2.3 Local Government Functions

Local Government Organization and Finance: South Africa 65

Air pollution Building regulations Child care facilities Electricity and gas reticulation Firefighting services Local tourism Municipal airports Municipal health services Municipal planning Municipal public transport Municipal public works Pontoons, ferries, jetties, piers, and harbors Stormwater systems Trading regulations Water and sanitation services Beaches and amusement facilities Billboards and public advertisements Cemeteries Cleansing Control ofpublic nuisances Control ofliquor undertakings Facilities for the accommodation, care, and burial ofanimals Fencing and fences Licensing ofdogs Licensing and control ofundertakings that sell food to the public Local amenities Local sport facilities Markets Municipal abattoirs Municipal parks and recreation Municipal roads Noise pollution Pounds Public places Refuse removal, refuse dumps, and solid waste Street lighting Street trading Traffic and parking

TABLE 2.3 Local Government Functions

Schedule 4B functions (national and provincial oversight) Schedule 5B functions (provincial oversight)

Source: Constitution ofthe Republic ofSouth Africa, 1996.

source ofpower for local government and,significantly,cannot be removed or amended by ordinary statutes or provincial acts,only by constitutional amendment.Section 156(1)(b) provides that a municipality has executive authority and the right to administer any other matter assigned to it by national or provincial legislation,either through general assignments or to individual municipalities.

Expenditure Assignment Issues The current policy reform agenda in South Africa acknowledges a number ofchallenges in expenditure assignments.First,the open-ended and

66 Chris Heymans

inconsistent constitutional definitions cause uncertainty,especially when services are shared with other spheres ofgovernment.For this reason DPLG has recently undertaken further analysis ofthe schedule 4 and 5 functions in the constitution,and the National Treasury is developing a matrix ofexpenditure and revenue responsibilities.These policy initiatives all reflect a need to redress any misalignment between expenditure requirements and revenue-raising capacity.

Second,sector legislation does not deal with assignments and delegations—and the assessment oftheir financial implications—consistently.The Palmer Development Group (2004) points out,for example,that although housing is a provincial function,the Housing Act allows its assignment to local government.In practice,several municipalities have already taken on more housing delivery activities,but the formal assignment and concomitant grant financing arrangements have not yet been made.Another example is evident from the National Health Act,which attempts to focus the role oflocal government on environmental health but simultaneously promotes the integration ofenvironmental health and provincially controlled primary health care services within health districts aligned with municipal boundaries. Some ofthe most evident examples ofthe complexities that face sectors and local governments are in the water sector.Despite water functions at local or district municipality levels having largely been finalized at a legal level,many practicalities still need to be resolved. Giving practical effect to the distinction drawn in the Water Services Act between a water services authority and a water services provider was complicated when the Municipal Structures Act subsequently implied that district municipalities should be the water authorities,yet capacity realities have since required assigning this function in most cases to local municipalities.

Third,capacity varies considerably between municipalities,and the sensitivity ofsectors to capacity limitations may need to be improved.For example,although environmental regulation is not formally a municipal function,an increasing range ofenvironmental roles is being shifted to thelocal level,roles for which many are not equipped.The assignment of local economic development also remains a taxing challenge,because many local governments are uncertain about how to balance an interventionist role and an enabling one.And whereas the local roles in business regulation, land administration,and planning are quite clear,most municipalities lack capacity to manage these functions effectively.

The Municipal Systems Act has attempted to establish certain conditions to ensure that assignments to local governments are viable and do not constitute unfunded mandates.It requires sector ministries to consult with