What Is Local Government In South Africa?
What Is Local Government?
Along with the provincial and national spheres, local government is one of the three spheres of government. Municipalities, which provide many of the services people depend on every day, make up local government. The Constitution distinguishes between three types of municipalities: local, district, and metropolitan. There are 278 municipalities in South Africa, consisting of 8 metropolitan, 44 district, and 226 local municipalities.
Establishments of Local Governments in South Africa?
As the four former colonies were transformed into provinces in 1909, local government was established. Each was ruled by a provincial council made up solely of white people who had limited legislative authority. The central government appointed the administrator of each province, who oversaw an executive committee made up of council members from the majority party. In 1986, provincial councils were eliminated, and the president-appointed executive committees took their place as the provinces’ administrative bodies. A few Blacks, Coloreds, and Indians had been appointed to them by the late 1980s.
History
Local government was racially divided before 1994. Municipalities, Town Boards, Coloured Local Affairs Committees, Black Local Authorities, and Local Government in the Homelands were the different forms of local government. In 1994, a temporary framework known as the National Labor Relations Forum (NLRF) was created.
Functions of Local Government in South Africa
The delivery of a wide range of services in relation to roads, traffic, planning, housing, economic and community development, environment, recreation and amenity services, fire services, and maintaining the register of electors is the responsibility of local authorities, which serve multiple purposes. Council duties are split into two categories:
They are the reserved procedures and Executive abilities executive officers
Resolutions passed by the elected council members with a majority vote during council meetings determine policy. These are “reserved functions” that are only available to the elected council. The adoption of the annual budget, decisions regarding housing policy, and environmental protection policies are some of the reserved duties.
Structure
Eight metropolitan municipalities and 44 two-tier district municipalities, with 228 local municipalities in the second tier, make up local government. Every five years, elections for provincial and local offices are held.
Legal Frame Work
According to the constitution, the Republic of South Africa is divided into three levels of government: the federal, provincial, and municipal. The legislatures in each of the nine provinces are independently elected.
Numerous Acts and the constitution both guarantee provincial and local government. Both provincial and municipal governance are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
In Summary
There are 278 municipalities in South Africa, consisting of 8 metropolitan, 44 district, and 226 local municipalities. As the former colonies were transformed into provinces in 1909, local government was established. Each was ruled by a provincial council made up solely of white people who had limited legislative authority. In 1986, provincial councils were eliminated, and the president-appointed executive committees took their place. The Republic of South Africa is divided into three levels of government: the federal, provincial, and municipal. There are eight metropolitan municipalities and 44 two-tier district municipalities, with 228 local municipalities in the second tier. Every five years, elections for provincial and local offices are held. Both provincial and municipal governance are under the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
