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The birth of the new South Africa in 1994 triggered a lot of change and resulting in restructuring processes.As in many countries decentralization was imperative in order to address, among other issues, the undemocratic governance practices and inequalities of the former apartheid educational system.This book discusses the establishment of districts and circuits in Mpumalanga as nodes of service delivery, immediately after the first democratic elections.It also focuses of the movement in the opposite direction, namely the demise of districts in 2001 and the birth of regions.

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Elijah Mashele was born in Komatipoort in 1961.He received his primary education at Hoyi School & his secondary education at Inkomazi High School.He obtained his BA.Ed from the University of the North and a B.Ed(Hons) from UNISA in 1996,followed by a Master of Public Administration in 1999 and PhD in 2010 from the University of Pretoria.

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