schedules 4 and 5 are PlenaryFunctions with national government asthe sole authority with legislative andexecutive powers. The Municipal SystemAct deals with the allocation of powers andfunction of local government. However,there is no guidance on when a transfer offunctions is appropriate and if so whetherdelegation or assignment is mostdesirable.

Decentralisation and spatial planningSince 1994 the three spheres areinterdependent and interrelated. TheSouth African government has given effectto the principles of co-operativegovernment and intergovernmentalrelations by:

- Introducing core systems, frameworksand process governing priority setting,

strategic planning, budgeting andimplementation;

- Establishing inter-governmental forumsthrough which they routinely coordinatethe execution of their functions; and- Implementing programmes andprojects, often through joint effort andcollaboration where programmes cutacross jurisdictional boundaries.

Key to this approach was the introduction

of Integrated Development Planning(IDP). IDP is an approach to planning that


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involves the entire municipality and itscitizens in finding solutions to achievegood long-term development. An IDP is aplan that gives an overall framework fordevelopment and aims to co-ordinate thework of local government with otherspheres of government in a coherent planto improve the quality of life for peopleliving in an area under its jurisdiction. Themunicipality is responsible for taking intoaccount the prevailing conditions,challenges and resources available fordevelopment. The plan should look ateconomic and social development and seta framework for land usage as well aswhat infrastructure and services arerequired. Furthermore, the IDP approach

ensures that municipalities:- Use resources more effectively,- Speed up delivery of services,- Attract additional funding,- Strengthen democracy,- Help overcome the legacy of

apartheid planning,- Promote co-ordination between

local, provincial and nationalgovernment.

The role of national government is one ofoverall responsibility for spatial planning

through establishing one, coherent,effective framework and only intervening inexceptional cases. National government isresponsible for enabling legislation; landuse principles and norms and policy;capacity building; and monitoring andevaluation.

The implication of the above approach isthat the strategic coordinatingdevelopment-planning instruments, IDPs,as well as other instruments, mechanisms,systems and structures in theintergovernmental landscape must begrounded in the common platformprovided by the National SpatialDevelopment Perspective (NSDP).However, the resultant challenge that hasconfronted the South African governmentin this regard has been the effectiveintegration, coordination and alignment ofthe actions of the spheres of government.A number of studies have beencommissioned by the government toestablish the underlying reasons for these

challenges, including a researchcommissioned for the Ten Year Review in2004. Emanating from these studies is ashared understanding that the constrainingfactors are:

- A lack of institutional preparedness;- Capacity constraints; and- Inefficient development planninginstruments and systems.

It has also been established that theprocess would further require:

- Alignment of strategic development

priorities and approaches in all planningand budgeting processes;- A shared agreement on the nature andcharacteristics of the spatial economy;and- Strategic principals for infrastructureinvestment and development spending.

III- The local government structures and management

Evaluation:The LGs organs are functioning with respect to their agendas. The political organs have fullcontrol over the technical staff. Trainings are organised to improve their overall performance withsupport from the ministry in charge of LG. The Ministry also coordinates and supervises LGsactivities.

Indicators:

3.1. Functioning of the political organs : 3.2. Quality of the technical organs: 3.3. The level of the State control:

The political organs

The legislative organThe Council is the legislative arm of the

municipality, which means that it isempowered to approve municipal by-laws,

the Budget and the IDP. It also hasexecutive powers to deal with thosematters that have not been delegated tothe Executive Mayor. Meetings of theCouncil are open to the public. The


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schedule of meetings is advertised in localnewspapers to encourage attendance.

Speaker of CouncilThe Speaker is a councillor, elected as thechairperson of the Council. His role is to:

- Preside at meetings of the council;- Perform the duties and exercise thepowers delegated to him,- Ensure that the council meets at leastquarterly;- Maintain order during meetings;- Ensure compliance in the Council andCouncil committees with the Code ofConduct,- Ensure that Council meetings areconducted in accordance with the rulesand orders of the Council.

The Speaker plays a central role inpromoting good conduct amongst electedcouncillors through the application of theCode of Conduct; assess councillorsneeds and arranges suitable training inorder to develop the municipalitys politicalgovernance capacity and improve theskills of individual councillors.

