Download The Developmental State in Africa (and

“The Developmental State in
Africa (and Elsewhere): The
Lessons for South Africa”
Louis A. Picard
University of Pittsburgh
USA
SOURCE:
Louis A. Picard
The State of the State: Institutional
Transformation, Capacity and Political
Change in South Africa
(Johannesburg: Wits University Press, 2005)
Next Two Books
The State Transformed: Negotiations, Liberalism
and Democracy in South Africa
States within the State: Provinces, Local
Government and Governance in South Africa
Both Books to be Published by Wits University
Press as part of the P&DM series on
Governance.
Biography
Louis A. Picard is Professor in the Division of
International Development of the Graduate School
of Public and International Affairs of the University of
Pittsburgh in the USA and is Visiting Research
Professor at the Graduate School of Public and
Development Management (P&DM) of the University
of Witwatersrand. He has studied African Politics
since 1965 and has focused on the South
African transition for more than twenty years. His
other area of interest is Foreign Aid Policy.
GOVERNANCE

AN OVERVIEW OF ISSUES
Research Themes
1. Institutional patterns of Democratic
Governance
2. Decentralized Democratic Models
3. Foreign Aid and Technical Assistance
4. Organizational and Institutional Capacity
Book Focus: The Institutional
State

The institutional state can be defined as the set
of structures and processes;

including the public service, the nature of intragovernmental social relationships, and internal
organizational dynamics;

which—though it evolves over time—is a
permanent part of the dynamics of government.
Governance: an Overview of
Issues

Basic Term: The Environment of
Development
Governance

Manner in which the state is created, modified
or overthrown

Ways in Which Decisions are Made and
Implemented

Governance is a Process not a Structure
Tentative Universal
Governance Functions
1. Governance- Legal, Expected Roles,
Intra-state Relationships;
2. Governance and Markets- Debates
about Command Economies
3. Governance and Social Service
Delivery
Principles of Governance
1. Provision of Goods and Services
(including law and security)
2. Difference between Provision and
Production (Implications of Exchange
Theory for Contracting)
3. Types of Goods
The Need for Implementation
in Governance

The Institutional State- Societal vs. Individual
or group interests

Structures and Processes of government
beyond patronage and Crony Capitalism

Made up of Human and Structural
(Organizational) Dynamics

Goal: Formal Rules, Common Values and
Standard Modes of Behavior
Governance and Service
Delivery

Factors of Size, Difficulty and Normative
Values- User Fees vs. Taxes and CrossSubsidization

Key Value: Public vs. Private- Basis of
Human Judgment

Goal: Matching Provision with Nature of
Goods and Value Systems of Communities

Debate: Contracting vs. Direct Delivery
Types of Democracy- Terms
Direct DemocracyActual direct participation of a population in
decision-making about laws and regulations
 Town
hall or village model
 Village
 Use
meeting (Baraza or Kgotla)
of Referendum and Recall
Types of Democracy: Terms
Indirect Democracy-Representation

Some form of representative democracy

Hallmark of Modern Government

Existence of various diverse interest
associations and groups within society
Discussion One

If a citizen asks “Is South Africa a ‘True’
Democracy?” how should one respond?

How appropriate are South African
governance institutions for development?
South Africa and Development
FACTORS DETERMINING
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE
Factors Influencing
Governance
1. Imperial Legacies
2. Political Culture, Social Values and
Governance
3. Contemporary External Influences
(Foreign Aid)
4. Informal and Parallel Functions of
Governance
Factor 1: World Wide Legacy of
Imperial Rule: A Mini-Comparison

Land Based- Austria, Germany, Russia,
Ottoman Empires

Overseas- Britain, France, Spain,
Portugal, Holland, etc.

