Resources

• 10 years of local elections in Africa
  [Speeches]

  30 Sep 2010The Local Governance Unit hosted its first seminar, entitled "2000-2010. Ten years of democratic local elections: Is the tide changing?" on 30 September. The guest ...

• Local Governance Barometer Newsletter
  [Newsletters]

  29 Apr 2010Dear Reader Welcome to the first issue of Idasa's Local Governance Barometer, a product of our Political Governance Programme. Editorial Working towards an ideal By Bongani ...

• Citizen Report Cards in the provinces
  [News]

  25 Feb 2010Idasa's project on citizen report cards is underway in South Africa. Field workers from Mpumalanga and the North West have recently been trained and have ...

• Good governance in South African Municipalities
  [News]

  19 Oct 2009Capacity Development for Local Governance (CDLG) Partnering for good governance in South African Municipalities Citizen protests in various municipalities all over South Africa are not ...

• Supporting Local Government in Malawi and Zambia
  [News]

  11 Sep 2009Idasa’s Local Government Unit held a workshop in August for Malawian Stakeholders involved in our capacity development support project.  Both the Malawi Ministry of Local ...

• Developing Local Governance in 50 Municipalities
  [News]

  07 Sep 2009Idasa's Local Governance Unit has a substantial 'Capacity Development for Local Governance' project on the go. In August, Idasa staff met with the Special Advisor of the ...

• Using the Local Governance Barometer in South Africa
  [News]

  01 Aug 2009Idasa has signed an agreement with the Canadian government, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), to run a capacity-building project in fifty municipalities in ...

• CBO Handbook - How Local Government works
  [Toolkits]

  19 Feb 2009By: Yvette Geyer Local government is the coalface of service delivery. It is important for community-based organisations (CBOs) to understand how local government works. There ...

• Local Government Work in Southern Africa
  [News]

  24 Nov 2008Idasa has local governance projects which focus on capacity-building for municipalities in Tanzania, Malawi, Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa. They are currently undergoing evaluation to ...

• Training Councillors in Zimbabwe
  [News]

  28 Oct 2008Idasa has been invited by UN HABITAT in Kenya in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Local Government Association (ZILGA) to facilitate a Training of Trainers and ...

• Citizens and Municipalities Should Talk - Local Governance Barometer
  [Press Releases]

  19 Aug 2008Despite significant improvements in service delivery by local government in South Africa over the past ten years, most municipal councils face a widening gap between ...

• The State of Local Governance in South Africa
  [Research Reports]

  18 Aug 2008This study by Idasa’s Local Government Unit releases the finding of its Local Governance Barometer, a research tool designed to measure local government performance. In ...

• Local Governance Barometer (LGB)
  [Research Reports]

  05 Sep 2007Idasa‘s Political Governance Programme, through its Local Governance Unit, is working with two Impact Alliance partners, Pact (www.pactworld.com) and SNV (www.snvworld.org), in the development and ...

• International Local Governance Barometer
  [Conference Reports]

  15 Apr 2007The Local Governance Barometer is a collaborative Impact Alliance initiative led by IDASA, Pact and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation.  The aim of this initiative is ...

• Integrated Development Planning - Handbook for CBOs
  [Toolkits]

  18 Oct 2006By: Yvette Geyer The purpose of this notebook is to give you an overview the various processes to put integrated development planning (IDP) in place ...

• How to analyse local government budgets
  [Toolkits]

  18 Jul 2006Most government budgets present a range of large figures. Because programmes, departments and municipalities differ in size, one cannot compare the amounts with one another ...

• Toolkit on Powers and Responsibilities of Local Government
  [Toolkits]

  18 Jul 2006According to the South African Constitution, different levels of government are responsible for particular functions. The way these functions are carried out and which ones ...

• Putting the Service back into Service Delivery
  [Articles]

  20 Jun 2006By Steven Friedman If Batho Pele is indeed to become more than a slogan, and we are to get the government we deserve, we need ...

• Municipal Talk June 2006
  [Newsletters]

  01 Jun 2006We present to you a revamped, rejuvenated Municipal Talk. Past readers of Municipal Talk last saw it more than three years ago. We assume you ...

• Local Governance Barometer in process
  [Articles]

  04 Apr 2006The Local Governance Barometer is a collaborative project between IDASA, Pact and SNV Netherlands, facilitated by the Impact Alliance.  The partners are supporting the initiative as ...

• Results of the South African Local Government Elections
  [Articles]

  02 Mar 2006South African Local Government Elections were held on 1st March 2006. For the latest updates on the election results, see the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) ...

• Local Government Elections News Alert
  [News]

  13 Feb 2006The Local Government Center of IDASA will be compiling news alerts, until and beyond the Local Government elections to be held on the 1st March ...

• Local Government Budget Guide
  [Toolkits]

  30 Oct 2005Alexandra Vennekens and Shun Govender The Local Government Budget Guide examines the functioning and impact of local government through the lens of budget analysis. Local ...

• All Spheres of Government are Responsible for Delivery
  [Articles]

  28 Oct 2005Adapted from discussion paper by Joe Mavuso   Recent protests by local municipalities around the country have given rise to questions about the role of ...

• Local Governance Laboratory - with Impact Alliance
  [Conference Reports]

  15 May 2005Idasa hosted a workshop on Local Governance, as part of the Impact Alliance, in April 2005.  Partners from Africa, Latin America, Europe and the US participated in ...

