Job creation at local government level : role of public-private partnerships

Abstract

The problem of unemployment and poverty has reached alarming proportions in South Africa. It is exacerbated by the closing down of mines and related firms, as well as retrenchments of mine-workers particularly in the KOSH area. Public sector alone cannot cope to create job opportunities. The redemarcation of local government boundaries has increased both the number of people and the size of municipalities. This means municipalities are facing challenges of extending essential services to previously disadvantaged communities. Municipalities, in the same breath, do not have the financial capacity to ensure provision of quality services and acceptable levels of services. The purpose, therefore of this study, is to investigate a possible solution to these problems. The 1998 White Paper on Local Government enables municipalities to make use of various options of service delivery. The Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000 al:50 stipulates that municipalities may use various options i.e. internal or external mechanisms in the provision of services. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996, gives an obligation to municipalities to provide services to all communities on a sustainable basis. This simply means whether or not the municipality has development capital, services have to be provided. The KOSH area municipality is faced with enormous challenges in respect of unemployment as well as infrastructural development and service delivery backlogs. The solution to this problem, in the light of financial constraints facing municipalities including KOSH, is the consideration of public private partnerships (PPP's).