Rural Local Government in Post-Apartheid South Africa

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Periodical article

Title:	Rural Local Government in Post-Apartheid South Africa
Author:	Ntsebeza, Lungisile
Year:	1998
Periodical:	African Sociological Review
Volume:	2
Issue:	1
Pages:	153-164
Language:	English
Geographic term:	South Africa
Subjects:	local government rural areas Politics and Government Ethnic and Race Relations
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/44895992
Abstract:	Two years after the first democratic local government elections in South Africa, there was still considerable lack of clarity about the form local government would take. More specifically, the role, functions and powers of traditional authorities in rural local government were a matter of grave concern. This article reviews the evolution of policy on rural local government in South Africa over the period 1992-1996 and outlines the district model as it is included in the 1996 Constitution. Then it relates local government policy to practice on the ground, drawing examples from some areas in the Eastern Cape. It shows that the question of rural local government is particularly problematic in the former homelands. The issue is complicated by the fact that the Constitution recognizes both the unelected institution of traditional authorities and a democracy based on elected representation. To make rural local government effective and efficient would require substantial financial resources, but as South Africa is rapidly urbanizing, more and more resources are likely to be allocated to urban areas. Notes, ref.