Council committeesThe Council is supported by two types ofcommittees, known respectively asSection 79 and Section 80 committees.The Council appoints members of theSection 79 committees and can delegatefunctions and duties to them. The Councilalso established Section 80 committees,but the Executive Mayor appoints thechairpersons from the Mayoral Committee.Section 80 committees, chaired bymembers of the Mayoral Committee,reflect the political portfolios of the MayoralCommittee. These committees play a keyrole in the development of policy, as wellas the monitoring of service delivery andthe oversight of strategic programmes and

projects. These multi-party committeesnormally meet on a monthly basis. TheSection 79 Rules Committee develops andreviews a range of procedures andpolicies, which seeks to promote goodgovernance and participatory democracy.

Table 2: Different types of Committees

Portfolio

committees

These are the most common and usually have the same names as the different departments in council e.g. health committee, planning

committee, finance committee.

Geographically-

based committees

These are set up to deal with issues in a specific area. This system is usually used in large metropolitan municipalities that also have

sub-councils.

Issue-related

committees

These may be set up to deal with a specific issue in a way that involves people from different committees. This helps to stop problems

from being treated in isolation.

The Executive organEvery council should have a mayor and anexecutive. There are 3 different types ofexecutives: Mayoral Executive, CollectiveExecutive and Plenary Executive.The Executive Mayor is assisted by theMayoral Committee. The executive powersare vested in Executive Mayor. Each ofthe members of the Mayoral Committeechairs a portfolio committee, consisting ofcouncillors from all the different politicalparties.

The Executive Mayor clusters eachpolitical portfolio into a mayoral sub-committee to promote planning, integrationand alignment. These sub-committeesalso facilitate working relationshipsbetween the political leadership and seniormanagement within the administration.The Mayoral Committee can also establishad hoc sub-committees when required.

Table 3 : Different types of Mayors, executives and committees

Mayoral

Executi

Most local councils in the country have an executive mayor. The executive mayor is elected by the full council. He or she may appoint a mayoral

committee that will assist in making decisions, proposals and plans that have to be approved by council. The mayoral committee may not consist of

more than 10 people or more than 20% of the sitting councillors.

Co

llective

Executive

A number of councils have a collective executive system. Here the mayor is still elected by the municipal council as a whole but the council also elects

the executive committee. The members of the executive can be made up from members of different parties. The elections are on a PR ballot and parties

will usually get the same percentage of seats on the executive as they have on the council. The mayor is the chairperson of the executive committee.

The municipal council must delegate powers to the executive committee. In a collective executive system a speaker is also elected by the council.


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Plenar

y

A plenary executive system is only used in very small municipalities. The municipal council elects a mayor but there is no executive or speaker. The

mayor chairs the council meetings and the council as a whole makes the decisions and plans. So the plenary of the council acts as the executive.

The technical organsThe administration is sub-divided into a

core administration, decentralisedadministrative regions and separatecompanies known as Utilities, Agenciesand Corporatised entities (UACs).

Core AdministrationThe core administration is divided intothree groupings. The first groupingprovides central distribution functions thatdeliver services directly to consumers,such as development planning, finance,metropolitan police and emergency

management services. The secondgrouping of functions provides internalsupport services such as corporateservices. The third group comprisesfunctions based on the concept of

separation between policy, monitoring and

evaluation on the one hand, andoperations on the other. These includehealth, housing and social development,which incorporate social services, librariesand sport and recreation.

Regional AdministrationDecentralised regional administration isresponsible for the direct delivery ofprimary health care, social services,housing, libraries and sport and recreation.They also operate the multi-purpose

centres and host Peoples Centres tofacilitate direct access by localcommunities to information and customerqueries.

IV- The Human Ressources

Evaluation:The new challenge is to empower grassroots LGs sub-structures with more qualified staffs. LGshave the power to recruit their own staff and are vested with full contracting power regarding theirrelation with service providers. There is a need to transfer HR to remote LGs to sustain theirtechnical staff.

Indicators:

4.1. The qualifications of local agents : 4.2. The transfer of the human resources: 4.3. The LG contracting power:

The existence and qualification level of local agentsIn his State of the Nation address on 14February 2003, President Thabo Mbekiidentified the need for a new public serviceechelon of multi-skilled communitydevelopment workers (CDW). BothPresidential and provincial Imbizos(community meetings) revealeddeficiencies in service delivery tocommunities and therefore a need wasidentified to examine where the statecurrently stands regarding delivery ofservices to the poor and how servicedelivery can be improved.Whilst many government departmentshave community development initiatives,the majority of people who fall in the

poorer segment of the population are stillunable to access the full potential ofgovernment programmes. Among the

reasons for this gap between serviceprovision and effective utilisation by theintended recipients are access toinformation about services and access tothe services themselves.The programme thus envisaged to deployCDWs to maintain direct contact with thepeople where they live and to ensure thatgovernment sharply improves the qualitiesof the outcomes of public expenditure andthe delivery of essential services.The implementation of the CDWprogramme is coordinated by all threespheres of government (National,Provincial and Local). The Department ofProvincial and Local Government

facilitates the relationships between thesethree spheres around CDWs while theDepartment of Public Service and


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Administration (DPSA) is responsible forthe overall coordination of the programme.Provincial Administration are theemployers of the CDWs while the SouthAfrica Local Government Association(SALGA) and the municipalities, amongother things, provide the workplace for theCDWs and create the necessaryenvironment for them to perform theirduties. Finally, Provincial Local

Government Associations and the officesof the speakers within the municipalitiesare tasked with overseeing the creation ofan enabling environment for the CDWs.The programme has commenced in allprovinces with initial training of CDWsbefore their deployment into communities.In most instances CDWs are from thecommunities themselves.

V- The Local democracy

Evaluation:The electoral system is considered quite transparent and fair. Lections are organised on duetime. The majority rule is yet to be more balanced as political parties have to really include morewomen in their politics in compliance with the law. The municipal movement is one of the mostdynamic in the Continent.

Indicators:5.1. Fairness of the electoral system:5.2. Level of citizen political participation: 5.3. Transparency and accountability of local authorities and management: 5.4. Sustainability of the municipal movement:

The electoral systemThe electoral process for local governmentelections is a combination of proportionalrepresentation (PR) party list electoralsystem and simple majority constituency

based electoral system. In a PR party listsystem, political parties present a list ofcandidates that will be contesting theelections representing their politicalparties, thus the electorate vote forpolitical parties directly. The list systemaffords a higher representation of womenin local democracy.In contrast to the constituency basedelectoral model, individual candidatescontest the elections and are directly votedfor by the electorate. There has been an

increase in independent candidates in thislocal election due to internal factionsamongst political parties. A higherexpectation is demanded of independentcandidates to deliver on their promises tothe governed or else they would not be re-elected in the next elections. Although thiselectoral process owes allegiance to theelectorate, it limits the participation ofwomen. Also in counting of votes a simplemajority is required, which is open fordiscrepancies especially if electoralofficials are unable to understand how theelectoral system works. To avoid

contentious legal battles the PR listsystem is preferred.The Local Government Elections in 2000took place after the demarcation of new

boundaries that included the subsequentreduction in the number of municipalities.Since 2000 councils are to be electedevery 5 years. There are basically twotypes of elections: one for metro councilsand one for local councils.

Metro CouncilsIn a metropolitan municipality each voterwill vote once for a political party on aproportional representation ballot. Theparties will then be given seats according

to the percentage of votes that theyreceived in the metropolitan area as awhole. Each party has a list of candidatesand the councillors are drawn from this list.Each voter will also receive a ballot fortheir ward with the names of the wardcandidates. The person receiving mostvotes in a ward will win that seat. Wardcandidates may stand as representativesof parties or as independents.Metro councils may also set up sub-councils to serve different parts of their

municipality. Sub-councils are not elected


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directly by voters. Existing councillors areallocated to serve on each sub-council.Local CouncilsIn a local municipality each voter will voteonce for a political party on a proportionalrepresentation ballot. The parties will thenbe given seats according to thepercentage of votes that they received inthe area as a whole. Each voter will alsoreceive a ballot for their ward with thenames of the ward candidates. The personreceiving most votes in a ward will win thatseat. Ward candidates may stand asrepresentatives of parties or asindependents.

