Research Articles - Dullah Omar Institute
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Browsing by Author "de Visser, Jaap"
Now showing 1 - 20 of 55
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item ANC proposals on local government(Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, 2012) de Visser, Jaap; Chigwata, TinasheIn the run up to the ANC Policy Conference in Mangaung, the party's Legislature and Governance Working Group has produced a policy discussion document that pays considerable attention to provincial and local government.Item Are ward committees working? Insights from six case studies(Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, 2009) Smith, Terence; de Visser, JaapThe research presented in this book sets out to offer a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the functioning and value of ward committees. In-depth qualitative studies of six ward committees are described. They provide insights into how ward committees are functioning and the key reasons behind the dysfunctionality that appears to plague the majority of ward committees. They also provide lessons for the future to strengthen the role of ward committees. It is envisaged that this resource book will be useful for local government councillors and practitioners, ward committee members, policy makers and ordinary citizens interested in the structures of participatory local governance.Item Book Review: Improving local government(Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance, 2009) de Visser, JaapAcademic literature that engages in a comparison of local government systems, policies and practices and their impact on democracy and development is hard to come by. Yet, these comparisons are critical as they shed light on challenges, failures and best practices in local government across jurisdictions. They also reveal an often-surprising similarity in challenges and choices experienced by countries that engage in decentralisation and are therefore critical resources for policy entrepreneurs and policy makers. This book is thus a very welcome addition to this small pool of academic publications that pursue such comparisons.Item Bridging the gap between theory and practice: Reviewing the functions and powers of local government in South Africa(Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance, 2009) Christmas, Annette; de Visser, JaapThe purpose of this practice note to evaluate the current allocation of functions and powers in the Constitution, and furthermore to propose a set of criteria to guide decisions on where powers and functions are best situated. For local government in particular, the review process provides an opportunity to reflect on the experience of the new local government dispensation just eight years after it was first established. Importantly, this evaluation probes the extent to which the functions and powers delineated for local government have enabled it to meet its developmental mandate.Item Career patterns of local politicians: The case of metropolitan mayors(Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, 2006) de Visser, JaapLocal government is emerging as a strong third sphere of government. Within local government, metropolitan cities are coming out as powerful institutions. Meanwhile, the discussion on the role of provincial governments is raging. Instead of looking at constitutional or managerial aspects of local and provincial governments, this article looks at the impact of the emergence of local government on the career patterns of politicians. How have political parties reacted to this new sphere of government in terms of their politicians’ career management? What does this say about the role, function and importance of the three levels of government in South Africa? An overview of the history of metropolitan mayors and their profiles, albeit very limited in timespan and scope, reveals some interesting career patternsItem Community participation: The cornerstone of (local) participatory democracy(Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, 2007) de Visser, JaapCommunity participation is key to the functioning of local government. One of the constitutional objects of local government is to encourage the involvement of communities and community organisations in local government. The landmark Doctors for Life and Matatiele judgments, passed by the Constitutional Court in August 2006, are critical for the interpretation of the law of community participation in local government. The judgments are fundamental, particularly in relation to the nature and scope of the duty to involve the community in decision making as well as the enforceability of the legal provisions on community participation.Item Confronting the state of local government: the 2013 Constitutional Court decisions(Juta, 2016) de Visser, Jaap; Steytler, NicoIn September 2014 the then Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Pravin Gordhan, divided municipalities into three groups: a third of the municipalities was carrying out their tasks adequately, a third was just managing, and the last third was ‘frankly dysfunctional’ because of poor governance, inadequate financial management, and poor accountability mechanisms.1 What this analysis starkly illustrates is that local government cannot be seen as a uniform institution, operating in the same manner, facing the same challenges. Most, but not all metropolitan municipalities are highly functional and the same applies to the so-called ‘secondary cities’. Then there are highly dysfunctional rural municipalities but also rural municipalities that perform well. Yet a uniform system of law applies to them all.Item Constitution-Building in Africa(Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, 2015) de Visser, Jaap; Steytler, Nico; Powell, Derek; Durojaye, EbenezerThe process towards the adoption of a constitution is determined by the context in which the constitution is written. It navigates such issues as political engagement, keeping politically agreed timelines, ensuring the inclusion of a variety of constituencies