Governance Legacy and Digitisation in Contextualising Systems Approaches for Local Knowledge and Values Preservation. A Case study of South Africa.

This paper explores the correlation between governance practices, contextualised systems approach, and the preservation of local knowledge and values in South Africa. In the context of Agenda 2063 for Africa, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the global imperative set by the UN, this paper aims to clarify how local knowledge contributes to digitization efforts and its impact on protecting values within governance frameworks. Using a desktop research methodology, this paper brings together existing literature and empirical evidence to examine the challenges encountered by countries in preserving their governance traditions amidst rapid digitalization and evolving global frameworks. The findings highlight the complexity of integrating knowledge systems into a context while aligning with Agenda 2063 aspirations and SDGs. The study's key contribution is that it uses Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH) to embrace digital transformation while keeping governance systems in check. The adaptability of CSH is proven in the South African government, where it has shown effective in maintaining long-standing traditions of good administration. The results support the idea of integrating indigenous knowledge systems with digital techniques, as well as a systems approach that considers local circumstances. The findings of this paper provide suggestions for long-term planning that may help keep local knowledge of good governance alive and well while also contributing to regional and global development goals.