Empowering institutions and improving public service delivery
Project description
Title: Governance Support Programme (GSP) II
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Co-funded by: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office; United States Agency for International Development
Country: South Africa
Lead executing agency: Department for Cooperative Governance (DCoG)
Partner: National Treasury (NT), Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), South African Local Government Association (SALGA), Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME), Provincial Office of the Premier (OtP), Provincial Treasury (PT), Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), 8 municipal administrations
Overall term: 2005 to 2022
Context
The governance systems of South African municipalities are unsuitable for providing public services efficiently and transparently. In 2014, the South African Government coined new ‘Back to Basics’ principles, which aim to strengthen the capacities of municipalities. So far, however, the principles have not been implemented sufficiently by the respective public institutions. The project therefore advises and supports the South African Government in resolving systemic shortcomings in local government.
Objective
Public institutions and selected municipalities are implementing the new principles for transparent, accountable and efficient public services.
Approach
The project is working with eight partner municipalities in the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga provinces. At the same time, it is using various knowledge management formats to extend the support to other municipalities across the country. The project works in the following areas:
- It strengthens the capacity for planning, budgeting, implementing and monitoring service delivery.
- It improves municipal public financial management and procurement. Activities here focus on efficiency and transparency in public procurement. Moreover, the project is working with the National Treasury to promote an increase in revenues in the selected partner municipalities.
- The project strengthens supervisory and accountability bodies for service delivery. It also supports the development of an effective local government to combat corruption. To this end, it strives to increase the effectiveness of the existing municipal committees (for example, water supply and waste management services) and provide citizens with better access to these institutions.
Last update: July 2021