Inclusive Governance for Effective Public Administration in Southern African Development Community: A South African Perspective

Post-apartheid 1994 ushered a new democratic dispensation in South Africa where the government was expected to accelerate social and economic development local towards empowering its citizens (Breakfast, Nomarwayi & Bradshaw, 2020). Among the desires of the past democratic regimes under Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, and the currently the Ramaphosa administration, was to redistribute wealth equally among the black population, regarded as impoverished during apartheid. To achieve this, South Africa subscribed to regional bodies such as SADC where economic benefits are expected to be derived through trade and other bilateral relations. However, the complexities and contestations engulfing the Southern African country is its proximity to several countries, resulting in economic migrants flocking to South Africa for better economic opportunities. SADC has not adequately addressed the migration crisis, which led to the influx of economic migrants in South Africa as member states failed to stimulate their economies to allow their citizens to acquire employment, among other economic ventures. In South Africa, public institutions such as metropolitan municipalities experience rapid urbanization due to migration, triggering various social and economic ills. Since SADC's position on labor migration has not been clear in member states, this has triggered various challenges for South African public administration which struggled to implement inclusive governance to attain development in communities. Inclusive governance is a term often associated with upholding the good governance principles such as accountability and transparency. Practical implementation of inclusive governance will guarantee people's agency. Although good governance is a problematic concept due to its multidimensional and multi-disciplinary nature, common scholarship regards the terms as entailing the adhered to principles such as accountability, transparency, and rule of law, among others (Vyas Doorgapersad & Ababio, 2010).