Download Response to the white paper on local government

Response to the white paper on local government
Executive summary, June 1998
The publication of the white paper on local government is an indication of the welcome attention being given
to this tier of government by the Cabinet. While CDE has sympathy with many of the objectives expressed in
the white paper we find the document overall to be a great disappointment.
The white paper fails to resolve the tension between the desire for strong local government as an engine for
growth and development, and the reality of a sector in fundamental crisis. The document hovers uneasily
between a development wish list and an acknowledgement that some gratification has to be deferred for
sustained medium to long term benefits. It fails to grasp the nettle of hard choices about priorities and
political balance. It fails to come to grips with the crisis in local government and therefore fails to extract the
lessons of this for future policies. It reflects no summary of conclusions drawn from international experience
or other research; its conclusions are not explained or justified; very few facts are reported; the implications
of national economic policy for local government are not discussed; there is a lack of clarity on critical terms;
and there is no concluding chapter pulling together a practical programme of action.
As a result the white paper does not provide an adequate policy framework for local authorities to promote
the development needed to sustain the provision of at least basic needs to all their inhabitants. Development
and the provision of basic needs will require a clear understanding of economic circumstances and choices as
well as an astute political balancing act which encourages all sectors of the community to make the
maximum possible contribution.
South Africa's cities are the location of some 80% of the country's GDP. If government policies for inclusive
economic and social development are to be successful they have to succeed in the cities above all. This will
require a multi-class and multi-race coalition for growth, development and redistribution of services and
opportunities in those cities. Just as in the country as a whole, success will require far-sighted and long-term
thinking on the part of all concerned. Solutions have to be sought that provide something for all the
coalitions that must be formed if we are to achieve the confidence necessary for growth and sustainable
development in urban South Africa.
Investment and economic competitiveness for the cities is the only way to generate resources so that the
poor will have access to services on a sustainable basis. In this context the proposals for metropolitan
government are particularly worrying. The two options put forward in the white paper presuppose that in the
name of efficiency and an undefined notion of redistribution, it is necessary and justifiable to move away
from effective powers for established local areas within the metropolis. CDE is convinced that neither
proposed option will provide the reassurance and environment that investors require before undertaking
large risk ventures in the cities, nor enhance democratic accountability.
CDE's disappointment with the white paper notwithstanding, its publication does provide an opportunity for
open debate about the future of South Africa's cities and towns. CDE therefore puts forward a series of
positive proposals for consideration by government. These include guiding principles for local government
legislation; proposals on metropolitan government; a cities forum; a competitive urban development fund;
and finally two important recommendations on the way forward in the light of the white paper's
inadequacies.