South Africa has been given a rare and historic opportunity to transform local
government to meet the challenges of the next century. Although local
government will, until 1999, remain subject to the precepts of the transition
process as regulated by the Local Government Transition Act, 1993, the new
Constitution envisages a complete transformation of the local government
system. In terms of the new Constitution, local government is a sphere of
government in its own right and no longer a function of national or provincial
government. Local government has also been given a distinctive status and role
in building democracy and promoting socio-economic development.
The Ministry for Provincial Affairs and Constitutional Development has embarked
on a policy process that will give effect to this new vision of local
government. An intensive 18-month period of consultation and research has
culminated in the White Paper on Local Government. This White Paper spells out
the framework and programme in terms of which the existing local government
system will be radically transformed. It establishes the basis for a system of
local government which is centrally concerned with working with local citizens
and communities to find sustainable ways to meet their needs and improve the
quality of their lives.
In the development of this White Paper, every effort has been made to ensure
that the process has been inclusive, interactive and transparent. A three-phase
approach ensured that all stakeholders were included in the consultative
process over the past eighteen months. The first phase of consultations
resulted in a Discussion Document published in April 1997, containing the
initial strategic questions to be addressed in the White Paper. The second
phase, which consisted of issue-focused research processes, provincial and
local workshops and other consultation mechanisms, resulted in the Green Paper
on Local Government, which was released for public comment in October 1997. The
third phase, consisting of Portfolio Committee hearings, a local government
Summit, public submissions and sectoral consultative conferences, resulted in
the White Paper on Local Government, which has been approved by Cabinet.
Appropriate legislation will now be prepared to enact the policy directions
contained in the White Paper.
This White Paper on Local Government is unique, as it does not deal with a
sectoral policy, but with an entire sphere of government. It can almost be
regarded as a "mini-Constitution" for local government, as it will
affect all South Africans. Local government is the sphere of government that
interacts closest with communities, is responsible for the services and
infrastructure so essential to our people's well being, and is tasked with
ensuring growth and development of communities in a manner that enhances
community participation and accountability.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed
their time and energy to this process to make it a truly unique and
nation-building experience. I am convinced that this has laid the basis for a
better life for all South Africans through an effective local government
system.
Local government stands at the threshold of an exciting and creative era in
which it can and will make a powerful impact on reconstruction and development
in our new democracy.
The process of transforming the institutions of the South African state is
premised on the fact that the new democratic state has a specific mission; that
of meeting the new developmental objectives which will help to create a better
life for all.
The policies in the White Paper are the result of a long process and an even
longer history. A history of a strong civic movement, a history of popular
participation, and the development of principles which will underpin local
government structures through the years of struggle.
The process for developing a new policy for local government was done against
the backdrop of globalisation and the redefinition of the nation state as well
as a new emphasis on decentralisation.
The White Paper is the expression of the belief that our decentralisation of a
special type can work. South Africa has developed a unique form of
decentralisation in the context of the creation of three spheres which are
required to govern in a cooperative manner.
Actually implementing the policies contained in this Paper will take a supreme
effort, tremendous resilience and constructive participation of all role
players. It will require our participation and rolling up of sleeves, our
acting like citizens, as opposed to mere atomised consumers of municipal
services. It will require very specific commitment and effort from national and
provincial government and not in the least, from councillors and administrators
within local government.
I believe that all who have contributed to developing this White Paper have
succeeded in contributing to a formidable historic project; one of building a
modern African state, which cares for its people, that is rooted in our
history, in the soil of this land and this continent. We can be proud that this
White Paper is a product from which people across the globe can learn, one
which can take us into the next millennium and into our renaissance.
I must express my singular sadness at the passing away of Tshepiso Mashinini
whose brilliant and energetic contribution played a pivotal role in the policy
process.
I would like to thank you all who have contributed to this long history and
process. Thank you specifically to those who have worked with Minister Moosa,
Tshepiso Mashinini and myself on the actual writing of this paper which
includes the White Paper Political Committee members (Mr Jomo Khasu, Mr Collin
Matjila, Mr Sicelo Shiceka, Mr Lechesa Tsenoli and Mr Nhlanhla Zulu); Mr Zam
Titus, Director General DCD, the White Paper Working Committee members (Mr
Andrew Boraine, Mr Len Dekker, Mr Chris Heymans, Ms Lynelle John, Ms Jackie
Manche, Mr Rudolph Mastenbroek, Mr Shoots Naidoo, Dr Crispian Olver, Adv Paddy
Roome, Mr Richard Sizani, Dr Koos Smith, Mr Robert Willemse, Mr Roland White);
the Editorial Team (Ms Dominique Wooldridge and Mr Patrick Cockayne) and the
White Paper Secretariat (Ms Minee? Hendricks, Ms Marina van der Merwe and Ms
Charmaine Hartman).