• Analysis of Political Discourse of Sustainable Integrated Governance
  [Speeches]

  02 May 2005IDASA participated in the IMS Integrated Governance Conference in Cape Town in April 2005.  Click on the link to see the presentation made by Bennitto ...

• Decentralisation work in SADC
  [Conference Reports]

  28 Jan 2005This report highlights the work of the Decentralisation project, the overall goal of which was active involvement in decentralisation by civil societies of the participating ...

• How Local Government Works
  [Toolkits]

  25 Oct 2004This is a copy of Idasa's Training Manual on How Local Government Works, for attendees at our Training Course.

• Baseline Study on Ward Committees
  [Articles]

  12 Oct 2004IDASA and Afesis-Corplan are working with the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) and the GTZ supported Strengthening Local Governance Programme to conduct a ...

• Decentralisation Seminar
  [Conference Reports]

  01 Oct 2004IDASA in collaboration with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) have been engaged in a collaborative effort in support of Regional Research Project ...

• Bolobedu
  [Research Reports]

  22 Jun 2004Community Audit - Bolobedu "If the quality of life of all Bolobedu residents is to be improved, integrated sustainable development interventions targeting the needy, specifically ...

• Municipal Talk December 2003
  [Newsletters]

  01 Dec 2003After the 1994 elections, major political, economic and social changes took place throughout South Africa, not least within the local government sector. The legislative processes, ...

• Seminar Report - DANIDA NATIONAL SEMINAR
  [Conference Reports]

  04 Sep 2003Idasa co–ordinators presented the state of the project and the lessons learned.  Reports were presented from IDASA work in Thembelihle and Naledi, Highlands and Umzimvubu, ...

• Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework
  [Submissions]

  18 Jul 2003A submission on the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Bill The Constitution determines democracy, transparency and accountability as the foundation of our state. As a ...

• Municipal Talk 2003
  [Newsletters]

  01 May 2003Idasa’s Local Government Centre seeks to empower municipalities and their communities for effective and accountable governance and service delivery. The centre does training and research, ...

• Participatory Governance at Local Level
  [Toolkits]

  11 Dec 2002Ward Committees 1.What is Participatory Governance? Participatory governance is about the active and meaningful involvement of citizens in the manner in which they are governed. ...

• Establishing ward committees
  [Toolkits]

  11 Dec 2002Ward Committees Article 2 1. Introduction During the last eight years, South African local government has been undergoing profound changes. New legislation aims at establishing ...

• Getting our housing in order
  [Articles]

  01 Nov 2001Khanyisa Newsletter The provision of affordable housing to the poorest segments of our population has been a cornerstone of the post-apartheid government's reconstruction and development strategy. ...

• Habitable environments to enhance social capital
  [Articles]

  01 Nov 2001Anton Krone Khanyisa Newsletter In Pietermaritzburg, a city of some half a million people, an award-winning Habitable Environments Partnership has been running successfully over the ...

• Identity and sustainability in African cities
  [Articles]

  01 Nov 2001Ambrose Adebayo Khanyisa Cities in Africa have developed over time and different changes have occurred in their historical formation and characteristics. The primary concern continues ...

• Innovative schemes from Durban Unicity
  [Articles]

  01 Nov 2001Khanyisa By Sarah Charlton and Nicola Spurr Durban Metro Housing has as its mission to "be the leading local government service unit in the housing ...

• Offering choices in home development
  [Articles]

  01 Nov 2001Tshepiso Mndaweni Khanyisa Waterloo is north of Durban, close to Verulam and the seaside resorts of Umhlanga and Umhloti. In 1991, the farm Waterloo was ...

• Taking rural housing seriously
  [Articles]

  01 Nov 2001Harry Mchunu Khanyisa In KwaZulu-Natal, it is estimated that almost 50% of the population live in rural areas. This means that the delivery of affordable ...

• Cool! Using the sun's energy in low-cost housing
  [Articles]

  01 Nov 2001Christelle Beyers Khanyisa The International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC) is a Johannesburg-based NGO that aims to demonstrate the economic viability and environmental benefits of ...

• Bolobedu: towards a strategy to prevent rural crime
  [Articles]

  23 Oct 2001SECTION 1:BACKGROUND TO BOLOBEDU "...(T)he safety and security of all our citizens is a fundamental right and a critical element in our continuing efforts to ...

• Cape Town has big plans for small business
  [Articles]

  01 Sep 2001Khanyisa The Cape Town Metropolitan Council hosted its first Small Business Week from July 17-20 to promote small business development in the city. Held at ...

• Durban Unicity gets to work in the informal economy
  [Articles]

  01 Sep 2001Nicola Spurr Khanyisa The Durban Unicity has adopted a progressive, developmental approach to its informal economy. The council has developed a policy on the informal ...

• Local economic development crucial for municipalities
  [Articles]

  01 Sep 2001Lindiwe Ndlela Khanyisa The White Paper on Local Government states that local authorities are best placed to promote economic development of their communities because this ...

• Maritzburg offers incentives for development
  [Articles]

  01 Sep 2001Khanyisa The Msunduzi Pietermaritzburg Municipality believes that the expansion of new and existing industries is a key factor that will lead to significant job creation ...

• Our contribution to peace in KwaZulu-Natal
  [Articles]

  01 Sep 2001Siyabonga Memela Khanyisa The KwaZulu-Natal Democracy Programme was set up by Idasa in 1997. Funded by the European Union, the programme has aimed to contribute ...