ANC wants provinces to become rubber stamps, Buthelezi says

NABOOMSPRUIT Aug 17 Sapa

Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Home Affairs minister and president
of the Inkatha Freedom Party, on Thursday accused the government of
trying to foist a unitary system of government on the country at
every level.

He said constitutional proposals being voiced by the African
National Congress in the Constitutional Assembly would turn
provinces into mere vehicles to implement central government
policies on local government.

Speaking at the Transvaal Municipal Association congress in
Naboomspruit, Northern Province, Buthelezi said that Cabinet had
this week adopted a proposal - which he rejected - which would
stop provinces from adopting legislation which departed from the
Local Government Transition Act and took government further in the
direction of a unitary system.

This was in line with the proposals the ANC was making in the
Constitutional Assembly.

Buthelezi said the interim constitution was a hybrid between
the unitary and federal systems of government.

But there had been increasing indications, such as the Local
Government Transition Act and other amendments passed in the last
six months, that local government was being pushed further towards
the unitary state model.

Under this model local government was organised uniformly under
control of the central government, as opposed to a federal system
where it was left to the individual provinces.

Buthelezi said what was being done violated the spirit of
compromise shown in the interim constitution on such matters, and
that the powers of provinces were being curtailed to ensure a
standardised nationwide approach on local government structures.

"There are now even additional proposals, discussed yesterday
(Wednesday) in Cabinet which would further reduce the provincial
power to adopt legislation to structure and regulate local
government, and would impose a unified model for local government
in force until the next constitution is finalised," Buthelezi said.

He said there were even proposals in circulation that the new
constitution itself should create the full framework for local
government.

Parties such as the IFP, which advocated federalism, wanted a
constitution which limited itself to a statement that organising of
local authorities should be left to the competence of the
provinces.