Local government in South Africa: twinning election campaigns and service delivery

Abstract

Since the promulgation of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996 (the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996), the local government landscape has been transformed indefinitely. Whether this transformation has been for the better or the worse depends on the approach of a particular frame of reference, school of thought or even expectations. A legislative framework in the form of both the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 117 of 1998 and the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 32 of 2000 provides binding guidelines on how municipalities are to administer and manage their affairs effectively and efficiently. This article questions whether election campaigns in the 2011 local government elections concentrated on service delivery in line with the Local Government Turnaround Strategy (LGTAS). In addressing this, an analysis of the 2011 election manifestos of the three most popular political parties in South Africa is undertaken. It concludes that political parties did not consider the LGTAS during their election campaigns in 2011. One of its implications is that political parties do not always agree with the diagnosis of local government challenges.