Promotion of Service Delivery in Terms of the Social Contract Theory in South Africa's Legal Framework

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2024/v27i0a17747

Keywords:

Human rights, service delivery, social contract theory, good governance, South Africa

Abstract

As is evident in the prevailing water and electricity rationing, South Africa is reeling from a crisis of poor service delivery. Against the background of its apartheid history and liberal constitution, this article examines how South Africa's legal framework promotes efficient service delivery in the context of a social contract theory. Using a literature review and content analysis of legislation, this article argues that basic service delivery is a human right that underlies the core function of the State regarding its social contract with citizens. The article critiques cooperative governance and the demarcation of service delivery duties between the spheres of government in the 1996 Constitution, the Municipal Structures Act, the Municipal Systems Act, and the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act. It demonstrates how the legal framework places a heavy burden on the local government to provide basic amenities. By highlighting how a social contract informs the purpose of the constitutional State, the article demonstrates why service delivery must be taken seriously in a nation desperately in need of socio-economic transformation.

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Author Biographies

  • Adv. Dr Ebi A Okeng, Law Society of South Africa

    LLD (UWC) LLM BA (Law) LLB (UNISA) Dip in Legal Practice (Oxbridge) Dip in Practice Management (LSSA). Advocate of the High Court of South Africa; Member of the Legal Practice Council Certified Election Observer, Law Society of South Africa. 

  • Anthony Chima Diala, University of Western Cape

    PhD (UCT) LLM (HRDA, Pretoria) PGDip (NLS, Abuja) LLB (ESUT). Professor of Law, University of the Western Cape, South Africa. 

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Published

25-11-2024

Issue

Section

Special Edition: Towards Endogenous Knowledge Production in Africa

How to Cite

Okeng, E., & Diala, A. C. (2024). Promotion of Service Delivery in Terms of the Social Contract Theory in South Africa’s Legal Framework. Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal, 27, (Published on 25 November 2024) pp 1-34. https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2024/v27i0a17747

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