Investigating the role of cooperative governance in the attainment of a developmental state in South Africa.

Abstract

The research investigated whether cooperative governance acts as an obstacle or facilitator for developing a developmental state in South Africa that fulfils national economic targets. The research created both the prototype and an application model of the developmental state which suits South African conditions since its constitutional structure differs from standard unitary states of the East Asian Tigers. The framework evaluates collaborative governance practices through the examination of three governmental sphere interactions which is typical for federal and quasi-federal systems. In Developmental State Theory, central or national governments are often viewed as the primary actors, overlooking the significant role that local government and inter-governmental cooperation can have in building a developmental state in countries with federal or quasi-federal systems, such as South Africa. The Four Asian Tigers—Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan—are the main focus of this theory, and these countries are primarily unitary states or function as highly centralized entities. The developmental states of Singapore and Japan along with other East Asian countries generally implement unitary governance systems which provide centralised power to achieve efficient decision-making and resource allocation for industrialization and infrastructure development (Johnson, 1982). Research about the developmental state primarily focuses on the East Asian Tigers while ignoring the effects of cooperative governance and intergovernmental relations on its development. Although scholars have extensively discussed cooperative governance and developmental states, the intersection and interdependence of these two phenomena have not been adequately explored, particularly developmental states from a local government or from a regional and subnational level perspective (Ansoms & Rostagno, 2020). This study aims to address this knowledge gap through an examination of national-provincial-local government collaboration for delivering economic infrastructure and basic services which are vital to South Africa’s developmental state vision. The research aims to determine the part that cooperative governance plays in supporting local economic development and enhancing the standard of living of South Africans. It also discusses the problems that arise from cooperative governance and partnership agreements that can either enhance or impede the effectiveness of local government. These barriers include the vagueness of roles and the uncoordinated linkages between the different tiers of government and their stakeholders. This study used a qualitative approach to explore the experiences of participants regarding cooperative governance and the developmental state in South Africa. The qualitative approach was necessary to ensure that the research topic was well understood as it would be difficult to achieve through closed-ended surveys. The study used qualitative explanatory research design and employed data collection methods such as semi-structured interviews, desktop research, and policy document reviews. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources, specifically on cooperative governance and the developmental state, through 38 in-depth interviews conducted via Zoom. Semi-structured interviews were the main data collection tool used in this study to allow for flexibility and in-depth exploration of issues related to the topic. The study employed purposive and snowball sampling methods to select key participants, using non-probability sampling techniques to avoid generalising the findings. Participants included individuals from different academic and professional backgrounds, and they are in positions that are significant to their respective sectors and are able to provide valuable information on the topic. Adopting a naturalist paradigm, the study recognised reality as unique, fragmented, and holistic. The research indicated that cooperative governance could create economic growth and development in South Africa while supporting the establishment of a developmental state. The present degenerative characteristics of cooperative governance prevent South Africa from reaching its development targets. The implementation failures of cooperative governance prevent economic growth and development from occurring while obstructing the achievement of developmental state goals. Cooperative governance used effectively would enable South Africa to fulfil its developmental state objectives by engaging marginalised communities in development activities and granting them active participation rights. The thesis recommends researchers to study cooperative governance between the three government spheres when examining the developmental state concept in quasi-federal systems such as South Africa. Cooperative governance served as an economic tool to reach the economic targets of South Africa's developmental state and thus addresses an essential theoretical deficiency. The three branches of government must work together effectively to reach common goals because power-sharing and collaboration create good governance and decision-making processes. The alignment of institutions created essential conditions which guaranteed both effective governance frameworks and procedures as well as better socio-economic results and enhanced governance and economic development and service delivery.