intergovernmental dispute prevention and settlement practice guide for effective conflict management
10 October 2007

In April 2007, the Minister of Provincial and Local Government published a schedule for guidelines of Effective Conflict Management to assist organs of state in the national, provincial and local sphere of government to manage conflict appropriately.

Part 2 of the schedule provides for principles of cooperative government as embodied in section 41 (1)(h)(vi) of the Constitution and section 37(1)(a) of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act of 2005.  The guidelines are based on international practices in conflict management and amongst others, contain principles of prevention, containment and prescribe that the political process should be used to handle disputes as they centre on policy choices and administrative descretion.  Guidelines also provide for early intervention of disputes, de-escalation of disputes, and early communication to prevent escalation of disputes.  Organs of state are further expected to sue low-cost processes such as arbitration and must determine time limits for every resolution process and indicators for determining when to move from one process to the next.  The schedule requires disputing parties to amintain good institutional and persaonl relations amongst each other and tocontinue businss as usual though engaged in a dispute.

Part 3 provides for avoidance and prevention of conflicts as a statutory obligation in terms of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act of 2005.  This act provides for different preventive strategies that can be utiliszed for different categories of disputes.  It distinguishes problems in communication or information, conflict of interest over financial matters and other scarce resouces, conflicts of power as well as distance and animosity between the parties.

Part 4 provides for organisational requirements. This includes provision of dispute resolution clauses in agreements, the development of in-house capacity to manage disputes and a composition of a panel of recognised facilitators.  Steps that must be followed in the event of a dispute are laid down in Part 5.  Institution of judicial proceeding is not allowed unless a dispute has been declared formal and all efforts to settle the dispute have been exhaused without resolution.

For the entire guidelines refer to Government Gazette 289845 of 26th April 2007.