6th National Annual Government Conference: Provincial Governance and Development in SA Post 1994, Quo Vadis?

The Minister of Co – operative Governance and Traditional Affairs has mooted the possibility of abolishing the provincial sphere of government altogether citing poor service delivery and high costs (Natal Mercury, 13 July 2009). According to Friedman, (Business Day, 29 June 2009), “the Provinces, a product of the pre – democracy negotiating process were seen by many in the ANC as mechanisms to evade plans to transform the country”. The Party has always advocated the need for a strong unitary system of government and believed that the provinces were divisive and dysfunctional.

There are several strong arguments for retaining the provinces including inter alia, it was part of the historical constitutional settlement reached; it is a bulwark of democracy and they are key to effective services delivery. The provinces are democratic structures and their abolition or alternatively their continued undermining would impact negatively on the democratic foundations of the country. To date, there has been no public call for a change in boundaries or for that matter a reduction in the number of provinces.

It has also been pointed out that the main reasons for service delivery problems in South Africa are not constitutional or legal but rather can be attributed to shortages and lack of skills, training and human resources. Non structural challenges like poor service delivery cannot be addressed by structural changes. In this regard, Gumede (www.pambazuka.org./en/category/features/57904 ) points out that we must not “again fall prey to the perennial South African policymaking weakness, whenever an institution appears not to be working, scrap it and create a new one, with inevitably, new problems, problems which are sometimes worse”.

It is proposed that a two day conference be hosted by the Democracy Development Programme to critically review provincial government functioning in South Africa over the past sixteen years. This will be the sixth national conference of this nature that the DDP has successfully hosted. The conference will bring together Government at all three levels as well as practitioners, officials and civil society organisations.

Thematic issues that should be addressed at this national conference will include inter alia:

• Review of the International, African and South African Experience in Provincial Governance and Development;
• Policy Options for Abolishment/Retention of Provincial Government;
• Role and Impact of the National Council of Provinces;
• Intergovernmental Relations in a Provincial Context;
• Service Delivery at the Provincial Level; Provincial Financing and Development;
• Role and Contribution of Provincial Growth and Development Strategies;
• Public Accountability at the Provincial Level; Co – ordination,
• Monitoring and Evaluation at provincial level.