REDEFINING LOCAL GOVERNMENT WITHIN THE MACRO-DEVELOPMENT AGENDA IN SOUTH AFRICA
A QUEST TO IMPROVE SERVICE DELIVERY
Keywords:
Efficiency, Local Government, Macro-Development, Medium-Term Development Plan, Service delivery, South Africa
Abstract
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, promotes local government as an autonomous sphere, but hierarchical political arrangements and party structures have weakened this, leading to a weakening of local voices. Local government is crucial for providing essential services like water, electricity, housing, and infrastructure development, aiming to bridge the gap between wealthy and disadvantaged communities and improve the quality of life. However, South Africa's local governments face numerous challenges in service delivery, including bureaucratic inefficiencies, insufficient resources, and systemic corruption, which hinder their ability to provide essential services to these communities. This study carefully explores the evolving role of local government within South Africa's macro-development agenda, focusing on the challenges of service delivery and the reforms in governance. It is grounded in three fundamental theoretical perspectives: the Democratic Participatory School, which underlines the importance of local government in promoting citizen engagement and accountability; the Efficiency Services School, which regards local governance as a means for effective and responsive service provision; and the Development School, which sees local government as a catalyst for socio-economic development and transformation. The study employs a qualitative research approach. The study explores the governance structures, policies, frameworks, and service delivery outcomes. The data collection emanates from secondary sources, including governmental reports, policy documents, and scholarly publications. The data is analysed thematically to uncover key service delivery challenges. In the quest to improve service delivery in South Africa, the study welcomes the proposed revision of the 1998 white paper on local government as a robust and decisive approach to strengthen service delivery outcomes. The study believes that revising the 1998 White Paper on Local Government presents a crucial opportunity to enhance service delivery in South Africa by addressing systemic challenges that have hindered municipal effectiveness over the past 30 years. A refreshed policy framework can improve the responsiveness of local governments, ensuring the timely and efficient provision of essential services such as water, sanitation, and electricity. The study further recommends the necessity for improved intergovernmental collaboration, increased stakeholder participation in municipal affairs, and capacity building within institutions to enhance governance effectiveness and ensure sustainable service delivery. The study concludes that it is crucial to reposition local government within the broader context of the national development strategy to achieve long-term socio-economic advancement.
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References
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Mamokhere, J. and Kgobe, F.K.L., (2023). One district, one approach, one budget, one plan: understanding district development model as an initiative for improving service delivery and socio-economic development in South Africa. IAHRW International Journal of Social Sciences Review, 11(3), pp.362-370.
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Managa, A. 2012. “Unfulfilled Promises and Their Consequences: A Reflection on Local Government Performance and the Critical Issue of Poor Service Delivery in South Africa.” Pretoria: Africa Institute of South Africa.
Mashamaite, K., & Lethoko, M. (2018). Role Of The South African Local Government In Local Economic Development., 10, pp. 114–128.
Mashilo, M.T., & Kgobe, F.K.L. (2021). An Inevitable Dialogue of Ethics – A Conceptual Analysis of the South African Public Procurement Corruption. European Journal of Economics, Economics, Law, and Social Sciences. 5(3): 478-489
Mathebula, N., Nkuna, N., & Sebola, M., (2016). Integrated Development Plan For Improved Service Delivery: A Comparative Study Of Municipalities Within The Mopani District Municipality, Limpopo Province. The International Journal of Business and Management, 8, pp. 70-85.
Mbatha, N. P. and S. Mutereko. 2022. “Examining Financial Management of Local Government in South Africa: A Case Study of a Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.” Interdisciplinary Journal of Economics and Business 11 (4): 285–308.
Meena, T., (2023). Importance of Local Economic Development Plans For Rural Areas. International Journal of Scientific Development and Research. 8(3), 662 – 666
Mlambo, D., & Maserumule, M., (2023). Constitutional and Legislative Frameworks for the Local Sphere of Government in South Africa: Analytical and Interpretive Perspective. Insight on Africa, 16, pp. 211 - 229. https://doi.org/10.1177/09750878231211887
Mnandi, N. 2020. “An Assessment of the Implementation of the Batho Pele Principles in Waste Management and Water Services in uMsunduzi Local Municipality." Doctoral thesis, UKZN. https://ukzndspace.ukzn.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10413/19284/Mnandi_Nangipha_2020.pdf ?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.
