52
Chris Heymans
The Broad Constitutional Framework Most constitutions make only passing reference to local government. South Africa is one of the exceptions, and both postapartheid constitutions have dedicated considerable attention to local government (see figure 2.1 for a schematic outline of intergovernmental relations). This interesting decentralist trait in the unitary system was chosen very consciously during the 1993 constitutional negotiations as an alternative to the federal system proposed by several negotiating parties. The 1997 constitution extends the 1993 decentralist stance further, both in its general intergovernmental principles and through an extended section on local government. In principle, the constitution requires that municipalities be established for the “whole territory of the Republic,” sometimes referred to as a wall-to-wall system of municipalities. Three concepts in the 1997 constitution are particularly significant to the nature of intergovernmental relations. The first is the notion of three
National department: national competency or shared with province
Department of provincial and local government
National treasury
Intergovernmental forum, president’s coordinating council on local government, committees for ministers and members of executive councils, budget forum, budget council, and technical committees
Provincial department
Provincial department of local government
Metro, district council, or local municipality
Provincial treasury
Local treasury
Source: Author’s illustration based on the constitutions and local government legislation.
F I G U R E 2 . 1 Schematic Portrayal of Intergovernmental Relations in South Africa
