system of provincial and local government and the way forward in 2008
12 December 2007
In January 2007, the extended Cabinet mandated the Ministry and Department
of Provincial and Local Government to develop a white paper on provincial
government and to review the white paper on local government by 2008. On 31
July 2007, the Department of Provincial and Local Government launched the first
phase of the policy review with the intention of promoting a national debate on
provincial and local governance. Sixty-five questions about provincial and
local government were published and the public invited to submit responses by
31 October 2007.
As outlined in the background document that was published, the purpose of
the review is to take stock of practice over the past thirteen years, to derive
lessons and insights that can inform specific and practical approaches to make
the system of provincial and local government more efficient, accountable,
equitable, and able to provide a better quality of service to South Africa.
A wide range of responses were received from individuals, government
departments, public enterprises, universities and research institutions,
municipalities, provinces, organised local government, non governmental
organisations and political parties. All submissions were thoroughly examined,
revealing many constructive proposals and interesting insights. These will be
used in shaping the outcomes of the review in 2008.
The print and electronic media showed considerable interest in the process,
as well as covering general issues of concern to provincial and local
government. Several non-governmental organisations also held their own
conferences or seminars during this period, to which Department of Provincial
and Local Government was invited to make an address on the process. Numerous
other consultative meetings were held with practitioners and stakeholders.
Research was commissioned and completed, and many organisations made their
own research available to the Department of Provincial and Local Government.
The ministry and department would like to thank the South African public for
the seriousness with which the process was taken, the media, the donor
community for its ongoing support, and everyone who made a submission or
contributed to this process.
The five main sets of issues under consideration:
The research and public submissions provided some new insights about the
operation of our system of provincial and local government over the past
thirteen years. They also confirmed the findings of assessments undertaken by
Department of Provincial and Local Government and other state departments over
the past years. The policy review will focus on the most important issues
emerging from the experience and practice of provincial and local government in
our country.
To this end, the Department of Provincial and Local Government has
classified the relevant issues and lessons that will be considered further in
the process into five main thematic clusters. These themes form the framework
and basis for the policy review, targeted research and further consultation,
and will inform the structure of the white paper. They are substantially
informed by research, submissions and experience.
The five thematic areas are the following:
1. the roles of provincial government and two-tier local government
2. deepening local democracy, accountability and participation.
3. strengthening capacity to meet basic needs and enable sustainable
development
4. refining the intergovernmental roles, functions and fiscal frameworks of
spheres
5. making co-operative governance work more effectively and improving
oversight, performance management, and the monitoring and evaluation
system.
1. The roles of provincial government and two-tier local government
The roles of provincial government and two-tier local government are under
consideration in the policy review. Of the sixty-five questions, several dealt
with this issue. It is widely accepted that the nine provinces with their own
elected governments, collectively constituting a provincial sphere of
government, were created during the political negotiations that introduced
democracy in South Africa. The future of this sphere has been debated since
1993.
There is broad agreement that provincial government has contributed to the
peaceful transition to democracy, social delivery and development over the past
fourteen years. The submissions are divided on the extent of provinces'
contribution to nation building and the impact of representation and oversight
by provincial legislatures. Further research is required on these issues.
There is broad agreement that the spatial inequalities created by apartheid
remain starkly apparent within and between the nine provinces, with areas in
former homelands the most vulnerable. Research also confirms that complex
patterns of migration, economic activity and settlement formation are shaping
this spatial reality. The national spatial development perspective illustrated
this reality, and confirmed the importance of a spatial understanding of
development guiding policy given our country's history and set of current
challenges.
Several provinces have also begun to investigate new approaches to regional
spatial development, within their existing boundaries. The role of provinces in
other words is evolving from within provinces themselves in ways that confirm
the importance of revisiting the institutional framework for provincial
government. The question that arises for consideration in the policy review is
whether the state is appropriately organised at provincial and regional scale
to engage the different spatial realities of provincial, metro, city, small
town and rural South Africa, on the basis of their particular
circumstances.
More detailed research is needed before any conclusions can be reached. This
work will be a prominent aspect of the review in 2008. The two-tier system of
local government is generally seen to be under pressure, according to research
and key stakeholders. Many factors have been identified as pressure-points in
the district-local configuration. These include:
* the number of statutory functions that districts actually perform
* the fact that the replacement of the regional service council levy has meant
that districts are largely funded by the national fiscus
* in many districts there is a mismatch between staff, budgets and functions
performed
* the process of adjusting powers between locals and districts causes
uncertainty and instability.
The review will therefore examine the implications of these pressures and
consider the appropriateness and merits of options for overcoming the problems
at this level, including re-defining the role of districts in relation to
locals or establishing single tier local government. Detailed research and
modelling will underpin any proposals. This work will take into account the
current functional arrangements between district and local government, as well
as the relationship between provincial functions and local government. This
aspect of the review may have structural implications, and will feature
prominently in the review.
2. Refining the intergovernmental roles, functions and fiscal frameworks of
spheres:
Because government is established as three distinctive, interdependent and
interrelated spheres of government, an effective system of intergovernmental
relations is a crucial measure of overall state performance. The
intergovernmental system in South Africa is founded upon two basic principles
of democratic accountability enshrined in our constitution. The first is that
there must be certainty about which sphere is accountable for delivering a
particular service. When there is certainty about this, the public then knows
who to hold accountable for non-performance.
The second is that the three spheres of government must closely co-ordinate
their plans, budgets, and delivery programs in order to achieve efficient,
equitable and sustainable service delivery throughout the country as a whole.
The system of intergovernmental relations is underpinned by a fiscal system
based on revenue-sharing, with a significant national responsibility for
redistribution between the spheres.
