Ten Years of Local Government in South Africa

About this grant

This grant will enable the Isandla Institute to analyze the impact of local government on Cape Town during the first decade of democracy in South Africa. Since the end of apartheid in 1994, local governments have taken the lead in deracializing South African cities. For Cape Town, this has been a particular challenge because of its history of racial exclusion and discrimination.Funding will enable the institute to partner with the office of the mayor of Cape Town to examine the policies that have been developed and how these have been implemented; what lessons can be learned; and to what extent community participation has played a role. The project will culminate in a conference at which the public, government and other stakeholders will be invited to take part in mapping out a common vision for the city for the next 10 years. The goals of the conference are to create a space for dialogue and exchange between key players and stakeholders; to reflect on successes and failures; and to explore the possibilities of achieving a collective ownership of the city’s future.Isandla Institute, established in 1999 as a policy research organization, works to develop more effective partnerships between government and the nonprofit sector, both at the national and local levels, especially regarding poverty alleviation.