I trust, as I believe Tshepiso trusted, that the effort of writing this paper
will, ultimately, be proven worthwhile.
White
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Apartheid has fundamentally damaged the spatial, social and economic
environments in which people live, work, raise families, and seek to fulfil
their aspirations. Local government has a critical role to play in rebuilding
local communities and environments, as the basis for a democratic, integrated,
prosperous and truly non-racial society.
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) mandates local
government to:
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Provide democratic and accountable government for local communities.
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Ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner.
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Promote social and economic development.
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Promote a safe and healthy environment.
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Encourage the involvement of communities and community organisations in the
matters of local government.
Local government must also promote the Bill of Rights, which reflects the
nation's values about human dignity, equality and freedom, and uphold the
principles enshrined in the Constitution.
Within the framework of the Constitution, this White Paper establishes the basis
for a new developmental local government system, which is committed to working
with citizens, groups and communities to create sustainable human settlements
which provide for a decent quality of life and meet the social, economic and
material needs of communities in a holistic way.
Section A: Current Reality, provides a brief history of local government
under apartheid, which points to the origins of many of the problems currently
faced by local government in South Africa. It highlights our history of
community mobilisation, and locates the current transition process in its
broader historical context.
This section also provides an outline of the current local government system,
and discusses the specific strengths and weaknesses of the different models of
transitional municipality created under the Local Government Transition Act. It
points to the need for systems of metropolitan government which ensure that
Metropolitan Councils have sufficient powers to fulfil their intended role; and
to the need for flexibility in local government systems outside of metropolitan
areas to accommodate the vastly different settlement types (ranging from large
secondary cities to sparsely populated rural areas) which fall within the
District Council system.
It also sketches the existing settlement patterns and trends in the country, and
highlights the particular challenges which South Africa's unique settlement
patterns pose for the new local government system.
The second section of this White Paper, Developmental Local Government,
puts forward a vision of a developmental local government, which centers on
working with local communities to find sustainable ways to meet their needs and
improve the quality of their lives.
It discusses four characteristics of developmental local government, namely
exercising municipal powers and functions in a manner which maximises their
impact on social development and economic growth; playing an integrating and
coordinating role to ensure alignment between public (including all spheres of
government) and private investment within the municipal area; democratising
development; and building social capital through providing community leadership
and vision, and seeking to empower marginalised and excluded groups within the
community.
It urges local government to focus on realising developmental outcomes, such as
the provision of household infrastructure and services; the creation of
liveable, integrated cities, towns and rural areas; and the promotion of local
economic development and community empowerment and redistribution.
It also provides three approaches which can assist municipalities to become more
developmental, namely integrated development planning and budgeting;
performance management; and working together with local citizens and partners.
It emphasises the potential of integrated development planning as a mechanism
to enable prioritisation and integration in municipal planning processes, and
strengthen links between the development and institutional planning processes.
It proposes a process for the development of a performance management system
for local government; and suggests ways in which municipalities can engage
citizens and community groups in the affairs of the municipality in their
capacities as voters, citizens affected by municipal policy, consumers and
end-users of municipal services, and partners in resource mobilisation for the
development of the municipal area.
The third section of this White Paper, Cooperative Government,
situates local government within a system of cooperative government. It notes
that, under the new Constitution, local government is a sphere of government in
its own right, and not a function of national or provincial government. While
acknowledging that the system of intergovernmental relations requires further
elaboration, the section provides a preliminary outline of the roles and
responsibilities of national and provincial government with respect to local
government. It also provides a summary of national departmental programmes
which impact on local government, and notes that local government is
increasingly being seen as a point of integration and coordination for the
delivery of national programmes.
This section concludes with a discussion on the role of organised local
government, and horizontal relations between municipalities.
Section D deals with municipal institutional systems. It begins by
highlighting the particular needs and circumstances which South African
municipal institutions must cater for.
It then focuses on metropolitan municipal institutions, and puts forward three
key motivations for the retention of metropolitan government systems in
metropolitan areas, namely that metropolitan government provides a basis for
socially just and equitable metropolitan governance, enables strategic land-use
planning and coordinated public investment, and the development of a city-wide
framework for economic and social development within the metropolitan area.
Two types of metropolitan government are proposed: Metropolitan government with
Metropolitan Substructures, and metropolitan government with Ward Committees.
The system of metropolitan government with Metropolitan Substructures caters for
metropolitan areas where a structured correspondence between political and
administrative decentralisation is desired. The system of metropolitan
government with Ward Committees allows for maximum administrative flexibility,
but ensures that diversity within the metropolitan community is given voice
through the establishment of decentralised Ward Committees.
The paper then discusses municipal institutions outside metropolitan areas, and
motivates for a system of district government with responsibility for
district-wide integrated development planning, infrastructural development, the
provision of technical assistance to category (B) municipalities, and the
direct provision of some municipal services in areas where category (B)
municipalities lack the capacity to perform all municipal functions.
