Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / Decentralisation is the transfer of power, responsibilities, capacities and resources from the
centre to the sub-units of the government. The main objective is to foster the capacity of local
government to deliver services to the local communities in an effective manner.1 In a
multilevel system of government, various institutions are established at different levels of
government to deliver goods and services to the people. In delivering goods and services,
these institutions usually combine efforts within the same and different levels of government.
As a mechanism for improved service delivery, decentralisation has become increasingly
important in the recent past together with the enhanced citizen participation in decision
making process in the matters that affect the people. However, for decentralisation to be
effective in achieving its intended objectives, it should be supported by intergovernmental
relations and cooperative governance. Intergovernmental relations exist between and across
various institutions and actors.2 They are relationships which develop or exist between
governmental units of all types and levels in a multilevel system of government.3 These
relations are significant in a multilevel system of government because it is impossible to
distribute powers and functions among governments within a nation state into watertight
compartments.4 The IGRs help in dispute resolution that may emerge from the overlap of
powers and functions across tiers of government consequently hampering the smooth
functioning of the government system.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uwc/oai:etd.uwc.ac.za:11394/6559 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Mweene, Nchimunya |
| Contributors | De Visser, Jaap |
| 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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