Megacities in South Africa: a solution for the new millennium?

Abstract

This article focuses on the area of metropolitan governance in South Africa. It traces its evolution and looks at the performance of metropolitan government in the three major cities in the country, namely Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. It then focuses on new government policy for metropolitan areas. Particular attention is paid to the impending introduction of unitary-tier structures (‘megacities’) in metropolitan areas. The findings of the article are that there is no conclusive local or international evidence to suggest that either the unitary- or two-tier model is a better system for dealing with metropolitan problems, or that institutional reform at local level is capable of bringing about major political change. There are undoubted theoretical advantages associated with unitary-tier structures. Two-tier systems are often characterized by duplication, inefficient use of resources and complex service arrangements. However, the costs of disrupting local government structures that have recently been put in place could well be far greater than any potential savings that can be made through the amalgamation of existing local structures into a megacity. Unitary structures should accordingly be introduced in a way that will minimize administrative disruption so that officials can focus on service delivery. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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