District CouncilsEvery voter in a local municipality will also

vote for the district council that their local

area is part of. The district municipalityballot will have party names on it and theseats will be allocated according to thepercentage of votes parties gained in thewhole district municipal area.Not all councillors serving on a districtcouncil are directly elected. Only 40% ofthe seats will be given to parties on thebasis of the votes they get on the PRballot. The remaining 60% of seats on thedistrict council will be allocated to the localcouncils in that area. Each local councilwill be given a number of seats and mustsend councillors from their ranks to fillthose seats. The seats should be filledaccording to the support that parties havein a specific council.

The representativeness of the local authorities and the local participationThe Legislation encourages politicalparties to ensure that 50% of partycandidates are women It alsorecommends that if a Council decides toestablish ward committees, they shouldensure that women are equallyrepresented on these committees.In 2000, political parties ensured aminimum of 30% representation of women

in their party lists. However, the bone ofcontention with this electoral process isthat elected candidates owe allegiance tothe party and not to the electorate, andthis has led to a number of demonstrationsin many constituencies and apathy by theelectorate, questioning the mandate oftheir councillors and their inaction duringthe non-election period.

The transparency and accountability system of local managementMost council decisions are taken when acommittee or Exco makes arecommendation to council. When councilagrees by a majority vote, therecommendation becomes a resolution ofcouncil.Motions are usually used to call for orpropose something that is a little morecontroversial. It is a useful tool to useespecially if the administration is not co-operating with council, since councilmotions cannot be ignored.Any councillor may propose a motion incouncil and in some cases the motion maybe passed without being referred forfurther discussion. Once passed themotion becomes a resolution of council.Every motion needs a proposer and aseconder. In the opening debate on amotion, only the proposer will be allowedto speak to motivate for the motion.

Standing orders will usually set a time limit

for this. Most motions are referred tocommittees or exco for further discussion.They will then come back to council with arecommendation on the motion.A motion should be submitted 10 daysbefore the next council meeting to ensurethat it is included on the agenda. Motionscan be supported by petitions where this isnecessary or useful. The council StandingOrders will say how motions should bedebated. In some cases if an urgentproblem arises after the 10-day deadlinefor the agenda, a councillor may move anurgent motion at the beginning of thecouncil meeting before the Exco report isdiscussed.Also, the Constitution details what thepowers and functions local governmentare. These powers and functions arestipulated in section 156 of Chapter 7 ofthe Constitution.

The municipal movement and the decentralised cooperation


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Local sphere of government is supportedin the Constitution which clearly definesthe government of the country as beingconstituted as national, provincial andlocal spheres of government which aredistinctive, interdependent andinterrelated. These concepts reflect theprinciple of subsidiarity in its threecomponents of decentralization in SouthAfrica. These concepts can be defined asfollows:

- Distinctive: each sphere has distinctivelegislative and executive competencies.- Interdependent: the nationalgovernment must assist local andprovincial spheres in order for them tofulfil their constitutional mandate.

Likewise, the national and provincialspheres must assist local government tofulfil its constitutional mandate. This dutyentails both the monitoring of the othersphere and intervening when adependent sphere fails to fulfil itsfunctions.- Interrelated: it is the duty on eachsphere to co-operate with one another inmutual trust and good faith for thegreater good of the country as a whole.

The principle of interrelation has brought

municipalities to go into an association inorder to comply with the Constitution whichcontains provisions for such a movement.The South African Local GovernmentAssociation (SALGA) is an organizationmandated by the Constitution to assist inthe transformation of local government inSouth Africa from the pre-1994 regime tothe new dispensation under the country'sfirst democratically elected government.

The Constitution envisages an importantrole for organized local government in thenew South Africa, with a unique focus ondevelopmental service delivery. As such,SALGA plays a core role in a variety ofareas related to local governmenttransformation and as a nationalrepresentative of the local governmentsector and its employees.In line with its constitutionally definedmandate, SALGA set out its role asfollows:

- Represent, promote and protect theinterests of local government.- Transform local government to enableit to fulfil its developmental role.- Enhance the role of provincial local

government associations as provincialrepresentatives and consultative bodieson local government.- Raise the profile of local government.- Be recognized by national andprovincial governments to be thenational representative of localgovernment and consultative body inrespect of all matters concerning localgovernment.- Ensure full participation of women inlocal government.

