Magister Legum - LLM (Public Law and Jurisprudence) / Zambia has had a system of local government whose origin can be traced back to the colonial
era. This system of local government, which is comprised by local authorities, did not have
constitutional recognition. The 1996 Constitution of Zambia was the first to recognise the
institution of local government. Nevertheless, the only aspect of local government which was
entrenched was the provision that councils were to be democratically elected by universal adult
suffrage. Other key principles of local democracy, such as citizen participation, local
accountability and transparency, that are necessary pillars to an effective system of local
government, were not recognised in this Constitution. It was not a surprise that most Zambians
experienced challenges in accessing basic public and social services such as water supply,
sanitation, housing and health care, which are a responsibility of local government. The absence
of sufficient democratic content in the 1996 Constitution and in the enabling legislative and
policy framework partly contributed to the ineffectiveness of local authorities.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uwc/oai:etd.uwc.ac.za:11394/6383 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Kunda, Frank |
| Contributors | Chigwata, Tinashe |
| Publisher | University of the Western Cape |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | University of the Western Cape |
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