Western Hemisphere Dominance

Japan vs. China
The Legacy of the Colonial
State in Africa
1.
2.
Patron-Client State System and Corporate
Group Interests
Unpredictable and “soft” but centralized
system of governance
3.
An administratively based local state which
precludes local level decision-making
(Prefect or Commissioner)
4.
Authoritarian Control Mechanisms
Factor 2: Political Culture, Social
Values and Governance





Secular vs. Religious Tendencies
“Ethnic” Values
Nation-States vs. Dominant vs. Minority,
Multiple Nation States, Spillover Nation
States
Nature of Democratic vs. Hierarchical
Values
Values, Ideology and State
Factor 3: External Assistance:
Globalization Constraints

Debates about Public vs. Private Sector (SAPS)

Failure of Growth and Distribution (Limits of
Economic Development)

Merging of Governance and Security Focus

“Soft” vs. “Hard” Donors

Multi-lateral Regimes (World Bank System)

Integration vs. Autonomous Development
Factor 4: Parallel Governance and
Non-Formal Systems
1. Persistent- traditional, religious
leadership
2. Adaptive- non-formal transportation
systems
3. Reactive- Religious, ethnic networks
4. Intermediation- Civic Groups
Discussion Two
DOES (OR CAN) FOREIGN AID
PROMOTE DEVELOPMENT?
Do Parallel Institutions contribute
to Development?
South Africa
THE STATE OF THE STATE
South Africa: 1994-2006

Three Tasks: Defined by SA Government

The Development of a Non-racial state and public
service

The Development of a balance between the private
and public sector that could meet the country’s
overwhelming social needs

The Creation of a Policy Making process that
could plan, coordinate and manage economic
development
The Problem

The Poor Record of Development State
Efforts in much of Africa

The Nature of Global Political Economy

Debates About Service Delivery and
Transformation

The Future of the Developmental State?
The South African Legacy
1.Historical Debates- Charterism and NonRacialism
2. Legacy of Negotiations- Job Guarantees
and Provincial Capacity
3. Civil Service Reform- Limits of
Reorganization
Measuring Capacity in South
Africa
1.
The Priority Given to Human Resource
Development?
2.
The Impact of Corruption and Patronage
3.
To Reform or Not to Reform Higher
Education
4.
Salaries, Group Interests and Privileges
The Dilemmas of Human Resource
Development (HRD) and Service
Delivery
1.
Training and Education
2.
Short Term vs. Long Term Investment
3.
Bounded Knowledge and Bridging
Training
4.
Generic vs. Value Based Skills
Development
Mpumalanga

“The State of the Province?”
Governance Issues
Focus on Provincial and Local
Government

The Role of Intermediate Government

Local Government: Primary unit of
government that has both political
leadership and bureaucratic structures
Historical Legacy
1.
“Homeland” administrations and the
Eastern Transvaal administration;
2.
Vested Interests During the Apartheid
Period
3.
Capacity Limitations and the State of the
Province?
4.
Debates about Provincial and Local
Government
Decentralization and
Governance
1.
Administrative- Delegated, Deconcentrated
Capacity
2.
Fiscal- Extent of Collection and
Expenditure of Local Revenue
3.
Political- Bottom up- (Primary but not
exclusive Focus)
4.
Parallel vs. “Layer Cake” Decentralization
South Africa and Decentralized
Governance
1.
Centralized vs. Devolved Capacity
2.
The Role of Provincial Governments
3.
Urban vs. Rural Local Government
4.
Metropolitan Regions vs. District Councils
5.
Successes and Failures in Sub-National
Governance
Discussion Three
Assessment of the State of the State, the
Province and the Southern African Region
Discussion Questions
1.
Affirmative Action: Should focus be on Education
vs. Employment in terms of Human Resource
Development (HRD) - Trade Off: Capacity to
Deliver Services
2.
Governance: Should the focus be on
Decentralization vs. Central Control
3.
Development: Should focus be on State
development vs. Market Development
4.
Beyond Affirmative Action: The Use of Consultants
and Contracting Out
State of the Province
GENERAL DISCUSSION