by Thabile Sokupa

During a recent Afesis-corplan workshop on key performance indicators (KPIs) for ward committees, I had the opportunity to talk with the Mayor of Great Kei local municipality, the Honourable N W Tekile. In our conversation we touched on a number of “burning issues” with regard to service delivery in local government.

The mayor highlighted that in his municipality the major constraint to service delivery was mainly the lack of well co-ordinated inter-governmental relations. Inter-governmental relations in the South African context refer to the interaction of the different spheres of government.

Recent protests in local municipalities around the country have given rise to questions about the role of local government in service delivery and in providing a decent standard of living for citizens. However local government has only certain powers and functions and some of the complaints about service delivery should also be taken to other spheres of government such as the provincial and national governments who also play a role in service delivery.

South Africa’s laws establish the framework of inter-governmental relations. The law sets out the principles for co-operative governance and the application of these in the relations between national, provincial and local government (GTZ, 2006). The framework states that all three spheres of government, namely national, provincial and local, as well as the private sector and communities, have a role to play in service delivery.

Undoubtedly South Africa has huge service-delivery backlogs inherited from apartheid.  However the Constitution provides for certain basic rights that underpin the notion of service delivery.  Many of these ultimately become matters of life and death, particularly with regard to issues of housing, water and sanitation, health, and quite simply the right to life. The challenge to achieve the delivery of these rights relies on a good working relationship between the three spheres of government which are inter-dependent.  Co-operative governance accepts the integrity of each sphere of government, but also recognises the complex nature of government in modern society.

Today South Africa cannot adequately meet its goals unless the various spheres function as a cohesive whole. The White Paper on Local Government (1998: 50 – 51) envisages that a system of intergovernmental relations has the following strategic aims:

• To promote and facilitate co-operative decision-making;
• To co-ordinate and align priorities, budgets, policies and activities across inter-related functions and sectors;
• To ensure the smooth flow on information within government, and between government and communities, with a view to enhancing the implementation of policy and programmes; and
• The prevention and resolution of conflicts and disputes.

The Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) promulgated two important Acts to regulate local government: the Municipal Systems Act and the Municipal Structures Act. The first states that municipal planning must be aligned with, and complement the development plans and strategies of other state organs to give effect to the principles of co-operative government - see Section 24(1).  This Act introduced the Integrated Development Planning (IDP) for local municipalities to improve the levels of co-operative governance at local level as well as Ward Committees to create a link between local government and communities.

If these systems are in place, what is missing and why is there still lack of service delivery? In many instances, local government lacks the capacity required to deliver. However there are also other factors affecting the pace of service delivery. These may include:

Intergovernmental fiscal relations

Intergovernmental transfers and tax policies play a crucial role in the management and co-ordination of governmental relations. National government collects, controls and distributes the majority of tax revenue, therefore holding power over the beneficiaries of public funds.
The Public Finance Management Act is in place as government’s commitment to transparency and accountability, constitutional obligations and international best practice. However, most departments in the provinces under-spend their allocations which then go back to the national Treasury and are lost to the local level.  Given the levels of poverty in many communities in our province, it is almost criminal that money allocated for development is not spent.

Individual behaviour

The behaviour of individuals is crucial. The human factor accounts for the non-delivery debacle. It is necessary to ensure effective teamwork and collaboration for successful implementation of interdepartmental programmes. At the end of the day people are needed to effect smooth implementation of programmes of service delivery. Linked to this human factor is the communication element. These officials need to communicate among themselves and further communicate decisions to the electorate. Many times political leaders do not communicate to officials at local levels, which results in confusion. Ward Committees have been created at local level to close the gap but research has shown that there are difficulties here too, especially in areas where ward committees have not been resourced or trained to execute their mandates.

The role of intergovernmental agencies

South Africa has a diverse range of agencies in place to strengthen the arms of government in service delivery. These include statutory bodies such as Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC), Auditor-General, State Tender Board, Public Protector, President’s Co-ordinating Council, Interdepartmental forums, Intergovernmental forums, SALGA, National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Ministerial forums (MINMECS) and other agencies that can contribute to better service delivery.

SALGA’s main role is the effective representation of local government in the legislative processes of all spheres of government and other intergovernmental forums. Therefore it needs to show leadership and help resolve service delivery issues. Different levels of government need to take joint responsibility and act together in responding to the crises of poor service delivery. 

The new Zuma administration has created a new national planning ministry and performance monitoring and evaluation ministry under Trevor Manuel and Collins Chabane respectively. Hopefully the two will be effective in the discharge of their responsibilities.

Ultimately what is needed is the fast-tracking of service delivery, promoting job creation, increasing effective public participation and increasing local economic development without delay. Ultimately the success or failure of inter-government relations depends mostly on how much the actors involved in the process are committed to human development by performing their duties with diligence.

References
Bond, P. 2002. Local Economic Development Debates in South Africa. Municipal Services Project Occasional Paper 6
Nel, E. 2000. Local Economic Development in From a Tier to a Sphere: Local Government in New Constitutional order.  Johannesburg: Heinemann
GTZ, 2006. Local & Regional Economic Development: Towards a framework for GTZ’s LRED Interventions in South Africa. First Edition, 2006 written by Anja Rucker and Gabrielle Trah    
Sender, J. 2000. The Struggle to Escape Poverty in South Africa. London: Routledge

The Transformer Jun-Jul 2009