Outsourcing Governance

Local Government and the Future of Democracy in South Africa

Bibliographic Data

ID3197162
AuthorsDavid Everatt (0000-0001-6458-8331, University of the Witwatersrand, corresponding author), Marius Pieterse (0000-0001-5163-8846, University of the Witwatersrand)
Year2022
Volume48
Issue5
Pages787-804
Publication date2022-09-03
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Southern African Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0305-7070 • E-ISSN: 1465-3893
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03057070.2022.2119749
OpenAlexW4296774968
LanguageEN
Citations received4

This article analyses the decline and near collapse of local government in South Africa through a political and legal lens. Given the paralysis of constitutionally envisaged political accountability procedures in the post-Mbeki period, residents and local businesses have increasingly resorted to courts and chapter 9 institutions, in addition to local organisation, protest and a range of direct actions. Courts previously afforded municipalities a significant margin of discretion in dealing with local government affairs and stayed out of constitutionally mandated political oversight processes, but have, since 2016, become increasingly interventionist. Some recent judgements go as far as to bypass conventional accountability processes altogether and to endorse community self-help, thereby potentially signalling an evolution in judicial conceptions of civic responsibility. At a political level, however, the future of local government is treacherous, given the loss of faith among voters

Accountability · Corporate governance · Democracy · Discretion · Economics · Local government · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Human Rights and Development · Law · Legal Issues in South Africa · Public Administration · South African History and Culture

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