This paper argues that the sheer volume, style, nature and scope of the legislative framework for local government impedes the achievement of local government’s developmental mandate. The legal regime is impeding two key values of decentralisation, namely that municipalities are best placed to gauge community needs and secondly, that they should be sites of innovation and creativity in formulating localised responses to meeting those needs. It is argued that the current plethora of laws may be guilty of strangulating local government, preventing it from executing its developmental mandate.
This report represents two separate baseline studies undertaken between 2005 and 2007. The first baseline study was undertaken from June 2005 until the end of September 2005. The second one was conducted from September 2006 until mid-February 2007 (with a break between mid-December and mid-January).
Eviction - the right not to be evicted without an order of court after considering all the relevant circumstances - the effect of this guarantee on statutory provisions empowering local authorities to evacuate areas in certain circumstances – provision of alternative accommodation.
Information is available on international law and food rights; guide to interpreting the right to food; violations on the right to food, etc.
Information available on your health rights and Constitution; interpreting your health rights and policies, legislation & programmes to implement your health rights
Information available on housing rights in the Constitution; guide to interpret your housing rights & advancing your housing rights.
Information is available on land rights in the Constitution; policy, legislation & programmes to implement land rights & protecting and advancing your land rights.
Information is available on the history & context of environmental rights; environmental rights in the Constitution; an interpretation of environmental rights & policies, legislation and programmes to implement environmental rights.
Information is available on poverty & policy context; socio-economic rights as a guide for resource action by the State & strategies for contesting budget decisions.
Socio-Economic Rights in International Human Rights Law
This chapter offers suggestions how to advance Socio-Economic Rights.
Why are education rights important; your education rights in the Constitution; guide to interpreting your education rights; policies, legislation & programmes to implement your educational rights.
Social security rights in the Constitution; how do you receive social security; protecting and advancing your social security rights
Water rights in the Constitution; guide to interpreting water rights; policies, legislation & programmes to implement your water rights; protecting and advancing your water rights.
This chapter includes information on a definition of socio-economic rights, what socio-economic rights were included in the Constitution, what does socio-economic rights mean? and what are the state's duties.
This 2007 paper discusses the mismatch between the developmental mandate of South African municipalities and their functions as per the Constitution. It suggests criteria for decentralisation to local government and argues that the housing functions should be decentralised to local government.
The Committee on the Rights of the Child had decided to devote its Day of General Discussion to the subject "Resources for the Rights of the Child - Responsibility of States", Investments for the Implementation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of Children and International Cooperation (CRC article 4). The meeting will take place at the Palais Wilson in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday, 21 September 2007. The purpose of the Days of General Discussion is to foster a deeper understanding of the contents and implications of the Convention as they relate to specific articles or topics.
A report of this nature is as much about what is available as about what is not available. There remain significant information deficiencies in the criminal justice system as it relates to children. The lack of quantitative data for critical components of the criminal justice system presents enormous problems in respect of planning and equally important, monitoring.
It was decided in May 2006 by the Child Justice Alliance Driver Group to conduct a second baseline study at Wynberg (Cape Town), Pretoria and Pietermaritzburg courts. Anticipating the problems and challenges experienced in the first baseline study, some aspects of phase two were amended. In order to ensure a fair degree of comparability between the two data sets, much of the methodology employed was the same as that of phase one. The scope of the research was aimed at monitoring the current practice of the criminal justice system in relation to children, in order to obtain baseline information regarding the management of child offenders in the criminal justice system.
This report is written by Prof. Julia Sloth-Nielsen & Mr Benyam D. Mezmur for Save the Children Sweden.
This submission was made to the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee on Review of State Institutions Supporting Constitutional Democracy on 12 March 2007
Strangulation of Local Government
