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Municipal Governance in SA
The Local Government Unit works to empower municipalities and their communities to create effective and accountable local governance and service delivery in Southern Africa.
Good Governance in SA Municipalities project focuses on Partnering for good governance in 50 South African Municipalities from 2009 - 2014. See more here.
Resources
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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) ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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. ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
Recent Resources
- Speeches: 10 years of local elections in Africa
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 ...
- Newsletters: Local Governance Barometer Newsletter
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 ...
- News: Citizen Report Cards in the provinces
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 ...
- News: Good governance in South African Municipalities
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 ...
- Articles (18)
- Conference Reports (5)
- News (8)
- Newsletters (4)
- Press Releases (1)
- Research Reports (3)
- Speeches (2)
- Submissions (1)
- Toolkits (8)
Country Work
Featured Book
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Seeds for Growth: Financing smallholder farming in southern Africa
[Books]22-Sep-2011Between 250 and 300 million Africans suffer from hunger.
Contacts
Popular Articles
- 14 May 20122012 South African Budget Guide and Dictionary
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- 03 May 2012Idasa interview: Paul Graham on leadership in South Africa
Themes
Idasa Blog
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Idasa responds to Land Bank announcement
19 Aug 2011The Public Expenditure and Smallholder Agriculture Project in African democracy institute, Idasa, has welcomed the Land Bank’s commitment to spend 1 billion rands on emerging farmers in the next two years as a move to unlock the long-term potential growth of agriculture as one of the pillars of South Africa’s economic development. Please read attached [...]
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Highlighted Programme
Accountability (ANSA)
The Affiliated Network for Social Accountability (ANSA)-Africa is a leading African advocate of citizen involvement in demand-side governance initiatives. ANSA-Africa Secretariat is hosted by Idasa.
African Charter on Democracy
The African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance was adopted by the African Union in January 2007. Idasa is working with the African Development Forum to promote the Charter which encourages sustainable democracies in Africa, and has recently launched a project to build constituencies of support for the Charter in ...
Economic Governance Programme
Idasa's Economic Governance Programme (EGP)aims to put the politics back into economics – to address the current democratic deficit in the way that decisions are made about economic policy.
Electricity Governance
Idasa leads a consortium of South African civil society organisations and research institutes in the local chapter of the Electricity Governance Initiative (EGI). The consortium aims to improve governance of the electricity sector in South Africa.
Global Transparency
Idasa’s Economic Governance Programme (EGP) is part of the Global Transparency Initiative (GTI) - a network of civil society organisations promoting openness in International Financial Institutions (IFIs) such as the World Bank, the IMF, the European Investment Bank and Regional Development Banks.
Governance and AIDS Programme
Idasa's Governance and AIDS Programme aims to strengthen good governance to counter the effects of HIV/AIDS by instituting evidence-based advocacy, skills building and active citizenship, targeting intergovernmental organisations (IGOs) and relevant regional non-state actors.
Leadership and Democracy in Africa
iLEDA - the initiative for Leadership and Democracy - is a democracy training programme for political and citizen leaders from across Africa.
Political Governance Programme
The Political Governance Programme (PGP) aims to build and strengthen democratic institutions and relationships between elected representatives, appointed officials and citizens in order to enhance meaningful engagement between governments and citizens.
Political Information and Monitoring Service
The Political Information and Monitoring Service (PIMS) provides insights into the South African legislative process in order to promote an open and accountable executive and strong, independent parliament.
Private Funding for Political Parties
In South Africa, there is currently no regulation of private funding to political parties. What this means is that donors can give as much as they want, in secret, to the political party of their choice. This lack of regulation of party funding may allow efforts of the wealthy to ...
Right to Know campaign
The proposed Protection of Information Bill, being debated in South African parliament has generated much discussion among the public and the media, as people fear for media freedoms and their right to access information.
Safety and Security Programme
This programme aims to promote citizen safety, largely by researching and promoting crime interventions at local level.
Southern African Migration Programme
The Southern African Migration Project (SAMP) provides information regarding cross-border population migration, and promotes public awareness of the role, status and contribution of foreign immigrants of African origin in South Africa.
Special Projects
In addition to its main programme areas, Idasa also has special projects.
States in Transition
The States in Transition Observatory (SITO) facilitates understanding of challenges faced by African countries experiencing a democratic deficit, by providing analysis of political developments in countries in transition.
USA Office
"Friends of Idasa" is Idasa's US office and builds support in the United States for Idasa and its programmes. As with Idasa's other offices, our US office aims to influence the discussion surrounding democracy and governance in Africa in order to raise awareness of Idasa’s work and help to mobilize ...
Youth Zones
Youth Zones is a project that uses soccer to make a difference in the lives of young people living in vulnerable communities in Southern Africa
Twitter-
#idasa colleagues prooving visionary and inspirational
#idasa colleagues prooving visionary and inspirational
5 hours, 53 minutes ago -
@idasa in annual strategic retreat this week to evaluate our work and address new requests from around Africa.
@idasa in annual strategic retreat this week to evaluate our work and address new requests from around Africa.
9 hours ago -
#Idasa has executive office space to let in the well situated Kutlwanong #Democracy Center in Pretoria. Please see http://t.co/ZuR3NyhJ
#Idasa has executive office space to let in the well situated Kutlwanong #Democracy Center in Pretoria. Please see http://t.co/ZuR3NyhJ
3 days, 4 hours ago
