By Nontlantla Skenjana

The South African development regime has been greatly influenced by the theory of modernisation particularly the concept of urbanisation although much of South Africa’s modernisation is reflective of our racial segregation past. One can argue that even that is an outcome of the modernisation process as critics and scholars of modernisation agree that it tends to enforce the development of elites as ambassadors of the modern vision.  As a result, in the case of the Eastern Cape we have relatively highly developed cities of Port Elizabeth followed by East London and Queenstown as the major formerly white areas. However, even in the formerly native areas; the trend of urbanisation was evident although at significantly smaller scale due to inadequate resources. The distinction has always been that the pace of modernisation was much slower in the former so-called native areas such as the Transkei and Ciskei while the Republic was more advanced.

Weird geographical zoning was a hallmark of the Apartheid system. For instance, in the Eastern Cape- East London, Komga, Kei Mouth and King Williams Town were part of the Republic while Bhisho, Dimbaza, Zwelitsha, and Mdantsane were in Ciskei. Therefore, the differences in levels of development were even more obvious in the old Ciskei because of these irregular demarcations that carefully determined which part of the country formed the old Ciskei and which ones would benefit from the Republic’s developmental resources. These stark divisions along racial lines had a great influence in the demarcation of local municipalities to bridge the gaps of inequality and racism post 1994 under the principle of integration and nation building.

Demarcation Changes Steadily Emerge

At the turn of the century, municipal boundaries were determined as per the guidelines of the Constitution of the Republic (1996) that “the local sphere...be established for the whole territory of the Republic’. As a result, the constitution refers to three categories of municipalities which are the metropolitan (Category A), local (Category B) and district municipality (Category C).   The distinction between the other categories and metropolitan municipality according to section 155 of the constitution is that metropolitan municipalities have exclusive municipal executive and legislative authority in their area. Section 2 of the Municipal Structures Act (1998) provides guidance on what should be considered when categorising the municipalities. These include assessment of population density, movement of people, goods and services, extensive development and multiple business districts; economic activity; possibility of integrated development planning and strong interdependent social and economic linkages. At the establishment of the local sphere of government, only six (6) municipalities were declared as metropolitan municipalities. Over 10 years later, Mangaung and Buffalo City Municipalities are waiting on the wings and hoping to attain the status in the course of 2011.

The Buffalo City Municipality (BCM) is one of the local municipalities under Amathole District Municipality. It covers the areas of Bhisho, King Williams Town, Mdantsane and East London. It is the biggest and the most diverse of the eight (8) local municipalities and has a strong industrial history and potential.  The BCM accounted for the majority of the district’s capital expenditure and population at 58% and 42% respectively. Buffalo City has the highest levels of informal settlements although it is the most developed in Amathole; it is also largely dependent on community services for employment.  However, over the years there has been an increase in industrialisation particularly through government’s investment at the East London Industrial Development Zone.

Inequality Persists

There is consensus that the local government sphere is the most crucial in the delivery of services as it is closest to the people. All municipalities receive their mandate from Chapter 7 of the Constitution, which can be elaborated on as follows (Fast: 2004): “To govern in a democratic manner, to ensure the provision of basic services, to promote social and economic development, to promote a safe and healthy environment, and to encourage community participation in local government”. It is thus the intention of every adjustment in the practice of local government to continuously improve and make it possible for municipalities to be effective in delivering services to the community. It has been argued (Parnell, Pieterse, Swilling and Wooldridge: 2002) that the intention of establishing metros was the principle of “One City, One Tax Base”. This was based on the fact that within a certain geographical area there is gross inequality between the rich and the poor and across racial lines. Another key defining factor to the establishment of metropolitan municipalities was the promotion of efficiency in the delivery of services and the improvement of governance.

Although Buffalo City was recorded as the most developed of the Amathole region, there exists gross inequality in the distribution of wealth and development. A recent report from the United Nations reflected Buffalo City as one of the most unequal municipalities.  This can be attributed to the fact that it is as urban as it is rural. Secondly, due to the legacy of apartheid, there are obvious divisions in terms of the location of different social groups (class and race). The third attribute of the social outlook of the BCM is the different cultural backgrounds. The municipality has been able to celebrate the diversity of these cultures in the past ten years without one culture dominating the other.

Buffalo City has been unable to make significant strides in the eradication of slums or upgrading of informal settlements with development that is skewed towards the developed or wealthier areas. In the past year, there have been complaints about municipal services especially refuse collection although there has been gross over expenditure (including overtime) in refuse collection. There has been dissatisfaction from ratepayers with the administration mainly rising from the administrative instability that has affected the delivery of services. BCM residents, therefore, hope that a metro status will mean more resources to enhance effectiveness and efficiency of the delivery of services to benefit all the citizens of the municipality.

Although the Buffalo City Municipality won the prestigious Vuna Awards for the best municipality in South Africa in recent history, in the past three years, the municipality has received qualified audits and in the last period it is alleged that the municipality could not account for a significant portion of the budget (actually a whopping R2billion). The municipality has also experienced a decrease in the levels of revenue collection attributed to rates. There needs to be an urgent intervention to capacitate the municipality in financial management as the metro will come with greater financial responsibility.
This comes as no surprise because the Municipality has had more than three municipal managers in this period, which was also hindered by divisions within the council and the leading political party at local and regional level. The city’s mayoral position has also faced similar challenges of instability as the Mayor was changed more than twice and the current one has over some period now faced serious allegations some of which have emanated from her political organisation. These events have left much to be desired in terms of good governance and democracy as they were marred by allegations of corruption, undemocratic practices and abuse of power.

