Metropolitanisation and Political Change in South Africa

Cameron, Robert; Alvarez, Alicia

doi:10.1007/978-3-322-90882-7_15

Cited by 3 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…I used a combination of desktop research and primary research, and relied heavily on archival newspaper material referencing the origins, happenings and latest developments in the Sedibeng case. Academic literature on the dynamics, anomalies, institutions, challenges and controversies of demarcation in South Africa was also reviewed, and I drew extensively from Robert Cameron's literature on demarcation, metropolitanisation and party politics in South Africa (Cameron and Milne, 2011;Cameron and Alvarez, 2006;Cameron 2006;Cameron, 2003). Cameron served on the first Board of the MDB and his writings on his experiences while there provide clear insights into the procedures followed as well as some irregularities that were encountered.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is also a burgeoning literature on the dynamics and politics of merging and reconfiguring urban spaces internationally (see, e.g., Hamilton, 2013;Savitch and Vogel, 2009), including a significant literature on South Africa (cf. Cameron, 2003;Cameron and Alvarez, 2006;Magi and de Villiers, 2008;Slack and Bird, 2013). A growing number of works also highlights the increasing need for metropolitanised governance arrangements for the national economy of states such as South Africa (Cole and Payre, 2016;Götz et al, 2010).…”

Section: Demarcation In Post-apartheid South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prior to the promulgation of the final Constitution in 1996, the interim Constitution had made provision for three different types of local government -metropolitan, urban and rural -that each had different structures, powers and characteristics, thus making provision for metropolitan government for the first time in South Africa. Metropolitan governments were created in the three most industrialised provinces: Western Cape -the Cape Metropolitan Council; KwaZulu-Natal -the Greater Durban Metropolitan Council (Cameron, 2006;Cameron and Milne, 2011); and four metropolitan councils in Gauteng -Greater Johannesburg, Greater Pretoria, Khayalami and Lekoa/Vaal (Cameron and Alvarez, 2006). These metropolitan areas were organised into two-tier administrative structures comprised of upper-tier transitional metropolitan councils and lower-tier transitional metropolitan substructures (subsequently metropolitan local councils) (Cameron and Milne, 2011;Cameron and Alvarez, 2006).…”

Section: Local Government Reform In Postapartheid South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Rescaling municipal governance amidst political competition in Gauteng: Sedibeng’s proposed re-demarcation

Mkhize¹

2021

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Demarcation In Post-apartheid South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Local Government Reform In Postapartheid South Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rescaling municipal governance amidst political competition in Gauteng: Sedibeng’s proposed re-demarcation

Mkhize¹

2021

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“…The ANC argued that "a two-tier system led to fragmented metropolitan governance" (Cameron, 2006:80). The plea for the consolidation of municipalities within metropolitan areas in other contexts has also been justified by socio-economic reasons such as economies of scale, global competitiveness, administrative economies, internalisation of firms' spillovers, vigorous and shared revenue bases, increased economic support through national transfers, financial sustainability and savings (Cameron & Alvarez, 2006;Reddy, 2008;Slack & Bird, 2013). Yet, the plea for governmental reform via municipal upscaling is often resisted by ordinary citizens, civil society and opposition political parties.…”

Section: The Politics Of Demarcation and Metropolitanisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rescaling Municipal Governance in Gauteng: Competing Rationalities in Sedibeng’s Proposed Re-Demarcation and Metropolitanisation

Mkhize¹

2021

Urban Forum

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A key achievement of South Africa's democratic era is the restructuring of local government to amalgamate what were once racially segregated jurisdictions. Larger municipalities increase the coherence of governance and the scope for redistribution. However, the process of reform has created a distinction between two different configurations: single-tier metropolitan municipalities for the largest urban centres, and two-tier district and local municipalities for the rest of the country. Several district municipalities with mid-size urban centres are dubbed 'aspirant metros' because key actors argue that they should be reclassified as metropolitan municipalities in the future. This article examines arguments for and against the metropolitanisation of Sedibeng District Municipality in Gauteng following the Municipal Demarcation Board's announcement in 2011 that it was considering this possibility. The arguments are organised into four themes: development and economy, governance, social cohesion, and party politics. They raise important considerations about the advantages and disadvantages of metropolitanisation in the abstract. However, the analysis shows the complex nature of this debate because of the entanglement of technical and party-political rationalities. The Democratic Alliance, a key opponent of metropolitanisation, governs Midvaal, a local municipality that would be dissolved in the event of Sedibeng's restructuring. It accuses the African National Congress of promoting restructuring because it would further the ANC's political interests in the first instance. Meanwhile, ANC-aligned commentators characterise Midvaal as both corrupt and resistant to social integration.

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“…The six metropolitan areas are home to 32.8% of South Africa's population. Growth ranges from 0.12% in eThekwini Source: Cameron and Alvarez, 2004. to 0.69% in Johannesburg, Gauteng (Cameron and Alvarez, 2004). 1 Furthermore, the budgets of metropolitan governments comprises 58.8% of the total local government budgetary expenditure of R86 billion for 2003-04 (Republic of South Africa, 2004).…”

Section: The Municipal Demarcation Boardmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metropolitan restructuring (and more restructuring) in South Africa

Cameron

2005

Public Admin & Development

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This article analyses the evolution of metropolitan government in South Africa. During the past ten years South Africa has progressed from having no metropolitan government, to a two-tier metropolitan system and now to a single-tier metropolitan system. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) prefers single-tier metropolitan authorities as a means to, inter alia, promote redistribution of resources and services, promote strategic land-use planning and facilitate economic and social development. A single-tier system was accordingly introduced in 2000. The major thrust of this article is an examination of the process that led to the introduction of six metropolitan governments, and the theoretical debates that underpinned this decision. It also analyses new types of executive systems, forms of public participation, development and service delivery. Finally, it provides a preliminary analysis of the performance of the new metropolitan governments. The article argues that structural reform, territorial changes, development in local government and new forms of service delivery have seriously overburdened local government in the short term and have detracted from service delivery. These unitary metros have, however, been operating for less than four years and must be given time to prove themselves before an informed evaluation can be made.

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Metropolitanisation and Political Change in South Africa

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 3 publications

References 7 publications

Rescaling municipal governance amidst political competition in Gauteng: Sedibeng’s proposed re-demarcation

Rescaling municipal governance amidst political competition in Gauteng: Sedibeng’s proposed re-demarcation

Rescaling Municipal Governance in Gauteng: Competing Rationalities in Sedibeng’s Proposed Re-Demarcation and Metropolitanisation

Metropolitan restructuring (and more restructuring) in South Africa

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