ENTRENCHING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL SIXTEEN WITHIN ADEVELOPMENTAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

An exploratory analysis was undertaken to assess how a developmental local government in South Africa can entrench the Sustainable Development Goal on peace, justice, and strong institutions through participatory public engagement with local communities. A major task of a developmental local government in South Africa, mandated by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, No. 108 of 1996, is to be a coalface of service delivery that contributes to developing socio-economic development strategies for local communities to mitigate against poverty, inequality, and unemployment. A desktop analysis using secondary document analysis is pursued as a research strategy to derive relevant themes related to sustainable development goals and developmental local government. The exploratory analysis is framed by public value theory to influence how developmental local government can entrench Sustainable Development Goal 16 and align it with its service delivery mandates and approaches. Generated themes from secondary documents were current challenges in the local government system in South Africa, conceptualization of a developmental local government in South Africa, and integration of sustainable development goals with a developmental local government. Strategies such as data usage for monitoring local government performance, fiscal injection at the local government level, reassessing the institutional context of local government provision, and multi-stakeholder engagement for capacity building informed the findings, which make propositions on how the Sustainable Development Goal on peace, justice and building strong institutions can be entrenched with a developmental local government in South Africa