University of the Western Cape

Research & Publications

Book Chapter - 'Public Participation, Municipal Websites, and Transparency in Procurement in South Africa’

Tinashe Chigwata and Jaap de Visser18 Dec 2025

South Africa has a well-developed system of local government which is anchored on public publication. This chapter examines the basic features of the legal and policy framework for public participation and assess to what extent e-participation has taken root in municipalities to augment traditional forms of participation.

Book Chapter - 'Public Participation, Municipal Websites, and Transparency in Procurement in South Africa’

Book Chapter - 'Local Governance and Public Participation in South Africa: An Urban-Rural Perspective’

Michelle Rufaro Maziwisa and Curtly Stevens18 Dec 2025

This chapter examines the effectiveness of public participation mechanisms in South African local government, with a strong focus on the municipal budget process.

Book Chapter - 'Local Governance and Public Participation in South Africa: An Urban-Rural Perspective’

Book Chapter - 'The Role of Local Authorities in Intergovernmental Conferences in South Africa’

Nico Steytler17 Dec 2025

This role that local government plays in intergovernmental conferences is addressed at the hand of four interrelated questions: First, what is the formal place of local government within the legislative framework of intergovernmental relations?

Book Chapter - 'The Role of Local Authorities in Intergovernmental Conferences in South Africa’

Book Chapter - 'Fees as Alternative Sources of Local Revenue in South Africa’

Thabile Chonco-Spambo25 Nov 2025

The general statement that local government has extensive revenue-raising powers often hides the huge disparities in revenue generation among municipalities in South Africa and creates the perception that all municipalities are self-sufficient. The chapter looks at fees as an alternative source of revenue for local governments in South Africa.

Book Chapter - 'Fees as Alternative Sources of Local Revenue in South Africa’

Local Government Law of South Africa

Nico Steytler and Jaap de Visser25 Jun 2025

The Local Government Law of South Africa offers a comprehensive analysis of local government law.

Local Government Law of South Africa

Constitutional Change and Constitutionalism in Africa Get access Arrow

Charles M Fombad and Nico Steytler (eds)21 May 2025

The new generation of African constitutions that were crafted in the 1990s began a trend that promised a new dawn of radical transformation of the continent’s governance landscape, and a concerted attempt to eliminate the risks of coups and political instability that had plagued the continent since decolonization and the granting of independence to countries from 1957 onwards, by embedding democracy and constitutionalism.

Constitutional Change and Constitutionalism in Africa Get access Arrow

Journal Article: 'Improving Legislative Protection for Whistleblowers of Corruption in South African Municipalities'

Johandri Wright21 May 2025

Whistleblowing is widely recognised as a critical mechanism for preventing and combating corruption in South African municipalities. However, whistle-blowers often face severe retaliation, creating a climate of fear that discourages reporting and ultimately undermines anti-corruption efforts.

Journal Article: 'Improving Legislative Protection for Whistleblowers of Corruption in South African Municipalities'

Book Chapter - 'Confronting Territorial Inequality among South African Municipalities: Challenges to the Fiscal Equalisation System'

Jaap de Visser, Tinashe Chigwata, and Nico Steytler3 Mar 2025

South Africa’s intergovernmental fiscal system was designed to address the deeply entrenched spatial and racial inequalities produced by apartheid, primarily through equitable financial transfers from national to subnational governments. This chapter critically examines whether these fiscal transfers, particularly the Local Government Equitable Share (LGES) and the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG), have fulfilled their redistributive function by ensuring access to basic services for the poor.

Book Chapter - 'Confronting Territorial Inequality among South African Municipalities: Challenges to the Fiscal Equalisation System'