Hope for a More Responsive Governance

Buffalo City has the greater level of infrastructure development. It will be in within the mandate of the new metro to ensure this is maintained and new infrastructure is developed. Parnell et al (2002:136) argue that the functioning of metros is highly dependent on the local politicians and their managers.  The Constitution gives metros exclusive executive powers and thus gives them the ability to control their own development. The problem of unemployment still haunts a great number of young people in the city and this is a challenge for the new metro. One of the motivations for a metropolitan status is the availability a “centre of economic activity with a complex and diverse economy”. Buffalo City has claim to East London which boasts of a dynamic economic environment from being in the centre of the Eastern Cape, the coast and an accessible harbour and the East London Industrial Development Zone. Buffalo City is also a gateway to agricultural produce that comes from the surrounding farm areas. This gives the city a competitive edge for greater economic development based on the principles of equity, accessibility and impact.

The emerging metro will have to contend with these issues particularly the intra party political infighting as the responsibility will be more. A number of new wards are being introduced in preparation for the metro and the number of councillors is bound to increase. The process of identifying public and party representatives is in progress as the elections loom in the near future and it remains a hope that democracy, transparency, accountability and responsible governance will be the cornerstone of the nomination process.  Politically, the emergence of the metro will create a new political region that will introduce new political dynamics although geographically, the boundaries are unlikely to change.

However, the geography of the new region is bound to shake other boundaries in the province.  The loss of the Amathole District’s influence on the affairs of Buffalo City will not only be geographical but also political, economic and administrative. It is alleged that part of the instability in Buffalo City in recent years was due to differences between the local and regional committees of the ANC. As Buffalo City had the largest allocation in the Amathole District’s budget, this means that Amathole may lose a significant portion of its budget but administratively, it will be able to give a greater focus on the small, rural and poor municipalities within its jurisdiction.

In any democracy, the principle of public participation is crucial especially in local government to enable people to influence development the grassroots level. Local government is where the community has a direct voice continuously and thus the municipality must ensure effective public participation in its governance and developmental processes. This requires that the municipal structures be empowered and enabled to bring all their activities to the community and receive all their mandates from the community. This principle has been marred greatly by loyalty to political parties such that critics argue that officials are more accountable to their political parties than to the public (Transformer: 2009). This view receives greater support during election time as cases have been reported that some of the services that communities are entitled to are at times used to strengthen the election campaigns. It has been argued that even structures such as ward committees, which are a broad community representative forum, are more political than civil. As such, communities cannot fully rely on them for their views to be taken forward. It is the responsibility of the municipality to ensure that these forums are structured properly and to create an enabling environment for their growth and effectiveness. It is also the responsibility of the municipality to provide space for invented public participation structures in the municipality. This will open space for civil society participation and support in the development of its community.

Conclusion

Chambers and Conway (1991:22-23) argue that effective development enhances the capability, improves equity and increases social sustainability. The development of any area is not dependent on government alone but it is the result of strong cooperation between government, civil society and the private sector. The establishment of the East London IDZ has been instrumental in building the private sector of Buffalo City Municipality, however, the impact of the private sector in development is yet to be seen although there is a great potential for growth. Buffalo City has not been immune to the demise of civil society or rather the decrease in positive community activism. It is, therefore, a challenge to the new metro to create an enabling environment and take an active interest in ensuring and strengthening the participation of the private sector and civil society in development.

The BCM community is looking at the dawn of the metro with eyes filled with hope that there will be less red tape, more unity, better service delivery, less corruption, greater accountability, transparency and better governance all round.

References
•    Buffalo City Municipality. 2003. BCM the is the best in South Africa. www.buffalocity.gov.za
•    Buffalo City Municipality. BCM becomes a metro. www.buffalocity.gov.za
•    Chambers R. & Conway G.R. Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Practical Concepts for the 21st Century. Presented as IDS Discussion Paper 296, December 1991. Institute for Development Studies.
•    Coetzee JK, Graaff J, Hendricks F & Wood G., 2004: Development – theory, policy & Practice, Oxford: South Africa
•    ECSECC. 2007. Amathole District Socio Economic Profile. www.ecsecc.org
•    Fast, H. 2004. Local Government Financial Challenges. www.idasa.org.za/gbOutputFiles.asp?WriteContent=Y&RID=685
•    Parnell S., Pieterse E., Swilling M. & Wooldrridge D (Eds). 2002. Democratising Local Government: the South African Experiment. University of Cape Town Press. Landsdowne
•    Smith, K. 2005. The Status of Cape Town: Development Overview
•    Republic of South Africa. 1996. The Constitution. www.gov.za
•    Republic of South Africa. 2000. The Municipal Structures Act. Government Printers. South Africa
•    Wikipedia. Metropolitan Municipalities (South Africa). en.wikipedia.org/.../Metropolitan municipality_(South Africa)
•    www.dispatch.co.za
•    http://www.timeslive.co.za