Three forms of category (B) municipality are proposed, namely urban
municipalities, rural municipalities, and amalgamated urban-rural
municipalities. Although the paper does not allow for the continuation of the
existing Transitional Representative Council system or the "Remaining
Area" system, it recognises that not all rural municipalities will be able
to assume the full range of municipal powers and functions, and that, in a few
exceptional circumstances where the establishment of category (B)
municipalities are completely unviable, the district government may assume
direct responsibility for the delivery of all municipal functions in the area.
The relationship between traditional leaders and local government is discussed.
A cooperative model is proposed whereby traditional leadership will have
representation on Category (B) and (C) municipal Councils. This model will
apply in all areas of traditional leadership.
This section of the White Paper concludes by outlining the criteria for the
demarcation of municipal boundaries.
The next section of the White Paper is concerned with municipal political systems,
and begins by highlighting the importance of dynamic local political
leadership.
It discusses the advantages of allowing for the delegation of executive powers
by a municipal Council to either an Executive Committee or an Executive Mayor,
and proposes that both options are accommodated.
The paper notes that Section 155 of the Constitution envisages some further
differentiation between municipalities in addition to the different categories
of municipalities provided for. It is proposed that municipal political systems
provide a basis for such differentiation, and for the development of municipal
types.
This section concludes by proposing a mixed municipal electoral system where the
proprtional representation component is geared to adjust distortions in
representivity, and proposes an approach to reducing the number of municipal
councillors.
The seventh section of this White Paper introduces the issue of municipal administrative
systems. It notes that the local-level transition process has largely
been concerned with the amalgamation of previously separated municipalities,
and that significant changes to administrative systems have not yet taken
place.
The bulk of this section focuses on service delivery systems, and a wide range
of approaches to transforming municipal service delivery systems are put
forward. While certain national interventions (such as the development of a
regulatory framework for municipal public-private partnerships) are required to
enable municipalities to utilise the full range of options available, each
municipality is encouraged to develop its own institutional transformation
programme and adopt the options which are best suited to its circumstances.
This section of the White Paper also outlines proposed changes to the local
government training system, and stresses the pivotal role that the South
African Local Government Bargaining Council will play in enabling the
transformation of municipal administrative systems.
This section of the White Paper deals with municipal finance. It sketches the
current situation, noting that while the aggregate size of the municipal budget
in South Africa is significant, totaling over R48bn this year, there are vast
disparities between the revenue-bases of different municipalities.
The paper puts forward a set of principles to guide the development of a new
framework for municipal finance, and then elaborates the key aspects of that
framework.
These include local revenue instruments and policies, where it is noted that
while existing sources of municipal revenue should remain, some regulation of
the property taxation system and the regional and establishment levies is
required. Additional sources of revenue, such as a fuel levy and the extension
of property taxation to rural areas, are explored. Municipalities are
encouraged to develop clear tariff policies and credit control mechanisms, to
ensure that poor households have access to basic services and that services are
provided on a sustainable basis.
The second aspect of a framework for municipal finance discussed in the paper is
intergovernmental transfers. The paper distinguishes between agency payments,
capital transfers, and transfers to fund operating costs. The latter system is
currently inconsistent and inequitable, and will be restructured to introduce a
formula-based system of transfers which will constitute the "equitable
share" of national revenue to which local government is constitutionally
entitled. The "equitable share" will be structured in a manner which
enables all municipalities to provide a basic level of services to low-income
households in their areas of jurisdiction at an affordable cost.
The final aspect of a framework for municipal finance addressed in the paper is
leveraging additional investment in the municipal sector. Private sector
investment in municipal infrastructure is required to meet the costs of
inherited backlogs, and interventions to enable the involvement of both private
sector institutions and public sector financial intermediaries are discussed.
This section concludes with a discussion of municipal budgeting, accounting,
financial reporting and management systems, including generally accepted
accounting practices, reserves, capital accounting, and internal and external
reporting. It stresses the need for accurate financial information to enable
sound financial management, private sector investment, and community
involvement in municipal budgeting systems.
Finally, this White Paper puts forward an approach to municipal transformation.
It notes that national government is committed to developing a stable and
enabling framework in which change can occur, and providing a range of support
mechanisms to assist municipalities during the transition. However,
transformation ultimately rests in the hands of each municipality.
Municipalities are encouraged to think critically about how they operate and
relate to local communities, and to develop their own strategies for meeting
local needs and promoting the social and economic development of communities in
their areas of jurisdiction.
Strong and capacitated developmental local government has a substantial
contribution to make to improving South African citizens' quality of life, and
to the development of the nation. This White Paper outlines the systems which
will make developmental local government a reality.
White
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