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1. Leveraging 4IR for Governance and Urban Development in Johannesburg

Author:
Mmabatho Mongae
Publication Date:
02-2025
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:
Johannesburg’s ability to harness the transformative potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is hindered by persistent governance and administrative weaknesses. While the city scores well for service delivery and economic development, its poor rankings in planning, leadership, and administration on the Governance Performance Index suggest challenges in execution and institutional efficiency. While Johannesburg has demonstrated foresight in adopting 4IR policies – such as the Smart City Strategy – these efforts risk being undermined if governance bottlenecks remain unaddressed. This briefing highlights the critical role of strong leadership and efficient administration in ensuring that 4IR-driven initiatives do not exacerbate inequality, but instead respond to Johannesburg’s urban challenges. To maximize the benefits of 4IR, Johannesburg must strengthen governance structures, improve policy coordination, and foster equitable implementation, ensuring that technological advancements enhance service delivery, economic growth, and urban resilience for all residents.
Topic:
Governance, Economic Growth, Fourth Industrial Revolution, and Urban Development
Political Geography:
Africa, South Africa, and Johannesburg

2. Enhancing Local Governance: How the private sector can support data capacity in South Africa’s municipalities

Author:
Stuart Morrison and Nnaemeka Ohamadike
Publication Date:
03-2025
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:
According to the World Bank’s Statistical Capacity Index1 , South Africa ranks among the highest on the African continent. This strong foundation positions the country at the forefront of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies, particularly in leveraging government and open-access data to address national and subnational challenges. Cities like Cape Town and eThekwini have established Open Data Portals (ODPs) – online open-access data repositories that enhance transparency, improve service delivery tracking, and help identify pressing socioeconomic and infrastructure challenges. These portals not only benefit municipal decision-making but also provide businesses with valuable datasets to identify investment opportunities, market trends, and areas for social innovation.2 Despite these benefits, South Africa faces challenges in expanding and sustaining ODPs, particularly at the local government level. This presents a unique opportunity for the private sector to support local governments in the development and maintenance of ODPs. Using Cape Town and eThekwini as case studies, this report examines why private sector involvement in OPDs is crucial and how such partnerships can strengthen local governance, drive economic innovation, and foster inclusive urban development.
Topic:
Governance, Private Sector, Data, and Fourth Industrial Revolution
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

3. From Paper to Practice: Enhancing Integrated Development Plans to Improve Governance

Author:
Stuart Morrison and Pranish Desai
Publication Date:
03-2024
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:
Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PME) systems play an important role in ensuring that South Africa’s municipalities are able to effectively fulfil their core mandate of service delivery. One central component of this system is the Integrated Development Plan (IDP), a strategic framework used for several functions, including guiding key priorities and providing a roadmap for effectively delivering public services. However, even though most municipalities consistently submit IDPs, the quality of service delivery, especially amongst municipalities that have Water Services Authority responsibilities, is uneven. This raises the questions around which factors are more influential in determining effective service provision, and why they are lacking in dozens of municipalities. Using Good Governance Africa’s 2024 Governance Performance Index (GPI), this policy briefing provides a range of stakeholders with consolidated insights into how these issues can be addressed.
Topic:
Development, Governance, Services, Planning, Monitoring, and and Evaluation (PME)
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

4. Decentralising the Just Energy Transition: The role of the private sector in supporting municipalities

Author:
Mmabatho Mongae and Nnaemeka Ohamadike
Publication Date:
03-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:
With nearly 86% of its carbon dioxide (CO2) coming from coal, South Africa is one of the world’s most coaldependent countries.1 Additionally, it produces nearly a quarter of the continent’s total carbon emissions.2 Its economy is highly dependent on agriculture and mineral extraction, which are energy-intensive. Importantly, South Africa is subject to climate variability and change.3 The effects are exacerbated by dysfunctional municipalities’ limited ability to build climate resilience systems and ensure robust disaster risk management. With local government administrative instability, service delivery failures, and financial mismanagement highlighted by Good Governance Africa’s (GGA) Governance Performance Index (GPI), societal stakeholders bear the brunt of dysfunction, particularly amidst escalating climate-induced natural disasters, which further strain government resources. As such, the fight against climate change requires a coordinated response from government, the private sector, and citizens. Presently, citizens do not identify the private sector as a key stakeholder in mitigating climate change. This suggests that the private sector does not have a visible presence in the fight against climate change, thereby presenting the private sector with an opportunity to support the decentralisation of the just energy transition. These efforts can also form part of attempts by the private sector to mainstream Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) best practices.
Topic:
Climate Change, Governance, Economy, Carbon Emissions, and Energy Transition
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

5. Improving water governance in South Africa to ensure a water-secure country

Author:
Leleti Maluleke
Publication Date:
03-2024
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:
This policy briefing outlines the pressing water challenges facing South Africa and proposes recommendations to address them. Among these are increasing water insecurity, including severe droughts, inadequate water conservation measures, outdated infrastructure, and unequal access to water resources. We outline some of the existing policies and frameworks to address these challenges and provide recommendations for strengthening water governance in general. The briefing emphasises the need for immediate action to safeguard water security and ensure equitable access to clean water.
Topic:
Security, Water, Infrastructure, and Governance
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

