Abstract:
Since post Apartheid in 1994, the system of intergovernmental relations and
co-operative government in South Africa had evolved, not only because of
the constitutional/legal framework thereof but also because of the statutory
commitment of the various spheres of government to the implementation of
the principles of co-operative government and intergovernmental relations. The
institutions of government in South Africa have, existed as a series of interlocking
devices, pervasive throughout society, and all aimed at promoting the objectives
of the national development and poverty alleviation policy. The attainment of
development goals is heavily dependent on an effective system of intergovernmental
relations and also upon the degree to which the machinery of government can
operate in a state of inter-institutional harmony. Through the establishment of
various institutional arrangements for intergovernmental relations – and the
successful operation of these structures – it is expected that all three spheres of
government will continually strive to co-operate with one another in mutual trust
and good faith. Without the effective operation of intergovernmental relations in
South Africa, projects and programmes aimed at furthering and promoting the
principles of public administration cannot succeed.
Whereas intergovernmental relations consist of the sum total of relationships among
and within the spheres of government, be they hierarchical or based on equality, the
principles of co-operative government lock these relations into a particular normative
framework. The core of this framework is that the decentralization of state power
in terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 is not based on
“competitive federalism” but on the norms of cooperative government.
In this article, the intergovernmental relations system in South Africa, its milestones
and challenges over the past years of democracy will be reviewed. Reference will
be made to the successes and failures of the current system of intergovernmental
relations and possible solutions to remedy the mentioned failures will be suggested.
