Public-Private Partnerships as a legal tool for realising Sustainable Development Goal 11 in South Africa

Abstract

As a UN Member State, South Africa has adopted the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to guide its development trajectory until 2030. In a nutshell, the SDGs provide a vision to leave no one behind in the achievement of global prosperity through a process of sustainable development. SDG 11 positions cities as central drivers in the global endeavour towards sustainable development. It articulates a global vision to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, while its target 1 (SDG 11.1) further provides aspirations for cities to ensure universal access to adequate, affordable and safe housing and basic services, and to upgrade slums. The SDGs acknowledge that Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) can be used by cities as an innovative mechanism to realise this vision and achieve these aspirations. This dissertation investigates how the legal and policy framework governing PPPs in South Africa could be used by the country’s metropolitan municipalities to facilitate the realisation of the global vision envisaged by SDG 11.1. This study established that South African metros are constitutionally and legislatively mandated to ensure that all who dwell within their municipal boundaries have access inter alia to adequate housing and basic services. This means that they are empowered and have the legal authority to realise the vision contained in target 1 of SDG 11. The study further determined that the regulatory framework on local government encourages municipalities to use PPPs to provide municipal services subject to certain requirements being met. This shows that metros can use PPPs in the provision of adequate housing and the type of services envisaged in SDG 11.1. The study established that for metros to be able to use PPPs to achieve that vision, certain critical success factors (CSFs) must be guaranteed in law and implemented by metros in South Africa. The CSFs are: an appropriate risk transfer; accountability in the administration processes; transparent procurement processes; the engagement of the community; and provision of value for money. This study demonstrates that although the legal and policy framework for municipal PPPs is fragmented in South Africa, the legal and policy framework adequately provides for the CSFs. This suggests that if adhered to during

the conception and implementation of PPPs, metros could successfully use PPPs for the provision of services envisaged in SDG 11.1. This dissertation concludes that the local government law and policy framework as it stands allows for metros to successfully implement municipal PPPs and thus to use them as a tool for realising SDG 11.1 in South Africa.