Republic of South Africa: Legislative, Executive and Judicial Governance in a quasi federal state (original) (raw)
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Many thanks also to Claire Kruger, the Librarian at the Centre For Policy Studies, for her professionalism and the invaluable assistance and support that she provided during the endless searches for information and publications. She was always ready and willing to help. Philani Jili, researcher at the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature, assisted with the distribution of the survey questionnaires to the members of the legislature. I am grateful for that. Last but by no means least, I am indebted to my wife, Dr. Eeva-Maria Rapoo, for reading, including proofreading, commenting on the early draft, and helping with the typing and formatting of this thesis. But most importantly, I cannot thank her enough for the constant encouragement and support she gave me, for taking care of everything, including the children, and for putting up with the long hours that I had to put into this work every day until it was completed.
THE FEDERAL CHARACTER AS A FORM OF STATE IN SOUTH AFRICA: A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS By
A section of South African communities were eager to divide the country into federal states before the dawn of a new democratic dispensation in 1994. This section believed the division of the country into federals would give autonomy to cultural realisation, traditions and ultimately freedom to exercise own identity. Furthermore, the cultural freedom was the cornerstone of the desire to divide the country into federals. These communities perceived the past South Africa as was an ideal system to the harmonious settlement which to them, was also economically viable. The section of communities who were eager to divide the country into the federal states had already made calculations that would have favored their desires, egos and agendas. The cultural identity and traditional freedom were only used as a pretext of obtaining more freedom to strengthen Apartheid such that it becomes entrenched in South Africa with no prospects of ever rooting it out. Any way South Africa had indeed assumed some federal character in a form of provinces. This paper critically assesses and analyses the federal character as a form of state in South Africa as means of unpacking the nature of what South Africa might have or should have been when the idea of federalizing the country would be pursued. The discussion will focus on the contrasting features and principles of federal systems and unitary systems as the theoretical basis, the main idea behind federalism and unitary systems, the relationship between the legislature and the executive, where do the spheres of government have much autonomy? The unitary and federal character of South Africa with reference to the constitution, the linking institutions which contribute to the federal of unitary character and a few questions on the nature the future South Africa.
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This essay discusses the proposed plans to restructure the provincial sphere of government in South Africa. The African National Congress (ANC) initiated a policy review on the system of provincial government in 2007 in order to respond to perceived shortfalls within the provincial sphere of government. Motivations for the proposed changes are critically discussed, with reference being made to the context in which the nine provinces were created. Four options for restructuring provincial government are presented with predicted effects on performance levels, and the likelihood of each of these options being pursued.
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The pre-democracy negotiations between the African National Congress (ANC) and the National Party (NP) established nine provincial forms of government to replace the four provinces of the apartheid era. The nine provinces contrasted with the historical goal of the ANC to create a 'democratic, non-racial and unitary South Africa'. The NP wanted nine new provinces to prevent centralized state power under an ANC government and saw possibilities for winning electoral power in the Western Cape. The ANC conceded following political pressure from the Inkatha Freedom Party, which threatened civil war, and a policy shift after examining the German federal governance system. The article analyzes the history, politics, process and outcomes of the establishment of the nine provinces for social policy delivery in South Africa. It explores the contention that the nine provinces re-fragmented service delivery (although not on a statutory racial basis) and created a system of fiscal decentralization with serious implications for social policy: weakening bureaucratic capacity, institutional capability and political accountability. The provincial governance mechanisms and fiscal institutions created a particular 'path dependency' which, 18 years after democratic, rule still impacts negatively on service delivery and more equitable policy outcomes. This is in part due to the undermining of provincial governance mechanisms and fiscal institutions by a significant minority of corrupt and incompetent provincial civil servants. The corruption of these provincial governance mechanisms and fiscal institutions erodes the egalitarian values aimed at creating a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and unitary South Africa which historically underpinned the policy agenda of the ANC. It also has weakened social citizenship on a geographical and ultimately racial basis given the continuing coincidence of race and place in a democratic South Africa.
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