The public has until January 29 to comment on the Western Cape Provincial Powers Bill.

The bill aims to devolve powers to capable provincial and local governments, addressing failures in national government service delivery, but its main mechanism of agency is to appeal to the central government for those powers. The national government is strongly opposed to any form of decentralisation, and has denied the possibility of such devolution.

However, as covered in a report for the Western Cape Devolution Working Group, there are several means to devolve marginal powers without requiring government permission, which have been avoided by the provincial government for the past 15 years.

ANC leader Cameron Dugmore claims legal advisers deem the bill unconstitutional, suggesting it is a political maneuver, and emphasised the necessity for unity in South Africa. DA member Christopher Fry defends the bill, asserting it fulfills the constitutional duty to act in citizens' best interests and enhances service delivery proximity.

However, the DA has received two separate legal opinions that state that certain articles in the Bill are in contradiction with the separation of powers described in the constitution. The ANC urges rejection of the bill, emphasizing collaboration with the national government to address societal challenges.

Despite legal disputes, the ad hoc committee plans public hearings, inviting stakeholders to make submissions.

The alternative option for pursuing devolution presented before the Provincial legislature in the past year, the Western Cape People’s Bill, was rejected by the DA on the same basis that the ANC has used to rubbish the current bill.

The Peoples Bill is much more ambitious in scope, leveraging certain constitutional articles and international treaties to declare autonomy for the province, which would make permission from the national government irrelevant in the creation of independent powers for the provincial government.

But the DA have rejected it in favour of a Bill which is in trickier legal disputes, and will not be able to accomplish what has been promised.

Nevertheless, the gesture toward the illegitimacy of the ANC-run national government’s authority in the Cape is still taken seriously by the ruling party.

The Bill is still undergoing public comment and debate, and submissions and requests to appear before the committee must be received by January 29.

However, the Bill is likely to be passed, amended or not, given the strength of the DA's legislative majority in the province.