Public Service Delivery in Rural South Africa: The Influence of Coalition Politics at Local Government Level

Description

Page: 371-375

Hlanganani Mnguni (Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Zululand, South Africa)

This paper examines the influence of coalition governance on public service delivery in the local government sphere. Literature search shows that the inception of coalition governments in the local government sphere was a moment when the political landscape of South Africa changed radically. To examine the impact of coalition governments in local government service delivery, the paper employed the Rational Choice Theory (RTC). This paper used secondary data sources, through a literature review to gather relevant information. It was revealed that amidst the political transformation and change from mostly one-party rule to coalition governments in local governments, service delivery in South Africa particularly in disadvantaged communities and rural areas has remained problematic, fragile, and unstable. Further, whilst it is believed that coalitions in the local government sphere can be used as a governance model to greatly improve leadership, share governance practices, and ultimately improve service delivery. South Africa has seen a rise in service delivery protests since its commencement. The paper concluded by arguing that coalition agreements must be strengthened with policies that seek to support service delivery for communities of the country and be made public to foster accountability.