Mpolweni, N., Kabange, M., & Fagbadebo, O., (2024). Integrated development plan strategies for service delivery in Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality. Africa’s Public Service Delivery & Performance Review. https://doi.org/10.4102/apsdpr.v12i1.835.
Mthiyane, D. B., H. Wissink, and N. Chiwawa. 2022. “The Impact of Rural-Urban Migration in South Africa: A Case of KwaDukuza Municipality.” Journal of Local Government Research and Innovation 3: 9. https://doi.org/10.4102/jolgri.v3i0.56
Mustafa, M., (2017). Democratic decentralisation and good governance: The political economy of procurement reform in decentralised Indonesia. Unpublished PhD theses, The University of Adelaide, South Australia.
Naidoo, V., & Mare, A., (2015). Implementing the National Development Plan? Lessons from Co-ordinating Grand Economic Policies in South Africa. Politikon, 42, pp. 407 - 427. https://doi.org/10.1080/02589346.2015.1104466.
Nel, E., & Binns, T., (2001). Initiating 'Developmental Local Government' in South Africa: Evolving Local Economic Development Policy. Regional Studies, 35, pp. 355 - 362. https://doi.org/10.1080/713693816.
Netswera, M. M. 2022. “Impacts of Municipal Re-demarcations on Service Delivery in South Africa.” Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance 17–36. https://doi.org/10.5130/cjlg.vi27.8132.
Ngcamu, B. S. 2019. “Exploring Service Delivery Protests in Post-apartheid South African Municipalities: A Literature Review.” The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa 15 (1): 9. https://doi.org/10.4102/td.v15i1.643.
Ngumbela, X., (2023). A more than 21-year odyssey of developmental local government in South Africa. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147- 4478). https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v12i7.2864.
Nico, S., (2008). Enhancement of democracy through empowerment of disadvantaged groups. In John, K. and Rupak, C. (eds.), Local government in federal system. New Delhi Viva Books.
Ola, R., (1998). Some thoughts on the role of local government in developing countries (Nigeria). In Ademolekun L. and Olown, O. (eds.), Local government in West Africa since independence. Lagos: University of Lagos Press.
Ola, R.F., (2007). Local government theory and practice: An examination of modernisation efforts in three decades of Nigerian local government (1975 -2003). In Agagu, A.A. and Ola, R.F., Development agenda of the Nigerian state. Lord Keynes Publishing, Akure, pp. 205–215.
Oviasuyi, W. and Dada, I. (2010). Constraints of local government administration in Nigeria. Journal of Social Sciences, 24(2), 81-86.
Parnell, S., Pieterse, E., Swilling, M., & Wooldridge, D., (2022). Democratising Local Government: The South African Experiment. . https://doi.org/10.15641/1-91971-352-6.
Pilusa, K., & Shipalana, M., (2020). Navigation of Innovative Management in the Local Spheres of Government in South Africa – An Issue for Consideration. , 5, pp. 1071-1079. https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt20aug195.
Pretorius, M. C. 2017. “The Influence of Political and Administrative Interaction on Municipal Service Delivery in Selected Municipalities in the Free State Province.” Doctoral thesis, Central University of Technology, Free State.
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Published
2025-08-23
How to Cite
Kgobe, F. K. L., & Mamokhere, J. (2025). REDEFINING LOCAL GOVERNMENT WITHIN THE MACRO-DEVELOPMENT AGENDA IN SOUTH AFRICA. Journal of Social Political Sciences, 6(3), 224-244. https://doi.org/10.52166/jsps.v6i2.264
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Copyright (c) 2025 France Khutso Lavhelani Kgobe, John Mamokhere
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
