MUNICIPAL SERVICE DELIVERY
The development and management. of the South African city had not been undertaken as a single political or eccnomic entity. Instead, the components of the apartheid city were developed and managed independently based on the delineations of the aforementioned model, in acrordanc.ewith the dictates of apartheid ideology specifically. The striking feature of this was the bewildering proliferation and duplication of local authority structures in both horizontal and vertical displacement which enforced, primarily, a racially based government system at local level (Swilling 1991). The consequence of this, according to Harrison (1993), was that differing policies, administrative procedures, legislation., t.enuria1 systems. land use controls and servic.e provision applied in and around the city, each with a separate planning and administrative authority had different priorities and approaches to development. Therefore, the level and provision ofrmmicipal services and the concomitant participation of the affected recipient within this system was Jargely determined hy the part of the city in which the person lived. Much of the above was in tum based purely en the race group to which that person had been ascribed by the apartheid gowmment. Aspects to be discussed include: white local authority, black local authority outside the homelands, and black local authority within the homelands.
3.2.1 White Local Authority
Historically, local government in South Africa has been the responsibility of white city and town councils, taking guardianship of the urban areas as demarcated for other population groups under
their jurisdictiao (Bekker 1991; Mandy 1991). Like the apartheid city, local government was structured along racial lines. White municipalities had essentially followed the British IMdel and enjoyed c.onsiderable autonomy within the limits of the powers accorded them, but subject to the control of the provincial authority and central government (Bekker 1991). However, coloured and Indian management committees and local affilirs committees, to all intents and purposes, served in an advisory capacity to the white municipality, and as such had no decision-making powers.
The promotion of the Local Gowmment Affairs Act of 1983 enabled these committees to assume full autonomy, but this gmerallywas rejected by these sectors of the community on the grounds that it implied tacit aca:ptance of racially separated local governmeot (Cameron 1991; Lemon 1992; Morris and Padayachee 1988).
Nevertheless, areas under the jurisdiction of the white municipal authority were well served by that municipality. Generally, urban inhabitants living within these areas were given the opportunity to participate wttb..in an established industrial, commercial and residential market economy served by that local authority. Urban inhabitants living in municipal areas established businesses, owned homes, paid rates and taxes and obtained and paid for municipal services within a controlled and disciplined mviroom.e:nt. All of which contributed to the development of the local economy, both public and private, based on a degree c,f ci:tizm participation leading to their general understanding about the supply and paymeot for municipal services. A form of discipline was instilled in the minds of municipal service-users by credit cmtrol policy founded on a user-pays principle.
3.1.1 Black Local Authority Outside the Homelands
Black local govemmeot is best understood by reference to developments that had
taken
place both within and outside the homelands. Outside the homelands (refer to Figure 7), autonomous black local government was a recent umovation. Prior to the Blaclc Local Authorities Art c,f 1982, such institutioo.s as had existed provided essentially an advisory c.apacity to superior institutions initially this had been to white municipalities, and thereafter to state controlled administration boards (Bantu Affairs Administration Act of 1971), which were renamed development boards in 1986 (Bekker 1991; Mandy 1991).Due the fact that blacks were regarded as predominantly noo.-pennanent residmts. all fixed property in black townships was owned either by central government or by the white local authority. House rents were law, as were standards of housing, infrastructure and municipal
service provision. Commercial and industrial activity had been discouraged in this regimented environment. Consequently there was no base oo which assessment based rates could be levied.
Revenue for the administration of the townships had largely been dependent on a municipal monopoly of liquor sales (Mandy 1991). For the most part official government policy had been based on the following premises, namely that: the process of black urbanisation would be halted by influx control, and new economic opportunities would be creatoo in the black homelands by way of diffusionist (,growth pole) strategy, thereby slowing the flow ofblacks wishing to live and work in the cities on a permanent basis.
Consequently it had been the perception that there was little need to upgrade the oonditions in which blacks lived in the urban areas (Mandy 1991). Huge backlogs in infrastructural ooveloprnmt were the result. The situation was further exacerbated by the failure of influx control (Urban Foundation 1990a; 1990b ). The economic and politic.al structure 'Which had evolved in the white municipal areas therefore did not take place in the townships. By the time the Nationalist Party government was to change their policy an government of the townships, it was too late.
Black local authorities, with the introduction of the Black Local Authorities Act of 1982, had suddenly been thrust into autmomy, having bad little or no experience and supported by inadequate financial resources-. Contributing to the subsequent fisc.al crisis in the townships was the lack of a tax base, owing to the small number of businesses within them. and the state's suppression ofprivateproperty rights for black residents (Grest 1988). Theoretic.ally, they bad hem granted powers equivalent to those of white municipalities, including the primary responsibility of township development. Accordingly they were supposed to have played an important role in meeting the challenge of urbanisation. However, according to Bekker (1991 ), their essentially politic.ally contest.ed existmce by the l 990's added to their failure in meeting this challenge. This aspect will be developed further in section 3.4 which deals with resistance to apartheid rule.
3.2.3 Black Local Authority Within the Homelands
In South Africa's independent homelands and self-governing territories shown in Figure 5, the developmfllt of local authorities followed a different path from that devised for white administered South Africa. Urban local authorities within homelands and self-governing areas had been established in tenns of Proclamation R293 of 1962, which provided for the establishment of township councils. The ooveloprru.m and administration of most of the Proclamation R293 towns
became the responsibility of the various homeland governments. However, homeland and self
gowming authorities did not enjoy full autonomy over township cauncils within their areas. This was due to the fact that the South African-central govemmeat's Department of Development Aid shared responsibility in the provision of most services in these towns, and had wide-ranging cootrol over finance, often with predetermined unifonn tariffs for municipal services in tenns of Proclamation R293 towns. Even the independence of the homelands of the Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda, and Ciskei, for the most part, heralded little change in the status quo.
The majority of homeland township cauncils were thus severely constrained regarding the necessary functions, powers and financial freedom (Bekker 1991). Outside the proclaimed urban areas of the homelands were the tribal authorities. These reflected traditional fonns of government as perfonned in the particular area, sometimes in the modified fonn of a community authority which might have comprised tribal chiefs, elders, and elected councillors. In all cases, these tribal authorities had limited say over local affairs and were scarcely more than agents for their respective homeland govemrneots (Bekker 1991).
From the above it is obvious that the development and management of the city was skewed in accordance with the diet.ates of apartheid. The consequences were that nnmicipal service provision urban inhabitants enjoyed was laigely determined by their designated group area. The different developmeot and .management practices have resulted in variations in perceptiaos about the supply and payment for municipal services. This is evident from the reports and ovents about non
payment discussed in Chapter One, and the resuhs of attitudinal and perception research described in Chapter Two.
3.3 APARTHEID PRACTICE CREATES ECONOMIC ANOMALIES AND