Statecraft 2026: ‘Democracy Goes Beyond Elections’
As the country moves to local government elections in November – the focus is more and more on pulling up the proverbial socks.
But questions have been raised about how this can be done effectively.
This question featured during a State Congress hosted by the New South Institute (NSI), which brought together international and South African perspectives on questions of civil reform, state capability and institutions that enhance democracy.
Taking place at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) on Tuesday, the Statecraft aimed to find ways of building capable state capacity.
NSI researcher Yoliswa Mkhasi said what is important is the machinery that translates the political decisions into implementation.
“When you’re talking about statecraft you’re talking about capacity to deliver. We have serious delivery challenges in South Africa. Now with the run up to local government there’s a lot of those issues that are coming up related to service delivery.”
One expert suggested that South Africa can learn how to tackle inequality from its international counterparts
The conversation is far from over, with momentum building for more breakthroughs; debates and insights continue on Wednesday.