21-Year-Review of Local Government

The 5th of December 2021, marks the democratic local government’s coming of age. Many of the issues relating to local government are interrelated and require a coherent approach in addressing shortcomings, paving a way forward on the journey towards efficiency.

As we enter a new five-year term of democratic local government, the Department of Cooperative Governance is embarking on a review of the journey of local government so far.

The White Paper for Local Government, 1998 envisioned an ideal municipality that will strive to build the Developmental State in South Africa, draw from the constitutional and established legal frameworks and be able to fulfill the following:

1. Provide democratic and accountable government for local communities
2. Be responsive to the needs of the local community
3. Ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner
4. Promote social and economic development
5. Promote a safe and healthy environment
6. Encourage the involvement of communities and community organisations in the matters of local government
7. Facilitate a culture of public service and accountability amongst its staff
8. Assign clear responsibilities for the management and coordination of these administrative units and mechanisms

Despite some achievements over the last 25 years, the current development trajectory is not delivering fast enough on the vision of the White Paper and expectations of communities. The department’s review aims to uncover lessons from both the successes and failures of the system and arrive at recommendations that address systemic issues over the next planning horizon and your input would assist in achieving this.

You can add your voice in the review by taking part in this short 21 years of Local Government Survey:

Visit https://govchat.app and follow these simple steps:

1. Enter your mobile number
2. Click Surveys and Polls
3. Click GovChat Surveys
4. Fill in your location, gender and age details
5. Click Find Surveys
6. Click Have your say: 21 Years of Local Government
7.  Select your answers from the provided questions
8. Click Submit Survey