During the first phase of the policy review, the department commissioned
several studies on these aspects of intergovernmental relations, and several
submissions addressed the workings of the system. The main lesson is that the
intergovernmental system is well-established and generally sound, but some
uncertainty appears to exist with respect to particular functional areas. In
most (but not all) cases, the uncertainty arises because it is unclear whether
provinces or municipalities are responsible for a particular function. In other
cases there is a question about which level of government should be responsible
for certain services in order to enhance access, efficiency, equity and
accountability.
While provinces have in the past been responsible for social services, their
regional social and economic development function has begun to emerge, and this
role requires clarity in light of the fiscal structure of provincial
government. Areas of apparent uncertainty that have emerged repeatedly in the
research and submissions are the optimal long term revenue structure for local
government; housing; libraries, museums, arts and culture; public transport;
district roads; municipal health; primary healthcare in metros and secondary
cities; and the regional planning function of provinces.
In the next phase, the Department of Provincial and Local Government will
work with relevant sectors, the National Treasury and other partners to examine
these issues and further detailed research will be undertaken so that any
changes that are proposed are practical and well-considered. The policy review
will further examine which level of government is best placed to perform a
function in cases where location is a key consideration in providing a better
quality of service to the public and improving accountability.
3. Strengthening capacity to meet basic needs and enable sustainable
development
The recently released Community Survey shows that access to services has
improved across the range of indicators for free basic services and millennium
development goals. Expenditure on social services such as education, health and
social development shows improvement and stability, though outcomes are still
skewed geographically.
Backlogs in municipal infrastructure and services remain substantial, asset
maintenance is a concern and the shortage of technical skills an acute problem
in many municipalities. Deployments of technical expertise into some
municipalities through Project Consolidate has had a positive impact on
municipal capacity and performance over relatively short time horizons, but it
is clear that an institutional solution to skills shortages in the most
vulnerable municipalities will be required in the long term. Various options
will be examined.
Attention needs to be given to the appropriate scale for regional and local
development planning given the spatial realities of South Africa. In this
regard the regulatory framework for land use, settlement establishment and
environment impact assessment emerge as pressing. Several submissions have also
raised the possibility of simplifying the requirements for municipal planning
and drawing closer linkages between plans, budgets and performance contracts.
The need for innovative models for capital and settlement planning, including
new incentives, will be examined in detail in the review.
4. Making co-operative governance work more effectively and improving
oversight, performance management and the monitoring and evaluation system
The lesson is that the institutional framework for intergovernmental
co-ordination is adequate, but there is evidence that intergovernmental
institutions are under utilised, oversight can be improved and the monitoring
and evaluation system must be strengthened.
Amongst the issues under consideration in the review, special attention will
be given to whether additional measures are needed to improve intergovernmental
co-ordination, the adequacy of the support provided to local government and the
representation of local government in policy-making and in intergovernmental
processes, particularly with respect to infrastructure planning at national and
provincial levels.
Public and municipal finance legislation have introduced a variety of
measures to improve oversight of public expenditure and transparency, including
budget and accounting reforms, annual and in-year reporting requirements, and
independent auditing procedures. Compliance varies between provinces and
municipalities. Although regulations were issued to regulate the performance
contract system for municipal managers, the number of vacancies at this level
and unsigned performance contracts remains too high.
A government-wide framework for monitoring and evaluation was also recently
introduced. Accurate data on performance impact, capacity for early warning
monitoring and reporting, and replicating emerging good practice elsewhere in
the system remain challenges for the effectiveness of the monitoring and
evaluation system. Consideration will be given to all of these issues, as well
as to developing a select set of national outcome indicators for local
government that reflects the differing circumstances of municipalities,
establishing appropriate early warning monitoring and strengthening the overall
performance environment of municipal management.
5. Deepening local democracy, accountability and participation
Local democracy is established and legitimate and a major new force in the
development of our country, but the overall quality of accountability and
participation must be enhanced. A very large number of submissions addressed
this point. Mechanisms such as ward committees, community development workers,
Integrated Development Plan (IDP) forums, community-based budgeting, and imbizo
have become established practices and are having a positive impact on public
access to the state and to participation.
Measuring the quality of participation, more organised forms of
participation, improving day to day responsiveness and communication and better
management of existing processes are concerns affecting the quality of
participation. Additional measures may need to be introduced to strengthen
municipal accountability to communities. The research that was commissioned and
the many submissions in this area confirmed this finding and identified
specific pressure points, notably leadership and skills development, relations
between council and administration, clarifying institutional roles where there
is uncertainty, communication between council and community and examining how
existing participatory mechanisms can be made to work more effectively to
improve the quality of participation.
Greater attention needs to be given to implementing practical models for
empowering poor communities to become economically active in their own right,
which is a cornerstone of local economic development. Further research and
consultations will examine these and other issues under this theme to determine
whether additional measures are needed.
The way forward in the next phase of the review
Further work will be undertaken under each of these areas, leading to the
release of a draft white paper in mid 2008 for further public consultation.
Comprehensive geo-spatial modelling for clusters one and two is underway and
will enjoy priority in 2008. The Department of Provincial and Local Government
will publish on its web-site selected research undertaken during the first
phase. It should be stressed and the public is requested to take note, that the
views expressed by the researchers in these papers belong to the authors and
should not be attributed to the Department of Provincial and Local Government
or government. The overall process will culminate in early 2009 when a white
paper is submitted to cabinet.
Issued by: Department of Provincial and Local Government
12 December 2007
Source: Department of Provincial and Local Government (http://www.dplg.gov.za)
