Assessing the Performance of South Africa ’ s Constitution Chapter 7 . The performance of federalism (original) (raw)
Insight on Africa, 2023
After many years of apartheid rule, South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994. As evident in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996, a commitment to establish developmental and human rights became an imperative doctrine. Three government spheres were established here: national, provincial and local. The latter is the sphere closest to the public and is constitutionally mandated to render and deliver sustainable essential services. Since 1994, significant strides have been made by the local sphere of government with both successes and failures. South Africa's legal and policy framework transformation took place between 1993 and 2000 through changes in legislation, proclamations, white papers and by-laws. However, the elements of bad governance since 1994 have created a loss of confidence and service delivery hindrances in South African local government. Much of the population, especially the previously marginalised, face inadequate health services, unclean water and poorly maintained infrastructure and housing because some state institutions have become paralysed due to corruption and maladministration. This article aims to delve into the constitutional and legislative framework of local government in South Africa. The premise from which this article moves is that the quality of governance at the local government level directly impacts service delivery and is, therefore, critical to understanding some of the constitutional and legislative underpinnings driving local government. Municipalities should ensure that all actions and conducts comply with the statutes (acts of parliament, legislations and laws) and regulatory documents (white papers, official rules and regulations and by-laws) to local government.
Constitutionalizing multilevel governance?
International Journal of Constitutional Law, 2008
Definitive version available from: http://icon.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/mon017?ijkey=PSHGpnMd1r5GF3M&key type=ref Multilevel governance entails transformations of statehood, leading to significant changes both in the public sphere of politics and the private sphere of economic activity and in their modes of interaction, the law included. The fragmentation of the public sphere and the decentering of the state have led to new types of regulation and the emergence of global regulatory networks, thereby intermingling the public and the private. The transition from government to governance blurs a clear hierarchy of norms and the distinctions between hard/soft and public/private law; it encourages a fragmentation of public functions. Renewed international legalization has been seen by some in formalist terms, as a way of providing some certainty and predictability; this view has been used to buttress the legitimacy of global governance Although there have been attempts to improve coordination between international regimes, they seem generally to spawn further regulatory networks; any formal constitutionalization of international regimes seems unlikely.
Zeitschrift für ausländisches öfentliches Recht und Völkerrecht, ZAORV = Heidelberg Journal of International Law, HJIL, 2012
Young multitiered systems often do not have the luxury to develop intergovernmental institutions, forums and practices over a long period of time as may have been the case in established federations and decentralised unitary arrangements. The pressure for young multitiered systems to deliver services across an entire nation commences immediately after the enactment of a new constitution. The experiences of South Africa in setting up intergovernmental institutions and practices shortly after the promulgation of its 1993 Interim Constitution and the 1996 Final Constitution may be instructive to other emerging multitiered systems. South Africa has gone through * BA Law, LL.B, LL.D, Member of the State Administrative Tribunal of Western Australia. He is an expert in comparative constitutional law and practice, a Visiting Fellow of the Law Faculty of the University of Western Australia and an inaugural Fellow of the Western Australian Institute of Dispute Management under the auspices of the Murdoch University. The author has travelled widely and has undertaken research on constitutional and political developments in various countries. He has published extensively on a wide range of constitutional topics. He recently played a leading role as expert to the Forum of Federations on federalism projects in Ethiopia and Sudan. The author acknowledges with appreciation the support received from the Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung to undertake this research.
The role of the National Council of Provinces in the South African Federation (2012)
Graduate work focused on role of South Africa’s upper parliamentary chamber, known as the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) after the creation of the most recent constitution in 1996, within the federal constitutional arrangements. More specifically, I am focusing on the distinction between the theoretical raison d’etre negotiated less than two decades ago, and the life of its own that the chamber took on, constrained by several factors, such as the one party dominance, and the nature of the electoral system, as well as the subordinate role of the NCOP to the lower chamber as entrenched in the constitution. I will thus also try to evaluate how successful the NCOP has been in performing the role(s) it was given by the constitutional negotiators in 1996, looking only if its practical attributions have mirrored the ones on paper, and not by normative or superlative comparisons/cases.
International Journal of Recent Innovations Academic Research (IJRIAR), 2022
Local government constitutionalisation is a unique contribution of emerging nations to governance reform and modern public administration theory and practice. Some western and industrialised countries which include Brazil, India, the Philippines, Bolivia, Colombia, and South Korea, to name a few, have constitutionalised their local administrations in order to strengthen their power against intrusive central authority. This elevated their prestige and involvement in policy processes for local level development, service delivery, and public participation, eventually promoting good governance. The extent to which the constitutionalisation of local governance has enhanced public involvement and good governance is examined in this article. The examination is conducted in a comprehensive manner, including a comparison of developed and developing countries. Through the allocation of government authority, openness, efficiency, and responsiveness, constitutionalisation of local administration has clearly enhanced public engagement and good governance in both developed and developing nations. A variety of obstacles have arisen during the process, including local elite capture or corruption, capability, coordination, equity, and stability concerns. When effectively implemented, however, a consistent overall result has been a beneficial influence on citizen involvement, which has resulted in enhanced service delivery, the development of the interface between local government and local governance, and the strengthening of intergovernmental relations. A number of African governments have adopted this worldwide good governance strategy, with variable success. This dissertation examines the experiences of Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Ghana, all of which have constitutionalized local governments, in order to understand why the outcomes differ in each country. The paper makes two main observations: first, decentralisation is political, and its success is determined by the regime and political will; and second, the implementors of local government constitutional provisions in power-whether as senior politicians or administrators-play a critical role in sustaining this innovation in terms of ensuring strengthened citizen participation and good governance.