South Africa's Cluster System: A mechanism for interagency coordination and performance

During the tenure of the second democratically elected president, Thabo Mbeki, the South African government tried to deal with the problem of uncoordinated government activities by creating a mechanism known as the Cluster System. The aim of this paper is to examine the Cluster System and posit it as an innovative method for improving coordination and performance across agencies, as well as highlighting its contribution to improving ‘what works’ in South African governance. It is informed by an exploratory and desktop research methodology which sought to determine how the Cluster System has faired since the Mbeki era. Its findings point to a mixed performance of the Cluster System. The paper contributes to ongoing efforts to identify ‘what works’ in governance beyond dominant narratives of dysfunction.