Local Government Asymmetry and the IGFR System in South Africa

This paper describes the historical processes that resulted in the considerable socioeconomic disparities that are found in South Afr ica. Owing to the spatial orientation of much of apartheid policy, these dispar ities have a distinctive geographic form, with signif icant socio-economic contrasts within rural and urban areas and bet ween urban and rural areas more broadly. It was inev itable that these disparities would find expression in asymmetrical circumstances in municipalities, particularly the contrasting conditions of municipalities located in the former “white” South Africa on the one hand and the former bant ustans on the other. It is the purpose of this paper to understand the various facets of this asymmetry and the challenges it poses for the system of local public finance. The paper fir st explains how the asymmetry developed over time and describes its specific ramifications with respect to systems of local governance and finance. The paper then summarises the various local government reform initiatives and assesses their success in addressing the issue of asymmetry, and finally it outlines some challenges that remain.