1
The Developmental State in Africa (and
Elsewhere) The Lessons for South Africa

• Louis A. Picard
• University of Pittsburgh
• USA

2
SOURCE

• Louis A. Picard
• The State of the State Institutional
  Transformation, Capacity and Political Change in
  South Africa
• (Johannesburg Wits University Press, 2005)

3
Next Two Books

• The State Transformed Negotiations, Liberalism
  and Democracy in South Africa
• States within the State Provinces, Local
  Government and Governance in South Africa
• Both Books to be Published by Wits University
  Press as part of the PDM series on Governance.

4
Biography

• Louis A. Picard is Professor in the Division of
  International Development of the Graduate School
  of Public and International Affairs of the
  University of Pittsburgh in the USA and is
  Visiting Research Professor at the Graduate
  School of Public and Development Management
  (PDM) of the University of Witwatersrand. He has
  studied African Politics since 1965 and has
  focused on the South African transition for more
  than twenty years. His other area of interest is
  Foreign Aid Policy.

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GOVERNANCE

• AN OVERVIEW OF ISSUES

6
Research Themes

• 1. Institutional patterns of Democratic
  Governance
• 2. Decentralized Democratic Models
• 3. Foreign Aid and Technical Assistance
• 4. Organizational and Institutional Capacity

7
Book Focus The Institutional State

• The institutional state can be defined as the set
  of structures and processes
• including the public service, the nature of
  intra-governmental social relationships, and
  internal organizational dynamics
• whichthough it evolves over timeis a permanent
  part of the dynamics of government.

8
Governance an Overview of Issues

• Basic Term The Environment of Development
• Governance
• Manner in which the state is created, modified or
  overthrown
• Ways in Which Decisions are Made and Implemented
• Governance is a Process not a Structure

9
Tentative Universal Governance Functions

• 1. Governance- Legal, Expected Roles,
  Intra-state Relationships
• 2. Governance and Markets- Debates about
  Command Economies
• 3. Governance and Social Service Delivery

10
Principles of Governance

• 1. Provision of Goods and Services (including
  law and security)
• 2. Difference between Provision and Production
  (Implications of Exchange Theory for Contracting)
• 3. Types of Goods

11
The Need for Implementation in Governance

• The Institutional State- Societal vs. Individual
  or group interests
• Structures and Processes of government beyond
  patronage and Crony Capitalism
• Made up of Human and Structural (Organizational)
  Dynamics
• Goal Formal Rules, Common Values and Standard
  Modes of Behavior

12
Governance and Service Delivery

• Factors of Size, Difficulty and Normative
  Values- User Fees vs. Taxes and
  Cross-Subsidization
• Key Value Public vs. Private- Basis of Human
  Judgment
• Goal Matching Provision with Nature of Goods and
  Value Systems of Communities
• Debate Contracting vs. Direct Delivery

13
Types of Democracy- Terms

• Direct Democracy-
• Actual direct participation of a population in
  decision-making about laws and regulations
• Town hall or village model
• Village meeting (Baraza or Kgotla)
• Use of Referendum and Recall

14
Types of Democracy Terms

• Indirect Democracy-Representation
• Some form of representative democracy
• Hallmark of Modern Government
• Existence of various diverse interest
  associations and groups within society

15
Discussion One

• If a citizen asks Is South Africa a True
  Democracy? how should one respond?
• How appropriate are South African governance
  institutions for development?

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South Africa and Development

• FACTORS DETERMINING
• DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE

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Factors Influencing Governance

• 1. Imperial Legacies
• 2. Political Culture, Social Values and
  Governance
• 3. Contemporary External Influences (Foreign
  Aid)
• 4. Informal and Parallel Functions of
  Governance

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Factor 1 World Wide Legacy of Imperial Rule A
Mini-Comparison

• Land Based- Austria, Germany, Russia, Ottoman
  Empires
• Overseas- Britain, France, Spain, Portugal,
  Holland, etc.
• Western Hemisphere Dominance
• Japan vs. China

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The Legacy of the Colonial State in Africa

