Faculty of

Economic and
Management Sciences

South African Governance:

The Challenges
 Learning outcomes:

• After completion of this study unit, you should be able to identify, analyse and
address complex or abstract problems by drawing systematically from the
body of knowledge and methods appropriate to corporate governance within a
symbiotic context of business, government and society:
1. Provide a detailed explanation of the global governance challenges;

2. Provide a detailed explanation of the South African governance challenges;

3. Distinguish between the global governance and South African governance

challenges;

4. Discuss the National Development Plan (NDP) and its contribution to addressing
these challenges;
• Practically apply the identified challenges to the South African context.
 Global governance challenges

• Globalisation challenge
• Complexity challenge
• Inequality challenge
• Gender-equality challenge
• Diversity challenge
• Good governance challenge
• Capacity challenge
• Erosion-of-confidence challenge
• Administrative reform challenge
• Sustainability challenge.
 Global governance challenges
Globalisation challenge:
• “Globalization, in short, can be thought of as the widening,
intensifying, speeding up, and growing impact of world-wide
interconnectedness.”
(Held & McGrew, 1999)
• Governments need to deal with various challenges such as:
Sovereignty challenge
Unequal power relationships
Governance and regulatory challenges resulting from mobility due to
globalisation.
 Global governance challenges

Complexity challenge:
• Problems faced by governance systems and
leaders are increasingly complex
• Solving “wicked” problems
• Different problem definitions, value
judgements, capacities
• Need for network and partnership governance.
Global governance challenges
Inequality challenge:
• Inequalities between countries
• Inequalities within countries
• Millennium development goals (MDG)
• Sustainable development goals
1. No poverty
2. Zero hunger
3. Good health and well-being
4. Quality education
5. Gender equality
6. Clean water and sanitation
7. Affordable and clean energy
8. Decent work and economic growth.
 Global governance challenges
Inequality challenge:
• Sustainable development goals
9. Industry, innovation, infrastructure
10. Reduced inequalities
11. Sustainable cities and communities
12. Responsible consumption, production
13. Climate action
14. Life below water
15. Life on land
16. Peace, justice and strong institutions
17. Partnerships for the goals.
www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/mdgoverview.html
 Global governance challenges

• Gender-equality challenge:
• Political equality
• Economic equality
• Norms and values of societal institutions
• Personal equality.

• Diversity challenge:
• Reality of more ethnic and culturally diverse societies
• Diminishing polarisation
• Teaching diversity and respect
• Building coalitions
• Resolving disputes
• Negotiating and mediating.
 Global governance challenges
Good governance challenge:
• Accountability
• Transparency
• Rule of law
• Responsive governance
• Equitable
• Effective and efficient
• Participatory.
 Global governance challenges
Capacity challenge:
• Changing world circumstances impact on the capacity of
nation states
• Micro parameter:
Skill revolution
• Macro-micro parameter:
Challenges to state and government authority
Redefine basis of legitimacy
Critically assess performance
• Macro parameter:
Complex multicentric world of diverse actors
Changes to the way in which states and individual leaders operate.
 Global governance challenges
Erosion-of-confidence challenge:
• Erosion of confidence in traditionally structured institutions
• Dissatisfaction with government performance
• Continued rising expectations
• Decreases in social capital.

Administrative reform challenge

• “We must go on to adjust executive functions more fairly and
to prescribe better methods of executive organization and
action.” (Woodrow Wilson, 1887)
• New Public Management (NPM) as an approach to
administrative reform
• Network governance and new public governance.
 Global governance challenges

Sustainability challenge:
• Various complex global challenges relating to sustainability and the
governance thereof:
 Problems of complexity
 Problems of uncertainty and change
 Problems of fragmentation
• Adaptive governance:
 Polycentric institutional arrangements
 Sharing management and responsibilities
 Network governance at different levels
 South African governance challenges

• Heritage of the past:

Historical development
Current challenges
High unemployment and inequality
High current account deficit
Volatility of equity and bond flows between 1995 and 2007
Poor savings rate and high indebtedness
Mining and labour uncertainties
Poor education and health outcomes
Deteriorating infrastructure
Lack of capacity to innovate, e.g. low R&D output
Declining credit ratings.
 South African governance challenges

Current challenges:
• South Africa faces a diversity of challenges
• NDP Diagnostic Report (2011)
• National Development Plan
• “The two main objectives we arrived at in the plan
are that we want to eliminate poverty and reduce
inequality.... Increasing employment and improving
the quality of education form our highest priorities in
the plan.”
(Min. Trevor Manual, 2012)
 South African governance challenges

NDP Diagnostic Report:

1. The unemployment challenge
2. The education challenge
3. The infrastructural challenge
4. The marginalised poor challenge
5. The sustainability challenge
6. The health challenge
7. The public service capacity challenge
8. The corruption challenge
9. The divided society challenge.
 South African governance challenges
• Unemployment challenge:
Poverty and inequality are largely driven by high
unemployment
Lack of skills to support modern economy
Not enough jobs created
Economic environment not conducive to small business
Disjuncture between productivity and salary increases
Unemployment rate = 25% (Oct. 2015).
www.tradingeconomics.com/south-africa/forecast
www.statssa.gov.za
 South African governance challenges

• Education challenge
Poor school leadership and poor teacher performance in
many schools
Failure to maintain school infrastructure
Insufficient investment in new infrastructure
Shortage of maths and science teachers
High school dropout rate
More good leaders as principals are needed
Efficient and disciplined schools
Support to teachers
Partnerships
More involvement of parent communities.
 South African governance challenges
• Marginalised poor challenge
• Sustainability challenge
• Health challenge:
High HIV/Aids rate
Increasing TB rate
Infant mortality rate is high and deteriorating
Life expectancy
• Public service capacity challenge:
Political instability
Organisational instability
Capacity/Skills deficit.
 South African governance challenges

• Corruption challenge:
Corruption in public and private sectors
High level of reported corruption cases in public sector
Lack of accountability
Deficient and lacking capacity in anti-corruption agencies
• Divided society challenge:
Creating more opportunities for the future
Building national unity and inclusiveness
Strong economic growth and expanding employment
A new social compact.
South African governance challenges

• Other SA governance challenges:

Stabilising the political-administrative interface
Making public service and local government careers of choice –
experience and expertise
Developing technical and professional skills
Good value for money procurement systems
Strengthening operational management
Strengthening delegation, accountability and oversight
Improving interdepartmental coordination
Good intergovernmental relations and cooperative government
Strengthening local government to improve service delivery and local
development.
South African Governance: The institutions

What’s on the Web?

• Separation of powers explained
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1cN5KuB5s0
• The Municipal Monitoring and Mentoring Project
www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3qxcNdLKaA
• What is a human right?
youtube.com/watch?v=JpY9s1Agbsw
• The Universal Declaration on Human Rights
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTlrSYbCbHE