The Causes and the Resolution of Conflict in Local-Provincial Intergovernmental Relations : The Case Study of OSS in Kwazulu-Natal - Case Study

When the constitution of the Republic of South Africa came into effect in 1996, it brought many changes to the South African political landscape. One of such changes was the introduction of the principle of cooperative governance which was meant to replace the apartheid era system of centralisation of power. To give effect to the principle of cooperative governance; the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act was signed into law in 2005. This happened nine years after the constitution came into effect. Before then, intergovernmental relations were not formalised and were characterised by ad hoc forums. This Act sought to formalise intergovernmental relations by creating structures in all the spheres of government. The Act also established a mechanism for the resolution of disputes between organs of state. Using the qualitative case study approach, this paper investigates how conflict affects intergovernmental relations and the delivery of services to communities. It uses KwaZulu-Natal's flagship service delivery programme, Operation Sukuma Sakhe (OSS) as a case study. Data was collected from 20 participants who came from different political parties and from the local and provincial spheres of government. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Findings reveal that conflict in local-provincial intergovernmental relations is mainly caused by political party rivalry and the lack of commitment of government departments. The study recommends that politicians in power must involve the opposition in government programmes in order to avoid conflict and ensure that services are delivered to communities. The study also recommends that the provincial government must appoint officials who will focus exclusively on implementing OSS.