- Act as the National Employers'Organization for the municipal andprovincial member employers.- Regulate the relationship between themembers and the employers within themeaning of section 213 of the LabourRelations Act, No. 66 of 1995.- Provide legal assistance to its memberin its discretion in connection withmatters, which affect employee relations.

VI- The Local finances

Evaluation:The intergovernmental transfer is effective and constitutes a small part of the LGs resources mostlyfed by locally generated resources. The involvement of LGs in service delivery and local economicdevelopment has raised their economic and financial weight in the country.

Indicators:

6.1. Consistency of intergovernmental transfers :6.2. LG performances in locally generated resources:6.3. The economic and financial weigh of LG:

Intergovernmental transfersMunicipalities receive allocation based on

national revenues. There are threestreams of national transfers, namely;

equitable share, infrastructure and current

transfers and resources from the MunicipalInfrastructure Grant (MIG). Municipalities


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equitable share which is based on aformula may not be affected if they raiseadditional revenue, or fail to exploit theirfiscal capacity or tax base.The creation of the MIG was aimed atassisting with the delivery ofinfrastructures to poor communities. MIGmakes it possible to systematicallyeliminate the backlogs in basicinfrastructure over a 10-year period, whichstarted in 2004.Parliament is required to provide for anequitable division of revenue raisednationally between national provincial andlocal government. Transfer payments aremade from national government directly tothe municipalities rather than through

provincial structures.This transfer payment accounts for only10% of local government revenue in the2002/03 financial year. Total transferpayments from national to localgovernment accounted for Rands 8.8billions and a further Rands 2.3 billionswas transferred from provincialgovernment to their local counterparts.

The creation of the MunicipalInfrastructure Grant (MIG) assisted withthe delivery of infrastructure to poorcommunities. MIG makes it possible tosystematically eliminate the backlogs inbasic infrastructure over a 10-year period,which started in 2004.Municipalities are also exploring differentways to raise finance for infrastructuresuch as borrowing, in the form of loansand bonds, and public-private partnerships(PPPs). The Municipal FinanceManagement Act, which is discussed indetail below, provides the framework formunicipalities to explore these variousalternative options to raise finance. Forexample, the amended Municipal Systems

Act and provisions of the MFMA that dealswith PPPs provide the legal framework.The MFMA prescribes that PPPs mustprovide value for money, and present anappropriate allocation of risks between thecontracting parties. The Act however,requires that a PPP regulatory frameworkbe developed by National Treasury.

The locally generated revenuesThe locally generated revenues are

provided from three main sources: usercharges, property rates and RegionalServices Council (RSC) leviesUser charges for providing services suchas water, electricity, sanitation and refuseremoval made up 31% of localgovernment revenue in 2003-04. Propertyrates are levied in metropolitan and localmunicipalities. The new Municipal PropertyRating Act aims to assist municipalities tobroaden their rates base, to includepreviously excluded property. The Act also

aims to provide uniform national rulesregarding valuations and appeals, ratingpolicy and rate setting. RSC levies makeup 7% of the total revenue for 2003-04and is an important source of revenue formetropolitan and district municipalities.

Municipalities are also exploring different

ways to raise finance for infrastructuresuch as borrowing, in the form of loansand bonds, and public-private partnerships(PPPs). The Municipal FinanceManagement Act, which is discussed indetail below, provides the framework formunicipalities to explore these variousalternative options to raise finance. Forexample, the amended Municipal SystemsAct and provisions of the MFMA that dealswith PPPs provide the legal framework.The MFMA prescribes that PPPs must

provide value for money, and present anappropriate allocation of risks between thecontracting parties. The Act however,requires that a PPP regulatory frameworkbe developed by National Treasury.

The financial and economic weight of local governmentsIn 2002/03, Local governments raisedabout 92% of their revenue locally.However, this figure masks the range oflocally raised revenue which ranges from

67% in the smaller authorities to 97% inthe metropolitan authorities.

The aggregate revenue of localgovernment that year was about USD 9.8billions.

