Governance and Administration
Good governance is a prerequisite for effective poverty reduction, and an efficient public administration system at national, provincial and local level is the bedrock of a functioning state. When President Nelson Mandela took up office in 1994, the new government pledged to create “a better life for all”. New state structures were established to overcome the barriers of racial segregation and discrimination, and municipalities in particular were tasked with playing a key role in making the developmental state a reality. At its current stage, one of South Africa’s major challenges is to strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of public administration and cooperative governance. Reforming the public service, enhancing the performance of municipalities and provinces, achieving greater citizen participation, strengthening administrative justice, implementing anti-corruption measures, and preventing crime and violence are key areas of support of (German) development cooperation in South Africa.
Objectives and Interventions
The overall goal of South African-German cooperation within the focal area of ‘Governance and Administration’ is the further development of effective, Constitution-compliant, citizen-oriented administration and service delivery, which contribute to sustainable and stable development in South Africa and the region.
In the field of ‘Public Service Reform’, the cooperation objective is to enhance efficiency and effectiveness as a result of improved structures and systems. The German Government has tasked the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) and Inwent (Capacity Building International, Germany), with providing technical support for South Africa. Irish Aid is co-financing programme activities, particularly in the province of Limpopo. These activities centre on strengthening the Office of the Premier with an emphasis on its reorganisation and on improved monitoring and evaluation. Anti-corruption activities are being revived and a province-wide Customer Satisfaction Survey conducted. Work within the field of Public Service Reform in the provinces of Mpumalanga and Limpopo is also geared at strengthening the effectiveness of the Premier’s Office. In Mpumalanga new structures of governance have been established in the form of a Provincial Development Council.
The aim of assistance to strengthen local governance is for sub-national government levels to perform their tasks efficiently and effectively while focusing on a sustainable balancing of interests between civil society and the private sector. GTZ, the German Development Service (DED), Inwent and the Centre for International Migration and Development (CIM) provide technical support for the benefit of both a variety of South African governmental and non-governmental institutions and civil society at national, provincial and local level. Support is centred on the key performance areas of local governance, and includes institutional strengthening, development planning, municipal finance improvement and local economic development, public participation, the prevention of HIV and AIDS, and gender mainstreaming. Partner municipalities currently comprise district and local municipalities in the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga.
Support in the field of ‘Violence and Crime Prevention’ is focused on improving means to prevent situational, social and institutional violence and crime in selected programme regions. German support currently focuses on violence prevention through urban upgrading, an integrated programme that covers all three areas of intervention – social, situational and institutional crime prevention. The project is jointly financed by the German Development Cooperation and implemented by the KfW Entwicklungsbank in South African cities. ‘Peace and Development’ and ‘Youth Development through Football’ are technical cooperation projects implemented by GTZ with a particular focus on the youth. Both projects are aimed at developing the skills and abilities of young people in order to enhance their personal future prospects and contribute to reducing conflicts and preventing violence in their lives. Inwent and the initiative ‘Violence Prevention Through Urban Upgrading’ have supported the development and rollout of a successful accredited training course on conflict and violence management and reduction. ‘Youth Against Violence Through Sport’ is a financial cooperation project in partnership with the Department of Sport and Recreation South Africa that uses the construction of sport facilities to address issues of violence prevention among the youth.
