An Assessment of South Africa’s Intergovernmental Relations System as a Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

South Africa was among the numerous nations impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The health systems in every nation were overhauled because of this pandemic, which claimed countless lives. The pandemic in South Africa, however, also had a direct impact on the system of multilevel governance, since it necessitated cooperation between the national, provincial, and local governments, particularly in disaster management. According to schedule 4 (Part A) of the 1996 Constitution, disaster management in South Africa is a concurrent function between the three spheres of government. The intergovernmental relations (IGR) structures were put in place for the concurrent functions, disaster management being one of them, since the three spheres could only collaborate through the IGR structures to manage the Covid-19 pandemic.