Table 4: Distribution of major sources of revenue 2002/03Sources of revenue

Utility fees 45.5%


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Property rates 20%

Intergovernmental transfers 11%

RSC levies 7%

Other revenues 16.5

VII- Local development and poverty alleviation

Evaluation:LGs have gradually and radically improved their development planning capacity incorporating citizensparticipation in their new approach. They intervene in almost all ranges of service delivery provisions.With the improvement of the public-private partnership, economic stakeholders are provided with toolsand enabling environment for their operations.

Indicators:

7.1. Local development planning capacity : 7.2. Level of service delivery to the population: 7.3. Support to the local economic actors:

The local development planning

The local development planning systemAs pointed in section 2 (Parag. 4)development planning in the localgovernment sphere is conducted throughthe Integrated Development Planninginstrument. Each municipality in terms ofthe Municipal Systems Act (2000) isresponsible for formulating, adopting andimplementing and Integrated DevelopmentPlan (IDP). The IDP is a comprehensivetool, as the process begins by defining thevision and mission of the municipality. It

then proceeds to identify the keyobjectives, issues and priorities in amunicipality. The municipality thendevelopments various strategies toaddress the issues and priorities identified.The strategies are translated into projects,which are budgeted for and implemented.This entire process centres on the conceptof capital projects for growth, and is thuscentred on development. This hasfinancial implications for while

development is needed, operatingexpenses to maintain that development isequally important. The IDP should reflectthe best possible development decisionsand trade-offs that focus on potential andneed and the most viable and sustainablemeans of leveraging economic, social,environmental and institutional investmentand development spending within ashared area of impact.Hence, all municipalities have to draw upan IDP in consultation with local forums

and stakeholders. Whilst municipalitieshave complied with IDP related legislative

requirements, IDPs are still the products ofmechanistic and process driven planningapproaches and have demonstrated somlemajor weaknesses.It is proposed that the IDP, prepared bythe Municipal Managers Offices in thevarious Districts/Metros, has to serve asthe overarching framework for themunicipal government as well as otherspheres, sectors and role players that areresponsible and contribute to developmentin the metro/district area. The

District/Metro IDP has to be focused on:- the sustainable development ofmunicipal areas;- the upliftment of deprivedcommunities,- the reintegration of the fragmentedsettlements created by apartheid; and- the financial viability andtransformation of municipalities.

The IDPs provide an opportunity forguiding and coordinating the initiatives anddevelopment agendas, and investment

and development spending, of the variouslocal municipalities, as well as nationaland provincial departments that are active/ operating in these impact zones.The municipal financial plan, which is apart of the IDP, and which is prepared bythe municipal Treasury, serves as a mid-term financial framework for managingmunicipal revenue collection andexpenditure. Thus also providing for theresource framework for prioritisation andbudgeting.


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The role of stakeholdersIn South Africa, given its rather uniquesituation as existing between thedeveloped and the developing worlds,intervention needs to exist in both forms. It

is a common sight to have world-classshopping malls and convention centresside-by-side with poverty strickentownships and squatter settlements, inwhich basic forms of human survival arethe main focus. In addition to the pursuit ofwestern-style economic development andgrowth, South African cities also need topursue poverty alleviation intervention aswell as trying to achieve racialreconciliation while promoting spatially andfunctionally unified cities which are

physically and socially separated due toapartheid policies.In light of its unique situation, it seems thatSouth Africa needs to pursue localeconomic development differentlyaccording to the contextual realities of theareas concerned. The notion of therebeing two radically differing developmentalorientations has profound implications onthe nature of local state programmes andtheir resultant and differing impact onsociety.Local Economic Development (LED) is anapproach towards economic developmentwhich allows and encourages local peopleto work together to achieve sustainableeconomic growth and developmentthereby bringing economic benefits andimproved quality of life for all residents in alocal municipal area.As a programme, LED is intended tomaximise the economic potential of allmunicipal localities throughout the country

and, to enhance the resilience of themacro-economic growth through increasedlocal economic growth, employmentcreation and development initiatives withinthe context of sustainabledevelopment. The local in economicdevelopment points to the fact that thepolitical jurisdiction at a local level is oftenthe most appropriate place for economicintervention as it carries alongside it theaccountability and legitimacy of ademocratically elected body.