and groups, the use of domestic and foreign technical expertise, and ensuring legitimacy and public awareness. This book examines examples of constitution-making processes around the continent and how they attempt(ed) to accommodate the many interests at play. As such, the chapters offer a range of different constitution-making narratives. In Zimbabwe, the Global Political Agreement (GPA) provided for a parliamentary select committee, co-chaired by the three main political parties, to lead the drafting of a constitutional text. The process included public hearings and a referendum. In the case of Malawi, all of its five constitutional review projects were initiated by the presidential appointment of a constitutional review commission or technical drafting committee. The drafting of the country’s 1966 Constitution took place primarily under the auspices of the ruling Malawi Congress Party; the 1995 constitutional review process was led by a National Consultative Council and consisted of various consultative processes. While this review was markedly more inclusive, it still lacked legitimacy. The making of Kenya’s 2010 Constitution was, by all accounts, impressive in its inclusivity. With the horrors of the 2007/2008 post-election violence engraved in collective memory, and the experience of the impressive consultation, led by the Ghai Commission, still fresh in mind, Kenya’s Constitution was drafted on the basis of extensive consultation.Item Constitutional Court shows DFA the door(Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, 2010) de Visser, JaapIn October 2009, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) declared parts of the Development Facilitation Act (DFA) unconstitutional. The Gauteng Development Tribunal was making land use management decisions and bypassing municipal land-use planning processes on the basis of the DFA. The SCA held that this violates municipalities' right to administer 'municipal planning', listed in Schedule 4B of the Constitution as a municipal power.Item Court condemns political interference in municipal manager's appointment(Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, 2009) de Visser, JaapAmathole District Municipality, a municipality controlled by the African National Congress (ANC), advertised the position of municipal manager. The recruitment process was subject to the municipality’s Recruitment Policy, in which the municipality binds itself to fair and transparent recruitment procedures. This judgment deals with the appointment of a municipal manager in a district municipality. It contains the strongest signal yet that the law condemns the practice of appointing municipal managers on the basis of political affiliation rather than suitability for the post.Item Devolution by court injunction: The case of land use planning and management in South Africa(Uganda Management Institute, 2016) de Visser, JaapIn South Africa, the legal and policy framework for land use planning and control underwent a significant transformation in which power over land use planning and control was shifted from provinces to local governments. This shift has taken over fifteen years to materialize as national and provincial governments resisted the devolution of authority. It was ultimately made inevitable by five Constitutional Court judgments in which local government asserted its authority. This article discusses the importance of the reform of planning laws in Africa and outlines key tenets of the recent reform. It discusses the devolution of planning powers to local government and the role played by the judiciary in unlocking the impasse. The central question is whether the court-led transformation of the planning sector was the appropriate mechanism for ushering in change. It is argued that the consequences of devolution for the planning sector in South Africa have been very significant and not all unreservedly positive. It is furthermore argued that the developments in South Africa are relevant for other countries on the continent, particularly as more and more countries constitutionally entrench devolution or decentralization programmes.Item DPLG's policy review process: Local government under the spotlight(Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, 2007) de Visser, Jaap; Christmas, Annette; Baatjies, ReubenOn 31 July 2007, the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) initiated a policy review process of provincial and local government. It will ultimately result in a first White Paper on Provinces and a discussion document on local government. The process will be a national debate, comprising a public participation process, research and a review of experience. The Department has started the process by publishing 65 “Questions for public engagement”. Comments on these questions and on any other relevant topic can be submitted to DPLG until 31 October 2007.Item The enforcement of socio-economic rights against local governments in South Africa(International Development Law Organization (IDLO), 2015) de Visser, JaapPoverty and underdevelopment are South Africa’s greatest challenges. These are inextricably linked to uneven access to adequate public services. By all accounts, South Africa has made impressive progress in extending access to basic services to marginalised communities (see Table 1 below). However, the main challenge remains the severe inequality in access to basic services across different demographic segments of the population of 52 million inhabitants.Item Facilitating public participation: A niche role for the speaker?(Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, 2007) Baatjies, Reuben; de Visser, JaapConsiderable attention has been drawn to local government’s ability to facilitate public participation and the role and effective administration of ward committees. Undoubtedly the most important aspect of the local government review is the need to improve the quality of local democracy, the degree of municipal responsiveness and accountability. The office of the speaker has increasingly come under the spotlight since its inception in local government in 2000. Their role has often been ill-defined. At times, overlapping roles with the (executive) mayor have caused political tension and misunderstanding. The emergence of the political office of a ‘chief whip’ has added another dimension to the definition of the role of the speaker. Some argue that there are now three seats of political power in each municipality.Item Five suggestions to fix local government(State of Local Governance Publication, 2018) de Visser, JaapThe past few weeks have brought the troubled state of local government to the fore with renewed vigour. The Auditor-General’s (AG) consolidated report over the 2016/2017 financial year presented a very bleak picture of the local government financial management. The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Dr Zweli Mkhize, presented a list of municipalities considered dysfunctional and in need of immediate intervention. In the weeks that followed, many analysts eagerly joined the chorus and filled social media pages with opinion pieces lambasting the poor state of local government. The AG’s assessment was so grim that a mere reproduction of the AG’s conclusions was enough to produce blistering opinion pieces. Very few appreciated the nuances in the AG’s assessment or analysed the longer term trends in audit outcomes (such as the decline of municipalities with the worst audit outcomes). Even fewer offered any suggestions on how to arrest the overall regression.Item Formulating the pillars of a turnaround strategy About Previous issues(Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, 2009) Steytler, Nico; de Visser, Jaap; May, AnnetteThe turnaround strategy (TAS) for local government is gaining momentum. Initiated by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CGTA), the TAS is aimed at identifying the drivers of the distress in local government and the mechanisms needed to effectively and efficiently address them. The urgency with which the distress in local government is viewed is evident in the express commitment of both Minister Shiceka and President Zuma to the TAS. The political will to see this process through, therefore, seems to exist. However, to yield different and more substantial results from that of similar prior processes, it must contain certain key elements.Item The functioning of ward committees: Challenges and prospects(Dullah Omar Institute, 2007) de Visser, JaapWard committees were formally introduced in 2000, and many municipalities soon commenced the process of establishing them. The establishment rate of ward committees across the country now stands at over 90% and is growing, indicating a firm commitment to this ode of community participation. The Municipal Structures Act (Act 117 of 1998) provides that the objective of a ward committee is to "enhance participatory democracy". Throughout the Municipal Systems Act (Act 32 of 2000), ward committees are mentioned as vehicles for community participation.Item Implementing Spluma: A review of four ‘Post-Spluma’ provincial planning bills(Dullah Omar Institute for Constitutional Law, Governance and Human Rights, 2017-10) de Visser, Jaap; Poswa, XaviaBetween 2015 and 2017, municipalities across the country developed municipal planning bylaws. Many municipalities were assisted by national government and/or provincial governments. The involvement of both the national and provincial governments was mainly driven by the aim of ensuring that the transfer of power to municipalities occurred in an orderly fashion (see the research report De Visser & Poswa (2017) Implementing SPLUMA: a Review of Municipal Planning By‐laws). More importantly, this was to ensure that municipalities have the necessary local legislation in place to perform their municipal planning function. The scope of the function expanded dramatically as a result of judgments of the Constitutional Court and the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act of 2013 (SPLUMA). SPLUMA is a framework law that does not set out in detail what municipalities have to do in order to effectively execute their municipal planning function. Each province is empowered by the Constitution to pass provincial planning laws to further regulate municipal planning in that particular province and also to regulate the provincial government’s own planning. At the time of writing, it was only the Western Cape that had made use of this constitutional power in the ‘post‐SPLUMA’ era. It is unclear whether the other provinces will complete the planning architecture envisaged by SPLUMA by passing provincial planning legislation. Some may find it sufficient to have SPLUMA and the municipal by‐laws govern planning in their respective provinces without provincial law being the intermediary law.Item Implementing the Municipal Systems Amendment Act(Local Government Bulletin, 2011) de Visser, JaapThe Municipal Systems Amendment Act was signed into law by the President on 5 July 2011 and is set to have a major impact on municipal governance. Regulations to give further substance to the Act are on their way. The first questions about the interpretation of the Act are already emerging, and this article aims to give guidance on some of the more difficult areas. It does not provide a summary of the Act, but rather deals with certain matters of implementation. It is important to note that the changes contained in the Systems Amendment Act do not affect contracts concluded before the Act came into operation.Item Implications for local government of a single public service(Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, 2008) de Visser, JaapThe Department of Public Service and Administration has published for comment a draft Public Administration Management Bill aimed at creating a single public service. The long-awaited Bill is being promoted as the magic bullet for addressing capacity shortages and streamlining service delivery. The intention is that the Bill will be submitted to Parliament in June and passed this year. We outline key aspects of the Bill and raise a number of concerns.
- «
- 1 (current)
- 2
- 3
- »