The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996 brought the unique element of cooperative government, which underpins intergovernmental relations. The principles of cooperative government and intergovernmental relations recognise the interdependence of the three spheres of government in South Africa, which are distinctive and interrelated, and place a duty on these spheres of government to respect each other's powers, functions and institutions and to inform each other of new policies or items of concern. Cooperative governance is a rather unique governance model that embodies the best ideals of the new democracy in South Africa. The article attempts to establish the connection between intergovernmental relations and cooperative governance. These two units support the system of establishing new structures to promote cooperative behaviour among institutional stakeholders. The article concludes that the principles of coope