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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Article
The Perpetual Decline of the State of Local Government in South Africa
Author(s)
Phuti Ignatius Moloto
Kagiso Innocent Makalela
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DOI:10.17265/1548-6591/2023.04.002
Affiliation(s)
Tshwane University of Technology, Polokwane, South Africa
University of Mpumalanga, Nelspruit, South Africa
ABSTRACT
The advent of a democratic order in South Africa in 1994, was accompanied by the first democratic local government elections in 1996. The African National Congress (ANC) brought about hope and high expectations of uninterrupted quality and sustainable service delivery to the most marginalized of society; blacks in rural areas and urban townships. To ensure a local government system that will be responsive and accountable to the people they serve, a considerable amount of effort was undertaken to put in place applicable legislation. Despite all these investments, the past 20 years saw municipalities in many parts of the country would become “black holes” or what one may call “bottomless pits” in which public funds were committed without any meaningful durable services. The aspects indicated above will be articulated to demonstrate a local government system in a perpetual state of decline and paralysis. The article draws from secondary sources, including relevant literature, to advance its argument. The articles argue that despite the strides undertaken by the democratic government, many municipalities are still in an unrelenting struggle to deliver services to communities. Almost all South African municipalities are plagued with huge service delivery backlogs. It can be recommended that there is a need to inculcate and strengthen the role of local councillors in local government matters. The article recommends professional training for councillors in policy machination, strategic planning, budgeting, and translation of plans into programs.
KEYWORDS
democratic local government, service delivery, African National Congress
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