Prof de Visser looks at socio-economic rights, local government in Africa
Local government practitioners can't deliver well because they lack credible constitutional powers to help them deliver services. These are words by Prof Jaap de Visser, the director of the Dullah Omar Institute when giving keynote speech at the 4th Annual National Conference on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at Makerere University in Uganda.
He spoke on devolution and decentralisation in Africa looking at drivers, success, challenges and the future of local government. He also looked at the socio-economic rights and local government in South Africa and pointed out that strong local government can cause inequality and socio-economic rights can be ‘equaliser’. De Visser said, whether local governments can help deliver socio-economic rights depends on design and follow through. He pointed out that with urbanisation, cities will demand their rightful place and local democracy can strengthen political tolerance.
Please watch the videos below