Developmental Local Government As a Catalyst Or an Impediment Towards a South African Developmental State

Developmental local government as a catalyst or an impediment towards a South African developmental state by DAVID MATHEAKUENA MOHALE Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY in the School DEVELOPMENT STUDIES at the University of South Africa PROMOTER: PROFESSOR VUSI GUMEDE June 2017 i DECLARATION I, David Matheakuena Mohale, declare that this research report – Developmental local government as a catalyst or an impediment towards a South African developmental state - is my own unaided work. It has not been submitted before for any degree or examination at this or any other university. All the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. ............................................ David Matheakuena Mohale 20 June 2017 ii SUMMARY South African authorities formalised their goal to pursue a developmental state with the adoption of the National Development Plan (NDP) in 2012. It is clear from the reading of the NDP that the authorities are convinced that the developmental state approach is a cause for development. The declaration to construct a developmental state is interesting at best or bizarre at worst in that developmental states are often identified by assessing their (economic) performance over a period. They hardly sought out to intentionally build developmental states. The South African governance system has implications for a quest to construct a developmental state. Whereas the literature on East Asian countries tends to focus on the role of central governments in economic development, the South African governance places a huge emphasis on cooperative governance between the three spheres of government. To this end, the constitution spells out the specific developmental objectives that must be pursued by municipalities. This essentially means that the system of cooperative governance, and the extent of effectiveness of local government, will either catalyse or impede the realisation of South African developmental state. Developmental states are often distinguished from others by their structures, roles and outcomes. Their structures and roles are developmental and are a cause for soaring outcomes. This logic was employed to analyse the nature of structures and roles in eight (8) selected municipalities over a 15-year period and how these influenced the actual policy performance. Findings that emerged from over 30 interviews with high ranking officials in various institutions and the thorough analysis of a number of documents confirm that structures and roles in municipalities are far from being developmental. The study also found that informal factors have effectively ‘juniorised’ local government as a sphere of government despite the constitution emphasising the equality of all three spheres. In the final analysis, local government is incapacitated to carry out its developmental mandate. It is against this reality of incapacitation of local government that the study argues that the performance of local government, measured against its constitutional objectives, effectively impedes the realisation of a developmental state in South Africa. Key terms Developmental state; developmental local government; cooperative governance; decentralisation; capacity; institutions; legitimacy; embeddedness; leadership; bureaucracy iii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my late parents and late siblings. I would not have turned out to be passionate about education without my mother’s unfailing strategic guidance and patience. I am therefore greatly indebted to my mother, Mampati Mohale. No words can aptly capture the intrigues of our relationship. Kea leboha Mokoena. Dedication is also made to the late Mme Oupa Tsopo and the late Wilfred Nyatsabe for believing in me. It is sad that they never lived long enough to witness the fruition of their labour. Their words of counsel and support have carried me through life turbulences. May this dedication reconnect us in spirit! May all their souls rest in peace!!! Tumi my daughter, you have proven to be an important ally, my keeper, my comrade. Thank you for your unwavering support, love and understanding. This dedication would be incomplete without mentioning my many mentees, particularly members of Amaqobokazana, The Thinkers and different generations of Matjhabeng Junior Council. I am greatly humbled by your willingness to entrust me with your hopes and aspirations of life. I am elated that I have carried out my commitment to you, which was the successful completion of this degree. I am looking forward to seeing many of you achieving more than me. Keep on walking. Remember: excellence is the way of living. I also feel morally bound to dedicate this thesis to all poor African young men and women in South Africa. Never cease to dream for dreams carry the direction of our aspirations. With education, we can all make Africa our pride. iv ABSTRACT The 2008 plummeting of the global economy led to the resurgence of enthusiastic debate about the developmental state. For critiques of the neoliberal orthodoxy, the crisis confirmed the long-held view that unfettered markets cannot be trusted with the wellbeing of nations and common development for all of humanity. The financial meltdown under the auspices of neoliberalism meant that the state had to resume its rightful place as the guarantor of development of nations. The developmental state framework is therefore once again increasingly seen as the cause for development. The study sought to deconstruct the applicability of the developmental state in the context of South Africa. While copious literature exists on the notion of the developmental state, the aspect of central-local relations (or intergovernmental relations) has not received sufficient attention from scholars in relation to the success or failure of the framework. Through its adopted National Development Plan (NDP), South African government recognises that the prospects of the attainment of a South African developmental state hinge on the functionality of intergovernmental relations and cooperative governance. There is, therefore, tacit acknowledgement that realising the dream of a developmental state is impossible without getting local government to perform at optimum level. The study adopted both the qualitative primary and secondary sources of data to determine if local government serves as a catalyst or an impediment towards the dream of a developmental state in South Africa. Interviews and content analysis were used to complement each other. The period covered in the study starts from 2000 and ends in 2014. One metropolitan municipality, two district municipalities and five local municipalities of different types were identified as units of analysis in order to understand underlying political, social and economic factors whose combination with internal institutional conditions affect the performance of municipalities. The study found that while municipalities are doing well in the delivery of basic infrastructure, they seem to have adopted some flippant attitude towards economic development activities and programs. This was demonstrated by the fact that none of the units of analysis had consistent and functional relations with business stakeholders in their areas of jurisdiction. Relations with other key stakeholders were executed more for compliance than an appreciation of conditionality of municipality-community relations as an ingredient of success. Internally, the v study found that the proliferation of fulltime councillors without determination of value for positions led to pervasive conflicts between key political officials and offices. Conflict at leadership level had adverse effects in each of the units of analysis, resulting in the emergence of cults, division, loss of institutional memory, stress for senior managers and demoralisation. The study recommends a typology for a functional municipality. Amongst others, national and provincial spheres of government need to desist from the temptation to treat local government as a junior sphere With regard to regulations, the study proposes the determination of minimum requirements for election of political officials like mayors, speakers and the needed fulltime politicians. The study further proposes the series of action which municipalities need to undertake to ensure their functionality. These include a shift from tall to flat structures, institutionalisation of performance incentives to the establishment of value-creating partnerships with local business, universities and nongovernmental organisations. vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Figures Figure 1.1 Map showing Free State municipalities and population Figure 2.1 Factors leading to community protests Figure 4.1 Plausible scenarios mostly considered for scenario planning Figure 5.1 Qualitative data analysis diagram Figure 5.2 Illustration of how backgrounds influence perceptions of reality Figure 7.1 Illustration of external multiple stakeholders which influence municipalities Tables Table 2.1 The developmental state, good governance and good-enough governance agendas Table 2.2 Equitable share transfers to local government from 2000-2014 Table 2.3 Equitable share transfers to the Metro and two District municipalities under study from 2000-2014 Table 2.4 Equitable share transfers to local municipalities under study from 2000-2014 Table 3.1 Comparative characteristics of a modern state Table 3.2 Principal differences between the state and government

Load more