One of the key outcomes of the shift inresponsibility to local areas has been the

pursuit of clearly defined economicregeneration and growth strategies bylocal authorities which are seeking tocreate jobs, promote investment, address

economic and development backlogs andendeavouring to make their locality a keynode in the global economy. The LEDProgramme is geared to provide support inthe following areas:

- Development and review of nationalpolicy, strategy and guidelines on LED;- Providing direct and hands-on supportto provincial and local government;- Management of the Local EconomicDevelopment Fund;- Management and Technical Support to

Nodal Economic Development Planning;- Facilitating coordinating andmonitoring of donor programmes, and- Assisting on LED capacity buildingprocesses.

Through these interventions, resources,local role-players and interest groups aremobilized for the sake of achievingeconomic growth and creating jobs toreduce poverty.The local government system introducedin 2000 was intended to createmunicipalities that could achieveeconomies of scale, as opposed to theprevious system of many smallmunicipalities with no revenue base.Despite the best efforts of structures likethe Municipal Demarcation Board toensure integrated and viable localcouncils, the geographic realities of SouthAfrica meant that some councils did nothave a resource base capable ofresponding to even the most basic needs

of their residents. This continues to pose asignificant challenge to developmentparticularly in the rural parts of the country.In addition, many municipalities may nothave the necessary economic modellingexperiences or expertise and aredependent on outside agencies to developsuch which at most times exclude the verypeople that the programme aims to target.In addition, many of the municipalities thatare to be targeted for economicdevelopment find themselves in historically

declining economic areas with no or verylittle potential for such growth.


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Furthermore, the capacity within council todrive such initiatives is also lacking.Economic stakeholders also tend to

migrate towards the more establishedeconomic centres as growth potential isalmost guaranteed.

Local government supply of basic services to the populationThere are considerable variances acrossmunicipalities to provide services. Thetotal municipal budget has nearly doubledsince 1996-97 to 2003-04. The largermetropolitan municipalities makes up58,8% of the combined budgets ofmunicipalities The situation in theCategories B and C municipalities variessubstantially depending on the number ofhouseholds the municipality must provideservices to. Of all governmentexpenditure (national, provincial and

local), municipalities were responsible for23%. The local government operating andcapital budget increased by 15,3% in2003-04 over the previous year. The sixmetropolitan budgets combined for 2003-04 totalled R50.5 billion which represents58,8% of all municipal budgets. The largemetro budgets are equal to or larger thanthe smaller provincial budgets. Thecombined budgets of Johannesburg,Ekurhuleni and Tshwane metropolitanmunicipalities are equal to that of the

Gauteng provinceSteady progress was made in the deliveryof services since the advent of ademocracy in 1994. While progress hasbeen widely acknowledged, government isacutely aware of the challenges facinglocal government service delivery,particularly in the rural areas whereservice delivery has been slow. During thePresidential Imbizos (communitymeetings), the gap between governmentsdelivery efforts and the communities

ability to benefit from that delivery hasbeen highlighted. Government servicedelivery at national, provincial and locallevels is not always appropriate nor alwaysreaching the intended recipientseffectively. The under mentionedstrategies have been developed toaddress the challenges in service delivery.

According to the Local GovernmentParalegal Manual Chapter 6 2002municipalities have the responsibility toensure that all citizens are provided withservices to satisfy their basic needs. Themost important of these needs are:

- Water supply,- Sewage collection and disposal,- Refuse removal,- Electricity and gas supply,- Municipal health services,- Municipal roads and storm-water,

drainage,- Street lighting,- Municipal parks and recreation.

Municipalities can also outsource theseservices to other agencies, which theychoose to hire to deliver the service on itsbehalf. This can be an NGO or a privatecompany with whom they develop aMunicipal Service Partnership agreement.Under this agreement the service providerdelivers a particular service for a specifiedtime frame and within a given budget.

Based on studies and research done thatmost municipalities do not have sufficientinternal resources to adequately addressthe challenges of under-development,service backlogs and poverty. There arealso instances where expertise ininfrastructure and service delivery islocated outside of government. In addition,there is always the need to broaden theownership of the developmentprogrammes to include key stakeholderssuch as the private sector and civil society

formations. Accordingly, public-privatepartnerships have become the order of theday.Further evidence of service delivery gapshas been displayed by the many andvaried community protests regardingmunicipal services or the lack thereof.

Documents

Decentralisation Afrique Du Sud