For more than twenty years, the South African Cities Network (SACN) has worked alongside cities to strengthen local government in South Africa. Over that time, one idea has remained central: governance is not just about compliance or administration. It is about enabling development. It is about building cities that are inclusive, productive, resilient and sustainable.

 

So what does it really mean to make governance developmental? And what have we learned along the way?

 

Developmental governance starts with a long-term view

One of the clearest lessons from SACN’s work is that cities need a long-term development perspective. Short political cycles, annual budgets and urgent service delivery pressures can easily crowd out strategic thinking. Yet cities are shaped over decades. Infrastructure decisions, land-use planning, and institutional design have lasting consequences. Through research, peer learning and strategic support, SACN has consistently encouraged metros to anchor decisions in long-term city development strategies. Developmental governance means aligning today’s trade-offs with tomorrow’s outcomes.

 

Governance is about relationships, not just structures

Formal systems matter. Clear mandates, functioning councils, capable administrations and sound financial management are essential. But practice has shown that developmental outcomes depend just as much on relationships. Cities operate in a dense web of actors: communities, businesses, civil society, provincial and national departments, and state-owned entities. Governance becomes developmental when it enables collaboration across these boundaries. SACN’s role has often been that of connector and convener. By creating spaces for city-to-city learning and intergovernmental dialogue, it has helped shift the focus from siloed compliance to shared problem-solving.

 

Financial governance is foundational

No development vision can be realised without credible finances. Over two decades, SACN has placed strong emphasis on urban finance, municipal sustainability and fiscal reform. Initiatives such as the State of City Finances reports have provided evidence to inform debate and policy.

 

Developmental governance requires:

    • Transparent and accountable budgeting
    • Revenue systems that are efficient and fair
    • Investment strategies that unlock growth and inclusion
    • Clear alignment between plans and resources

 

When governance is financially weak, development stalls. When finances are stable and well-managed, cities have room to innovate.

 

Data strengthens decision-making

Governance becomes developmental when it is informed by evidence rather than assumptions. Through our flagship State of Cities reporting and thematic research, SACN has helped build a stronger data culture in metros. Evidence does not remove politics from decision-making, but it improves the quality of debate. It helps leaders see patterns, identify risks and measure progress. It also strengthens accountability, making it harder to ignore underperformance or inequity.

 

Inclusion must be intentional

Developmental governance is not neutral. It must actively address spatial inequality, poverty and exclusion. South African cities still reflect deep historical divides.

 

SACN’s practice has shown that inclusion requires deliberate policy choices:

    • Integrating housing with transport and economic opportunity
    • Engaging communities in planning processes
    • Prioritising informal settlements and vulnerable groups
    • Strengthening participatory mechanisms
    • Governance that does not confront inequality risks reinforcing it.

 

Institutional capability is the quiet enabler

Ambitious strategies mean little without capable institutions. Over time, SACN has supported efforts to strengthen municipal capability through knowledge exchange, benchmarking and peer support.

 

Developmental governance depends on:

    • Skilled and ethical leadership
    • Stable administrations
    • Continuous learning
    • Adaptive systems that respond to change

 

Capability is not a once-off intervention. It requires ongoing investment.

 

Learning across cities accelerates progress

One of SACN’s distinctive contributions has been its role as a knowledge intermediary. By bringing metros together to share lessons, failures and innovations, with the aim of reducing duplication and encouraging experimentation. Cities face similar challenges, but no two contexts are identical. Developmental governance grows stronger when cities learn from one another rather than reinventing solutions in isolation.

 

Looking Ahead

As cities confront climate risk, fiscal pressure, rapid urbanisation and technological disruption, the need for developmental governance becomes even more urgent. After two decades, the lesson is clear: governance must move beyond compliance and crisis management. It must be intentional, evidence-based, collaborative and forward-looking. For SACN, the task ahead is not simply to document city performance, but to continue framing the conditions under which local government can drive development at scale. If the next twenty years are to deliver more inclusive and resilient cities, governance will need to remain firmly focused on development.

 

If you would like to partner with us on this journey, we invite you to engage with SACN. Click here

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