Reforming Multi-level Government in South Africa.
In its 1996 Final Constitution, South Africa adopted a multi-tier system of government — national, provincial, and local. This quasi-federal system was part of the “pacted” settlement that enabled South Africa to make a successful transition to democracy. Now, after more than a decade of experience,...
| Published in: | Canadian Journal of African Studies Vol. 43; no. 3; pp. 536 - 572 |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article |
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Canadian Journal of African Studies
2009
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| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=510753041&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 510753041 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00083968 7J5 jtl: Canadian Journal of African Studies issn: 00083968 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: 2009 vid: 43 iid: 3 pid: 8717 pub: Canadian Journal of African Studies artinfo: ui: 510753041 ppf: 536 ppct: 36 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: C – @attributes: type: P size: 21.9MB tig: atl: Reforming Multi-level Government in South Africa. aug: au: Simeon, Richard Murray, Christina su: Decentralization in government Democratization South Africa sug: subj: South Africa Decentralization in government Democratization keyword: South Africa -- Constitution ab: In its 1996 Final Constitution, South Africa adopted a multi-tier system of government — national, provincial, and local. This quasi-federal system was part of the “pacted” settlement that enabled South Africa to make a successful transition to democracy. Now, after more than a decade of experience, there is a strong sense in the country that the federalist promises of greater democracy, effective governance,and successful management of conflict have not been fully realized. This article describes the background to the settlement and the ways in which it is set out in the Constitution, and its operation in its first years. It argues that the disappointing results are the product of three main factors: the initial reluctance of the African National Congress to adopt the system and hence the lack of a clear commitment to and rationale for decentralized government by the country's dominant party; the weak capacities of provincial and local governments along many dimensions; and the complexity of the system. The article concludes with a review of current ideas for reform, ranging from abolition of the provinces, to consolidation into fewer units, to more incremental reforms. We argue that the future is better served by developing the potential of decentralization for democratic and effective governance than by radical and necessarily disruptive change. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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