1. Patron-Client State System and Corporate Group
   Interests
2. Unpredictable and soft but centralized system
   of governance
3. An administratively based local state which
   precludes local level decision-making (Prefect or
   Commissioner)
4. Authoritarian Control Mechanisms

20
Factor 2 Political Culture, Social Values and
Governance

• Secular vs. Religious Tendencies
• Ethnic Values
• Nation-States vs. Dominant vs. Minority, Multiple
  Nation States, Spillover Nation States
• Nature of Democratic vs. Hierarchical Values
• Values, Ideology and State

21
Factor 3 External Assistance Globalization
Constraints

• Debates about Public vs. Private Sector (SAPS)
• Failure of Growth and Distribution (Limits of
  Economic Development)
• Merging of Governance and Security Focus
• Soft vs. Hard Donors
• Multi-lateral Regimes (World Bank System)
• Integration vs. Autonomous Development

22
Factor 4 Parallel Governance and Non-Formal
Systems

• 1. Persistent- traditional, religious
  leadership
• 2. Adaptive- non-formal transportation systems
• 3. Reactive- Religious, ethnic networks
• 4. Intermediation- Civic Groups

23
Discussion Two

• DOES (OR CAN) FOREIGN AID PROMOTE DEVELOPMENT?
• Do Parallel Institutions contribute to
  Development?

24
South Africa

• THE STATE OF THE STATE

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South Africa 1994-2006

• Three Tasks Defined by SA Government
• The Development of a Non-racial state and public
  service
• The Development of a balance between the private
  and public sector that could meet the countrys
  overwhelming social needs
• The Creation of a Policy Making process that
  could plan, coordinate and manage economic
  development

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The Problem

• The Poor Record of Development State Efforts in
  much of Africa
• The Nature of Global Political Economy
• Debates About Service Delivery and Transformation
• The Future of the Developmental State?

27
The South African Legacy

• 1.Historical Debates- Charterism and
  Non-Racialism
• 2. Legacy of Negotiations- Job Guarantees and
  Provincial Capacity
• 3. Civil Service Reform- Limits of Reorganization

28
Measuring Capacity in South Africa

1. The Priority Given to Human Resource Development?
2. The Impact of Corruption and Patronage
3. To Reform or Not to Reform Higher Education
4. Salaries, Group Interests and Privileges

29
The Dilemmas of Human Resource Development (HRD)
and Service Delivery

1. Training and Education
2. Short Term vs. Long Term Investment
3. Bounded Knowledge and Bridging Training
4. Generic vs. Value Based Skills Development

30
Mpumalanga

• The State of the Province?

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Governance Issues

• Focus on Provincial and Local Government
• The Role of Intermediate Government
• Local Government Primary unit of government
  that has both political leadership and
  bureaucratic structures

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Historical Legacy

1. Homeland administrations and the Eastern
   Transvaal administration
2. Vested Interests During the Apartheid Period
3. Capacity Limitations and the State of the
   Province?
4. Debates about Provincial and Local Government

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Decentralization and Governance

• Administrative- Delegated, Deconcentrated
  Capacity
• Fiscal- Extent of Collection and Expenditure of
  Local Revenue
• Political- Bottom up- (Primary but not exclusive
  Focus)
• Parallel vs. Layer Cake Decentralization

34
South Africa and Decentralized Governance

1. Centralized vs. Devolved Capacity
2. The Role of Provincial Governments
3. Urban vs. Rural Local Government
4. Metropolitan Regions vs. District Councils
5. Successes and Failures in Sub-National Governance

35
Discussion Three

• Assessment of the State of the State, the
  Province and the Southern African Region

36
Discussion Questions

• Affirmative Action Should focus be on Education
  vs. Employment in terms of Human Resource
  Development (HRD) - Trade Off Capacity to
  Deliver Services
• Governance Should the focus be on
  Decentralization vs. Central Control
• Development Should focus be on State development
  vs. Market Development
• Beyond Affirmative Action The Use of Consultants
  and Contracting Out

37
State of the Province

• GENERAL DISCUSSION