Attempting to understand local governance in SA today, both the forces that have shaped its development and its current state, calls to mind the words of Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto that “the past is many nations’ present”.

While the shortcomings and glaring service delivery failures can in part be explained by mismanagement and poor governance, local government continues to be haunted by the spectre of apartheid spatial planning, supported by legislation that segregated the provision of basic services along racial lines...