Essay Example on Municipalities: Balancing Local, Provincial and National Interests

Introduction

A municipality is an urban unit of a local government (Forbes, 2011). A municipal is an administrative unit with the powers of self-governance provided by the national and provincial regulations. According to South Africa’s country constitution, planning functions within a legal structure ensures that municipalities attain their goals. For a successful and functional municipality, the balance between competing interests situated at the national, provincial, regional, and local levels is inevitable. Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted a majority of operations at the local, national, and regional levels since additional planning and finances are required to aid municipals in fighting and to control the spread of the disease. KwaDukuza, which is one of the municipalities in South Africa, is working towards controlling the spread of Covid-19 with the help of the national government.

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The report provides information regarding the municipality and that might be important to newly appointed Municipal Manager. Therefore, the main objective of this report is to explain the KwaDukuza municipality in-depth by focusing on its geographic location, physical, social, and economic infrastructure, the operations of the local government, the components of municipal planning, and the suggestions for handling Covid-19 pandemic in the municipality.

Contextual Understanding of KwaDukuza Municipality

Geographical Location

The word KwaDukuza comes from two words that include ‘Kwa,’ which means ‘the house of’ and ‘Dukuza,’ meaning ‘lost person’ (Forbes, 2011). Therefore, KwaDukuza means ‘the place of the lost person.’ In South Africa, there are three categories of municipalities: metropolitan, district, and local. They are frequently referred to as A, B, and C categories. KwaDukuza municipality is a category B municipality that falls under the iLembe region in the province of KwaZulu-Natal (Forbes, 2011). The municipality covers an area of about 633 km2 and stretches from the Zinkwazi River in the North and Tongati in the south (‘KwaDukuza Municipality: Integrated Development Plan (IDP) 2019/2020,’ 2019).

KwaDukuza municipality is the dominant commercial center in the iLembe district, which means that it is a hub for most business activities. The extensive commercial activities in the region can be attributed to the fact that the municipality borders the two largest harbors in Africa, which are the Durban and Richards Bay harbors (Forbes, 2011). In addition to that, Kwadukuza’s boundaries extend from the uThukela River and Mandeni Local Municipality to the north, eThekwini municipality, and Thongathi river to the south, the coastline in the east and the Maphumulo and Ndwendwe municipalities to the west. Its coastline has a length of 50km (‘KwaDukuza Municipality: Integrated Development Plan (IDP) 2019/2020,’ 2019). The extensive nature of the coast signifies sensitive coastal environment and tourism opportunities. The region comprises variety of developmental nodes that have evolved differently. The cities and towns within the municipality are Dolphin Coast, KwaDukuza, and Nkwazi Beach.

Physical Infrastructure

KwaDukuza municipality has a variety of crowded and ad hoc settlements that are linked to well-developed transport infrastructure, particularly with railways and roads. In Dolphin Coast, which is one of the towns within the municipality, there are well-established tourism and residential development attributed to the increased trade activities. Importantly, the municipality still has some regions with a backlog of services when compared to areas such as the Dolphin Coast, where facilities exist in a full range (Forbes, 2011). Primarily, this means that there is an unequal distribution of physical resources within the municipality.

Housing is another physical infrastructure in Kwadukuza municipality. The municipality has an all round human settlement program that enhances distribution of housing opportunities and expansion of housing settlements. The planned housing projects enhance the integration between housing and different service provisions such as infrastructure growth, road, transport, health, community and information technology, and security.

Social Infrastructure

Some of the social infrastructures in KwaDukuza include primary and secondary schools, clinics, hospitals, community halls, and libraries. The municipality has 45 primary schools to cater to the estimated population of 3,000 to 4,000 people (‘KwaDukuza Integrated Human Settlement Development Plan 2007 – 2012’ n.d). Consequently, there are 16 secondary schools in KwaDukuza. In addition to that, there are different clinics in the municipality that include mobile points, health stations, small to large clinics, and community health facilities. In particular, KwaDukuza municipal has nine small clinics and nine mobile point facilities (Forbes, 2011). Consequently, the area has at least one hospital in the area that handles patients with complex medical conditions (Forbes, 2011). Other social facilities in the region are community halls and libraries. Notably, KwaDukuza has 20 community halls and six libraries (‘KwaDukuza Integrated Human Settlement Development Plan 2007 – 2012’ n.d). Other social centers in the municipality include recreational places such as hotels and parks.

