The cooperative governance model espoused in the democratic South African Constitution requires the three spheres of the local, provincial and national governments to coordinate their service delivery strategies and institutional plans to strengthen efficiency, coherence and accountability toward improving performance efficacy and the quality of citizens' life. However, political and ideological contestations in a situation where different political parties are in power at national, provincial and local government levels result in the lack of alignment between the Integrated Development Plan and the National Development Plan, which denies citizens access to good quality services. This study reviewed various literature sources, governance policies and strategies to analyse whether the Integrated Development Plan of the City of Tshwane Metro Council under the governance of the multi-party coalition led by the Democratic Alliance can align with the National Development Plan, which is a creation of the African National Congress-led national government. A Qualitative approach informed the study, guided by a literature review to collate data and arrive at findings. The findings revealed a lack of alignment between the Integrated Development Plan of the City of Tshwane and the National Development Plan during the Democratic Alliance's control, which results in a disjointed approach to planning; poor implementation of local government services; and slow socialeconomic development that hamper the improvement of the quality of lives of citizens in Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, perpetuating societal inequalities. It is recommended that institutional and political leaders in the three spheres of government in South Africa, and the citizenry, should put 'all hands on deck' and work together for the betterment of the country, despite differences in political strategies and policy approaches.
Coalition governance in South Africa is adjudged as an opportunity for nation-building and social compact, which intends to jettison the apartheid legacy of racial and social separation. Coalition governance in South Africa quintessentially demonstrates a maturing nation-building project whereby political parties embrace a cohesive spirit for democratic governance and citizenship representation. However, the lack of consensus about a developmental posture to drive nation-building in South Africa put different political parties on antithetical dissimulations that undermine effective coalition governance in both national and local governmental spheres. An era of dominant party hegemony is approaching its final demise, which challenges political parties to build workable and collaborative consensus toward leading South Africa out of its current developmental stagnation. The study examines the challenges and opportunities of coalition governance in South Africa. The objective of the paper is to understand how coalition building can be a leverage for Nation building in the context of South African political structure. A qualitative study is undertaken by analyzing strategic and policy documents of political parties and journal articles to examine challenges and opportunities for coalition governance in South Africa. The thematic content analysis examines emerging patterns from primary and secondary documentary sources to generate relevant themes that influence and guide conceptualization, challenges, and opportunities for coalition governance in South Africa. Findings revealed that a major challenge for coalition governance in South Africa is political brinkmanship by political parties who negotiate in bad faith, demanding more concessions than votes garnered from election results, which demonstrates political immaturity. However, a positive aspect of coalition governance might be for parties to formalize binding coalition agreements that can serve as conflict management mechanisms that can compel parties to demonstrate reciprocal accountability during governance.
Coalition governance in South Africa is adjudged as an opportunity for nation-building and social compact, which intends to jettison the apartheid legacy of racial and social separation. Coalition governance in South Africa quintessentially demonstrates a maturing nation-building project whereby political parties embrace a cohesive spirit for democratic governance and citizenship representation. However, the lack of consensus about a developmental posture to drive nation-building in South Africa put different political parties on antithetical dissimulations that undermine effective coalition governance in both national and local governmental spheres. An era of dominant party hegemony is approaching its final demise, which challenges political parties to build workable and collaborative consensus toward leading South Africa out of its current developmental stagnation. The study examines the challenges and opportunities of coalition governance in South Africa. The objective of the paper is to understand how coalition building can be a leverage for Nation building in the context of South African political structure. A qualitative study is undertaken by analyzing strategic and policy documents of political parties and journal articles to examine challenges and opportunities for coalition governance in South Africa. The thematic content analysis examines emerging patterns from primary and secondary documentary sources to generate relevant themes that influence and guide conceptualization, challenges, and opportunities for coalition governance in South Africa. Findings revealed that a major challenge for coalition governance in South Africa is political brinkmanship by political parties who negotiate in bad faith, demanding more concessions than votes garnered from election results, which demonstrates political immaturity. However, a positive aspect of coalition governance might be for parties to formalize binding coalition agreements that can serve as conflict management mechanisms that can compel parties to demonstrate reciprocal accountability during governance.
The relevance of this scientific problem is that there are numerous calls and arguments from civil society organisations, labour unions, progressive economists, and policy experts to the South African government regarding the introduction of basic income grant. This will help protect the unemployed from poverty and stimulate economic growth. Systematization of the literary sources and approaches for solving the problem of improving the quality of life of the poor indicates that the government (led by the African National Congress) since 1994 implemented a social security policy (the child support grant for women). At the same time, the government’s position regarding the feasibility of introducing of basic income grant as a tool for economic stimulation has changed. The African National Congress disagrees with the need for basic income grant as a tool for poverty alleviation and economic growth. The main purpose of the research is the analysis of the prerequisites for the change in the position of the African National Congress regarding the feasibility of introducing basic income grant: basic income grant is a tool for stimulating economic growth and overcoming poverty for most of the disadvantaged population of South Africa, or a means for the government to preserve its positions, which are weakening among the South African electorate. The paper presents the results of an empirical analysis, which proved that basic income grant will contribute to the increase of the national tax base as those not earning an income can start buying and selling goods and be taxed. At the same time, at the initial stage, the introduction of basic income grant will lead to an increase in the level of income taxation of the employed population. Analytical methods of scientific literature analysis became the methodical tools of the conducted research. The research empirically confirms and theoretically proves that the introduction of basic income grant could stimulate the economy by ensuring that the unemployed become economic participants by having disposable cash to spend and start business activities.
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