Adding injury to insult: Intrusive laws on top of a weak system
Abstract
Local governments often encounter difficulties when state functions and powers are devolved to them. Capacity at local level often becomes the Achilles heel of devolution. This is the case in South Africa. The South African national government has undertaken a variety of capacity-building initiatives to address the capacity problems faced in the South African system of local government. A flurry of legal instruments containing capacity-building measures have been passed and more are in the offing. This paper is inspired by the argument raised by Steytler and De Visser about the national government’s attempt to legislate systemic problems faced by municipalities out of existence.