Economic Situation

Importantly, the primary contributor to the local economy of KwaDukuza municipality is agriculture. Most of the people in the region engage in sugar farming activities and processing, light industry, and tourism. As described in the geographical location section, KwaDukuza municipality has various ports and an extensive coastline, which attracts tourists from different parts of the world. Thus, this has contributed to the creation of resorts at the seaside. In addition, the area has coastal facilities that allow for holidaymaking and recreational activities. According to Forbes (2011), the economy of KwaDukuza municipality consists of a balance of all the sectors. The agricultural sector contributes to about 8% of the region’s employment rate (Forbes, 2011). Even though the contribution of agriculture to employment is minimal, the sector is growing at a significant pace, and the provision of jobs is its primary objective.

Consequently, the unemployment rate in KwaDukuza municipality is high and stands at 46% (‘KwaDukuza Integrated Human Settlement Development Plan 2007 – 2012’ n.d). Most people move from rural areas to urban centers such as KwaDukuza in search of greener pastures. In effect, this has caused a population increment, which warrants the municipal government to provide new housing, health care, and commercial buildings that will provide work opportunities for the residents. The high unemployment rate can be attributed to the fact that most people in the area are uneducated. Importantly, 1.5% of the city inhabitants have a higher education, while only 14% have completed their secondary school (‘KwaDukuza Municipality: Integrated Development Plan (IDP) 2019/2020,’ 2019). Another factor of concern in the area is the income levels where only 81.4% of the households survive on minimal amounts every month (‘KwaDukuza Municipality: Integrated Development Plan (IDP) 2019/2020,’ 2019).

Demographic Outlook of the Municipality

The population of KwaDukuza municipality is steadily increasing due to the high rates of births and the extensive rate of migration from rural to urban areas. Between the years 2011 and 2016, the population grew from 231,187 to 276,719 (‘KwaDukuza Municipality: Integrated Development Plan (IDP) 2019/2020,’ 2019). It is estimated that the population of the town reaches over 320,000 people due to the high number of tourists during the peak seasons (‘KwaDukuza Municipality: Integrated Development Plan (IDP) 2019/2020,’ 2019). Accordingly, two-thirds of the population is under 15 years of age, 27.7% between 15 and 64 years, and 67.4% for those over 65 years of age (‘KwaDukuza Municipality: Integrated Development Plan (IDP) 2019/2020,’ 2019). The youth unemployment rate is high and stands at 30% (‘KwaDukuza Municipality: Integrated Development Plan (IDP) 2019/2020,’ 2019).

Concept of Local Government Internationally and its Influence in South Africa

Internationally, local governments have a role in democratization and mass participation in decision-making activities. No political system can be rendered complete and democratic if it does not have a local government. According to Wilson (2000), the municipal government has two purposes, which are for administration and representation of the citizens by airing their needs at the state or regional level. The issue of local government concerns most countries. Various processes such as decentralization, re-democratization, and other avenues of international lending agencies through the local government focus on the development of good governing practices (Wilson, 2000). The development and interest of local governance is a response to the need of government to enhance improved government actions. Improvement in the local government is a high priority for most nations since it allows for improved relationships between the government and local citizens. A government’s plan is not likely to succeed in situations where the citizens rarely participate in the processes of decision-making.

The local government facilitates the formation of grassroots leaders by enabling citizens to participate effectively in the processes of decision-making, mainly in day-to-day issues affecting their lives. The municipal government is in a better position than the central government to deal with problems requiring local knowledge and regulation. Notably, the organization and functions of the local government vary from one country to another. In addition to that, different names could be employed instead of local government entities in different nations. Governments have the power to regulate and manage public affairs related to the surroundings and enhance the delivery of various public services (Wilson, 2000). The powers accorded to the local governments may vary since they may depend on the relationship between local authorities and the central government. Informingly, the general concept behind the local government concept at the international perspective is to manage the implementation of government agendas with different degrees of independence.

In South Africa, the local governments were formed after the establishment of the new democratic order. According to Siddle and Koelble (2016), the governments undertook the liability of rebuilding the local community, which was the basis for a democratic, integrated, and successful society. The formation of the local government was to allow direct connection with the citizens in a bid to allow for the creation of human settlements that provide a decent standard of living while also meeting the social, economic, and material necessities of the community members (Siddle & Koelble, 2016). The goal of forming the local government to allow the federal government to serve the citizens better is aligned with the international concept of the formation of local government. Internationally, local governments were prescribed to enable a direct connection between citizens and the government.

Similarly, the local government of South Africa is decentralized, which is also in line with the international perspective of local governments.