Box 1.

Contextualizing urban governance – the example of South Africa

South Africa has followed the global trend of urban growth. This trend was exacerbated in South Africa by the underdevelopment of rural livelihoods under apartheid in combination with newly established freedom of movement of rural communities.12 The result has been an increase in inequity, where wealthy middle class suburbs back onto poor overcrowded, informal settlements with few basic facilities.13

South Africa provides an interesting example of what promised to be a model of good governance. The new democracy boasts a progressive constitution and pro-equity policies and programmes, which encourage effective partnerships and participation.13 , 14 It also has a strong participatory culture dating back to anti-apartheid activism.15 Unlike most Sub-Saharan countries, South Africa has the economic potential of a middle-income country. However, these opportunities have been constrained by a global and national policy environment.16 Attempts to develop partnerships to tackle the range of problems have had mixed results. While there are some encouraging examples, there remain inherent tensions within the concept of partnership that limit their effectiveness. These include power differentials among partners - such as those among government, NGOs and community partners - which determine the nature and extent of interventions; bureaucratic systems and divisions within and between organizations which hinder collaboration; external pressures, including national, donor or commercial priorities which can dominate agendas and mistrust between partners based on any of the above.17