THE ROLE OF THE STATE IN A SUCCESSFUL JUST TRANSITION

The research paper defines a 'transition effective state' as one capable of identifying and solving community-priority problems through co-production—a collaborative process where affected citizens are active partners in policy design. Evaluating South Africa's Just Energy Transition (JET), the authors find that current state capabilities are low because the government relies on 'tick-box' public participation and 'isomorphic mimicry' of international best practices rather than locally-driven solutions. Fieldwork in Mpumalanga reveals critical policy gaps, including the invisibility of the informal coal value-chain, the loss of community services provided by Eskom and mines, and water scarcity. The paper concludes that rigid budgeting and entrenched administrative habits hinder progress, recommending the development of detailed co-production guidelines and pilot projects focusing on water and community asset management.

• A 'transition effective state' is defined by its problem-solving capability, specifically its ability to identify community priorities and make meaningful progress toward solving them over time.
• Successful problem-solving in a state context requires three attributes: co-production, locally-developed solutions that account for local context, and a focus on 'good-enough' incremental change rather than technical perfection.
• Genuine co-production differs fundamentally from standard public participation; the latter typically occurs after a policy is drafted, acting as a 'right-to-agree' rather than a collaborative design process.
• The South African state's current transition capability is assessed as low, as it fails to implement the procedural justice goals of the Just Transition (JT) Framework in a co-productive manner.
• Low transition capability has led to significant policy gaps, leaving the informal sector and non-Eskom employees in the coal value-chain largely invisible in transition planning.
• The transition risks erasing critical community services provided by Eskom and mining companies through Corporate Social Investment (CSI) and Social and Labour Plans (SLPs), with no current plan for municipal replacement.
• Water availability is a critical but overlooked constraint in the Nkangala District; while power stations use vast amounts of water, local businesses and residents face severe shortages.
• The state's reliance on 'isomorphic mimicry'—copying international best practices—often leads to policy failure because these solutions are a poor fit for local South African conditions.
• Barriers to increasing state capability include deeply entrenched administrative habits, a lack of detailed guidelines for procedural justice, and rigid planning and budgeting regulations.

APA

Ledger, T., Rampedi, M., Ndhlovu, N., & Holland, W. (2024). THE ROLE OF THE STATE IN A SUCCESSFUL JUST TRANSITION. Public Affairs Research Institute. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/20241030_TCS-30-10digi_corrected.pdf

Chicago

Ledger, Tracy, Mahlatse Rampedi, Ntokozo Ndhlovu, and Waseem Holland. THE ROLE OF THE STATE IN A SUCCESSFUL JUST TRANSITION. Public Affairs Research Institute, 2024. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/20241030_TCS-30-10digi_corrected.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ledger |first1=Tracy |last2=Rampedi |first2=Mahlatse |last3=Ndhlovu |first3=Ntokozo |last4=Holland |first4=Waseem |title=THE ROLE OF THE STATE IN A SUCCESSFUL JUST TRANSITION |publisher=Public Affairs Research Institute |date=2024 |url=https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/20241030_TCS-30-10digi_corrected.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ledger2024role, author = {Ledger, Tracy and Rampedi, Mahlatse and Ndhlovu, Ntokozo and Holland, Waseem}, title = {{THE ROLE OF THE STATE IN A SUCCESSFUL JUST TRANSITION}}, institution = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2024}, url = {https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/20241030_TCS-30-10digi_corrected.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }