Court invalidates an unlawful contract and holds officials personally liable for unauthorised and irregular expenditure

The case of Imvusa Trading 1581 BK v Oudtshoorn Municipality is about a monetary claim arising from a contract between the Oudtshoorn Local Municipality and ...

Court prohibits traditional authorities from developing land without the approval of the municipality

Since the pre-colonial era, traditional leaders have allocated land to residents in terms of indigenous law. In the democratic era, traditional leaders ...

Determining the size of local councils in Ethiopia: The larger, the more democratic?

It has been close to ten years since the local government elections were held in Ethiopia. The elections have been indefinitely postponed since 2018 because ...

Exploring the digital skills needs of small and medium-sized enterprises and co-operatives

Small businesses play a pivotal role in contributing to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employment creation. According to the International ...

Exploring the smart city concept and its implications on the local government sector

Migration and population expansion have accelerated the rise of urban population in cities across the world, including Southern Africa. Africa has experienced ...

Land-grabbing: Municipalities must uphold the Constitution when dealing with unlawful occupiers

Land-grabbing is a term that captures the story of land dispossession in South Africa. The term has its roots in our apartheid history in which the ...

Rogue leadership and lawlessness in Kannaland Municipality

More than half of Kannaland Local Municipality’s population lives in poverty. Improved access to water and sanitation, well-maintained roads, adequate parks ...

Traditional leaders, municipalities and land use management: Who does what?

On the 20th of October 2022, the Dullah Omar Institute (DOI) in partnership with the Hanns Seidel Foundation South Africa held a webinar under the theme ...

Coalitions in local government: ideas for law reform

Coalition politics in local government, particularly in some of the country’s metropolitan municipalities continues to dominate the news for all the wrong ...