Nature and extent of local governance in South Africa
Kishore Raga2007
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Abstract
Internationally, governance has emerged as a focal point in the discipline and practice of public administration and its nature, extent and characteristics have changed the environment within which public administration functions. Public administration as an integrating paradigm has to achieve, maintain, enhance and sustain the collective promotion of the spiritual and material welfare of society. In South Africa (SA), addressing the need to bring about more effective and efficient public service delivery by government and its executive public sector institutions, has come a long way from the period when there were over 1100 racially segregated municipalities. From more than 800 municipalities after 1996, they were merged to the current 283 municipalities which now cover every inch of the country, and are focused on expanding local economies in maintaining the provision of existing basic municipal services as well as extending it to areas of its responsibility that were previously n...
Key takeaways
- In order to create an environment for more effective, efficient and economical public service delivery at the local government sphere, the primary role-players tasked with the more effective and efficient making, implementation and evaluation of public policies should be familiar with and understand the logical roll-out of the following consecutive phases of the public administration and management of, for example, a new settlement / community in a specific municipal area: An assessment of the existing level of development which includes the identification of the physical area (ground and location) where the planned development will be facilitated.
- In the next section a closer look will be undertaken at some realities and challenges regarding the nature and extent of public service delivery on the current local government sphere of South Africa.
- They usually provide access to modern technology in the form of an ITC such as a Telecentre from which road shows, campaigns, exhibitions, community participation events, and specific public services take place; a base from where information products and services are sent out to all parts of the surrounding area of responsibility and where government departments from national, provincial and local spheres offer information and services such as the application for identity documents, pensions, health information, unemployment office, government information office, passports, and training on the use of computers, the Internet and other on-line services.
- Due to the limited nature and extent of public resources in SA, another useful vehicle to improve public service delivery, at especially the local government sphere, has been through the creation of formal partnerships between two public sector institutions or between a public sector institution and a private enterprise or individual contractor (PPPs).
- In order to improve the organisational structuring and planning of the SA government, the provincial sphere of government should be merged into the national and local spheres and the functions and legislative authorities of municipalities increased to bring about more effective and efficient greater city government (Craythorne 2006:42).
