The electoral system for local government combines ward elections with proportional representation. It is regulated in at least four different statutes, the Electoral Act 73 of 1998, the Local Government: Municipal Structures ...

In a radical break with its past, democratic South Africa established a system of devolution that was confirmed in the 1996 Constitution. In reaction to a system of highly centralised government that had seen the abuse of ...

This publication is the result of a collaborative research project of South African and Zimbabwean academics and practitioners active in the field of local government. On 3-4 November 2009 the Community Law Centre hosted ...

“The supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law” are two foundational values of South Africa’s 1996 Constitution (s. 1(c)). An independent judiciary is thus set to play a major role in interpreting and enforcing ...

This paper aims to inform policy makers and stakeholders in the Philippines about the critical features of, and practical experiences with, federalism and decentralization in South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia. The ...

Th e global fi nancial crisis has had a severe impact on South Africa.1 Th e economy went into recession in 2008/09 for the fi rst time in 17 years. Nearly a million jobs were lost in 2009 alone. Growth has resumed, but ...

Unfounded mandates are an extreme manifestation of the phenomenon of governing from the centre; the federal government through various strategies imposes national mandates on state and local governments at the expense of ...

The title of the book by Louis A. Picard and Thomas Mogale is a bit of a misnomer. The book is not about democratic governance in South Africa in general—across the three spheres of government— but about democracy at the ...