Future inheritance : building state capacity in democratic South Africa / edited by Daniel Plaatjies ; [foreword by Dawn Primarolo ; preface by Desmond Tutu]

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Plaatjies, Daniel.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political planning.

Democratization--South Africa.

Democratization.

Social policy.

Government accountability.

Nation-building.

South Africa.

Nation-building--South Africa.

South Africa--Politics and government--1994-.

Politics and government.

Democracy--South Africa.

Democracy.

Government accountability--South Africa.

Post-apartheid era--South Africa.

Post-apartheid era.

Economic development--South Africa.

Economic development.

South Africa--Economic policy.

Economic policy.

South Africa--Social policy.

Physical Description:

xxxiii, 321 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Auckland Park , South Africa : Jacana Media, 2011.

Summary:

The basic assumption of this book is that without capacity the new democratic state in South Africa cannot govern and cannot meet the challenges of poverty and unemployment. A number of influential political and business leaders, academics and activists reflect on the following questions: What is the state supposed to achieve? How will it get there? And where is it now?

How can a government with such a profound set of starting values, such as those embodied in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, fail so miserably in delivery to the poor? One should of course be sensitive to needless hyperbole, for much has changed. But why are the streets burning in the poorest townships where official electricity, clean water and sanitation are in short supply? Why, despite more than 20 per cent of the national budget going towards education, does South Africa have the worst-performing schools in the SADC region? Why the seemingly complete collapse of moral and ethical leadership at the highest levels of government? The list of malfunction and malfeasance is endless.

The answers to some of these problems and puzzles are to be found in this excellent collection of public policy analyses by leading scholars, intellectuals, policymakers, planners and practitioners in South Africa. Together, under the competent editorial hand of one of South Africa's most promising young academics, Professor Daniel Plaatjies, the essays offer a rich account of governmental capacity, and the lack thereof, as explanatory framework for the crises of credibility and delivery. I have no doubt this collection will become a standard reference for students of government, politics and administration for a long time to come.

There are far too many policy texts that spend much time on the normative goals of what is presumed to be a democratic state, and little time on the messiness that confounds simple readings of the state, democracy and development in South Africa. In this respect, the (re)collections in this edited book represent a marked step forward in thinking and analysis about transformation in a still promising country. Book jacket.

Contents:

Introduction: Building capacity in the democratic South African state / Daniel Plaatjies

The bureaucratic, flexible and democratic developmental state: lessons for South Africa / Anver Saloojee and Essop Pahad

State capacity and political accountability in post-apartheid South Africa / Anthony Butler

Strengthening the centre: the South African presidency, 1994-2008 / Frank Chikane

Who governs the governors?: accountability and government effectiveness in post-apartheid South Africa / Steven Friedman

The institutional evolution of the ANC as a party of government after 1994 / Fébé Potgieter-Gqubule

Values, political governance and deployment / Daniel Plaatjies

The provinces as a bulwark of democracy / Helen Zille

A delicate dialogue: courts, the executive and social policy in South Africa / Jonathan Klaaren

State models, capacity and economic policy in modern South Africa / John M. Luiz

State ownership and the National Democratic Revolution: debating the issue of nationalism / Joel Netshitenzhe

Prospects and challenges in building the trade and industry sector in South Africa / Seeraj Mohamed

Building capacity for water supply and sanitation services: a demand-side approach / Mike Muller

Basic education: a development perspective. Where are we going / Graeme Bloch

Achieving a responsive social security system in South Africa through institutional reform / Alex van der Heever

Improving the capacity of the state / Neva Seidman Makgetla

Broad-based empowerment or dependent accumulation?: the state and development in South Africa / Richard M. Levin

Coordination and integration: the perpetually elusive grail of governance / David Everatt and Nolulamo Gwagwa

Delivering on the promise of performance monitoring and evaluation / Daniel Plaatjies and Stephen Porter.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1431401013

9781431401017

OCLC:

747232877

Publisher Number:

99949500870