6. Enhancing political accountability in South Africa

Author:
Pranish Desai and Mxolisi Zondo
Publication Date:
06-2023
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:
Enshrined in the founding provisions of South Africa’s democratic constitution is the commitment to a “multi-party system of democratic government, to ensure accountability, responsiveness and openness”.1 Today, South Africa is entering a new form of multiparty governance through the emergence of coalition governments in municipalities across the country. Following the Constitutional Court’s June 2020 decision to strike down parts of the Electoral Act of 1998, there have also been critical discussions about whether our national and provincial electoral framework of proportional representation fosters the accountability and responsiveness to which our constitution aspires.2 Both the nascent era of widespread coalition governance and the debate over electoral reform occur while the confidence that citizens have in our democracy is depreciating. In order to revive South Africans’ belief in our democratic system, we must renew that system to improve accountability. Many of the policy proposals that Good Governance Africa (GGA) considers in this briefing already exist,3 but we evaluate them in specific relation to how they can deepen political accountability in South Africa. The upshot is that a shift in approach from our institutions, political parties, civil society and citizens themselves is required.
Topic:
Governance, Elections, Accountability, Social Contract, and Coalition
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

7. The state of the renewable energy independent power producer procurement programme: Where to from here?

Author:
Busisipho Siyobi
Publication Date:
12-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:
Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, recently briefed South Africa on the progress of the Energy Action Plan and the challenges associated with its implementation. Minister Ramokgopa further remarked on the positive socio-economic impact that the Renewable Energy Independent Power Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) has had on the industry and economy. Over R300 billion has been attracted for infrastructure investment and over 120 independent power producers have been selected as preferred bidders. These success factors indicate great potential for an optimal energy mix, led by renewable energy sources, to be attained. They also highlight opportunities for more private-sector investment. For this potential to be fully maximised, programme design, programme management and market dynamics will be critical to factor in. This report assesses the abovementioned overarching categories and illustrates mechanisms that will be integral to facilitating increased private sector investment into grid-connected renewable energy generation. This will yield efficient management of REIPPPP and further enable improved economic growth and sustainable development.
Topic:
Development, Governance, Renewable Energy, Sustainability, and Energy
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

8. Sustainability in the South African Wine Industry: Status, Opportunities and Challenges

Author:
Reena das Nair, Shingie Chisoro, and Stefano Ponte
Publication Date:
09-2023
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Business and Development Studies (CBDS), Copenhagen Business School
Abstract:
South Africa has been a pioneer in developing a variety of sustainability programmes and initiatives from farm to bottle, placing it at the forefront of sustainability in the global wine industry. In addition to global sustainability standards, such as Fairtrade and organics, and standards applied by retailers in the Global North, domestic sustainability initiatives and regulations have also been developed since the late 1990s. The existence of sustainability initiatives however does not automatically entail that they are easing the local environmental impacts of viticulture and winemaking, that working conditions are necessarily improving, or that there has been more inclusive participation and ownership by historically disadvantaged persons (HDPs). In this working paper, we unpack whether, how and to what extent different demands and initiatives on sustainability are reshaping the functioning of the wine industry in South Africa and with what benefits for whom. We examine the various sustainability programmes and initiatives in South African wine and assess the implications for costs, investments and profitability of actors in the value chain. Furthermore, to provide a sense of how South Africa fares in the international arena, we also undertake a comparison with sustainability initiatives in the Italian wine industry. We frame sustainability initiatives in broad terms, covering environmental, social and economic sustainability. The growing effects of climate change globally demand that grape growers adapt from an environmental perspective. The pressure for social sustainability emanates from the highly skewed patterns of ownership by HDPs, legacies of racialised inequalities, and a tainted history of poor worker conditions on farms and cellars. We also cover economic sustainability, as it both affects and is affected by environmental and social sustainability initiatives and is critical for the future of commercial production. The research results presented here are part of a larger project funded by the Danish Independent Research Fund Denmark (Project #0133-00046B) on ‘Power and inequality in global production systems’ (PIPS) that also covers industrial fisheries in South Africa and the salmon and wine industries in Chile (with Stefano Ponte as the PI). This paper is focused on presenting the main empirical findings of this part of the project and is targeted at a broad audience. It is built on feedback we received on an earlier version that was discussed with South African industry actors at a webinar on 28 June 2023. More analytical and theoretical publications will follow in selected academic journals.
Topic:
Environment, Labor Issues, Governance, Business, Sustainability, Production, and Wine Industry
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

9. Youth Inclusion in the Development of South Africa's National Youth Policy (2020–2030): Reflections and Recommendations

Author:
Steven Rebello
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
South Africa's National Youth Policy (NYP) 2020–2030 (DWYPD, 2020) represents the country's third attempt to outline actions that can or should be taken, by government and other stakeholders, to facilitate youth development at local and national levels. Meaningful youth inclusion and participation represents a central value within this policy. This emphasis on inclusion aligns with the Constitution of South Africa, where public participation in governance is enshrined as a constitutional imperative. Recognising this emphasis on youth inclusion, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) engaged with a key representative within the Department of Women, Youth and People with Disabilities (DWYPD) to determine what steps or activities the department has initiated to include youth in the development of the NYP 2020–2030 (hereafter referred to as the NYP 2030).
Topic:
Development, Governance, Youth, and Inclusion
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

10. One world, many knowledges: Epistemological pluralism and African scholarship (Full Issue)

Author:
Moliehi Ramonate, Nnaemeka Ohamadike, Helen Acton, Malvern Kudakwashe Marewo, Senzo Ncube, Nene-Lomotey Kuditchar, Ross Harvey, Terence Corrigan, Kendra Connock, Jordan McLean, and Laura Rubidge
Publication Date:
10-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Africa Governance Papers (TAGP)
Institution:
Good Governance Africa (GGA)
Abstract:
This issue reflects something of the journal’s multi- and interdisciplinary ambitions, with articles employing a range of research methodologies and looking at very different topics in Lesotho, Zimbabwe and South Africa, as well as broader-ranging issues in West Africa and the continent.
Topic:
Politics, Governance, Research, Populism, Maritime, Accountability, Innovation, Oversight, Pluralism, Epistemology, and Traditional Leaders
Political Geography:
Africa, South Africa, and Zimbabwe