EFFECTIVE government requires well-designed decentralisation. One of the more serious shortcomings of the provincial system is the way in which it has failed to support local government or, indeed, has even undermined it. The constitution sought to create three “spheres” of government that are “distinctive, interdependent and interrelated” — referring to “spheres” and not “tiers” to emphasise that the relationship between them is not hierarchical.
Yet the system has been run hierarchically, making the voice of local government very weak in crucial respects. The problem is most severe in the bigger cities. The six metropolitan areas and a handful of the next-largest cities account for half of SA’s population and represent the core of the economy; their effective functioning is critical to the country’s success. A number of the metropolitan governments have bigger budgets than some provinces. Yet they have almost no voice at the centre, because national government seeks to relate to them via the provinces.
The provinces, in turn, have tended to compete with the big cities. The best illustration of this is the way in which provinces have continually blocked the devolution of functions such as housing to the bigger cities, most of which are in a far better position to deliver the function.
The hierarchical functioning has become a feature of the institutions created to deal with the intergovernmental system. The minmecs — or meetings between the national minister of each function and the nine provincial MECs — are a crucial mechanism yet exclude local government. All the provincial premiers attend cabinet lekgotlas; yet only the head of the South African Local Government Association (Salga) is present from local government… Business Day - News Worth Knowing
Yet the system has been run hierarchically, making the voice of local government very weak in crucial respects. The problem is most severe in the bigger cities. The six metropolitan areas and a handful of the next-largest cities account for half of SA’s population and represent the core of the economy; their effective functioning is critical to the country’s success. A number of the metropolitan governments have bigger budgets than some provinces. Yet they have almost no voice at the centre, because national government seeks to relate to them via the provinces.
The provinces, in turn, have tended to compete with the big cities. The best illustration of this is the way in which provinces have continually blocked the devolution of functions such as housing to the bigger cities, most of which are in a far better position to deliver the function.
The hierarchical functioning has become a feature of the institutions created to deal with the intergovernmental system. The minmecs — or meetings between the national minister of each function and the nine provincial MECs — are a crucial mechanism yet exclude local government. All the provincial premiers attend cabinet lekgotlas; yet only the head of the South African Local Government Association (Salga) is present from local government… Business Day - News Worth Knowing
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