Reviewing municipal capacity in the context of local government reform: 1994-2009

Abstract

Municipal capacity is the catalyst in this entire scenario. This begs the question: do municipalities have the requisite capacity to fulfil their constitutional mandate? This paper tries to answer this question by reviewing the changing circumstances of local government over the last fifteen years. It does so firstly by defining capacity in the context of municipalities, secondly by ascertaining the existing level of skills relative to municipal needs, thirdly by evaluation existing programmes introduced to offset a lack of municipal capacity, and then fourthly by making observations about where these programmes might most urgently need to be strengthened.