M. Tech. Public Management and Administration. / The aim of the study was to evaluate factors that inhibit or promote the participation of women in decision-making processes. The study also seeks to understand more about the roles that these women play in leadership positions that they hold, and to assess whether these women are fighting for gender issues in representing women and uplifting the society. Prior to 1994, the South African Public Service systematically marginalised women across the colour spectrum. Post-1994, our Parliament has had one of the highest proportions of powerful, outspoken and committed women in the world.

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Technology: Public Management, Durban University of Technology, 2012. / The Batho Pele principles provide a framework about how public services should be provided for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the Public Service. Adherence to these principles will guarantee the provision of excellent services that meet the people’s needs and expectations, enhance customer satisfaction, while upholding the government’s promise that access to decent public services is no longer a privilege to be enjoyed by a few, but the rightful expectation of all citizens. From the literature review, it was evident that improved public service delivery depends on several aspects ranging from Human Resource Development (HRD) to performance measurement and accountability. The need for improving efficiency and effectiveness of the Public Service is emphasised throughout the various pieces of legislation. Interviews and questionnaires were used to gather data and to get an understanding of data from the point of view of the participants. Analysis of collected data revealed that there is above average compliance to the principles evidenced by the modernised queuing system at the office of study. Batho Pele principles should be incorporated in the performance contracts of all employees in the department so that periodic performance against them is assessed and ultimately all employees will become Batho Pele champions. The findings of this study is not only beneficial to the case study institution, but to all public sector institutions.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand in 50% fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in the field of Public and Development Management. June, 2017 / A way to better understand the returns for investing in education is to identify the gap between education and employment. This issue has been identified not only in South Africa but worldwide. However, while it focuses on the challenges of employability there has been little research on the value of education in relation to employability and career development amongst workers’ productivity in public sector organisations. For this reason, a basic interpretative qualitative study is developed which explores this relationship with a focus on the value of the City of Johannesburg’s (COJ’s) subsidised education scheme in terms of its returns to organisational growth and human development. Through semi-structured interviews and thematic data analysis of employees’ perceptions, it is found that self-enrichment or personal development outweighs organisational benefits. A culture of life-long learning for the COJ employees has been created without the implementation of mentoring and succession planning to minimise mismatches in the workplace in order to enhance productivity. / MT2017

Thesis (MPA) -- University of Limpopo, 2011

In an article, “Corruption and Governance Challenges: The South African Experience”,1 the Public Protector commented that corruption and good governance sit at the opposite ends of the spectrum. While good governance represents the ideal for governments, corporations and nations globally, corruption is a scourge that decent people, organisations and governments seek to eradicate. In the simplest of terms, corruption involves the abuse of power for private gain.The Public Protector further stated that it should be a concern to everybody that in post-independence Africa, certainly in South Africa, the accumulation of riches (in most cases, very sudden) is venerated even in the absence of visible means of accumulating the riches. South Africa has battled with corruption since the days of apartheid. Post-apartheid South Africa is a more open society and more opportunities have been created for detecting, exposing and prosecuting corruption. South Africa‟s approach to corruption is multipronged. The main pillars according to the Public Protector are the law, anti-corruption agencies, and public mobilisation.This studyhas attempted to attend to the challenges of managing misconduct relating to fraud and corruption that appear to weaken our democracy. Fraud and corruption is a complex phenomenon that requires managers and supervisors to possess a specialist technical knowledge in order to be effective in punishing those that are involved in this type of misconduct. The tendency currently is for the managers and supervisors to place suspected corrupt employees on a prolonged pre-cautionary suspension for a period that is not supported by law. This of course weakens the employer‟s case as they tend to rely on the outcomes of the proceedings in the criminal procedure before they institute disciplinary action against such culprits. Workers could be criminally prosecuted for this type of misconduct in terms of the provisions of the Prevention and Combating of the Corrupt Activities Act. Employers always enjoy the right to criminally prosecute workers who have committed acts of fraud or corruption but that must go concurrently with the institution of the disciplinary proceedings in terms of the collective agreement, if there is any. This study will show that the act of misconduct relating to fraud and corruption is a complex phenomenon that poses a threat to the global security. This study also takes a closer view of the provisions of international instruments and institutions such as the United Nations and International Labour Organisation. It further, does a detailed analysis of the provisions in other foreign jurisdiction like Canada. This is consistent with the provisions of the Bill of Rights as enshrined in the Constitution:Section 39(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa demands that when interpreting the Bill of Rights, a court, tribunal or forum: a. Must promote the values that underlie an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom; b. Must consider international law; and c. May consider foreign law. Section 1 of the Labour Relations Act, states that the primary objects of the Act are: (a) To give effect and regulate the fundamental rights conferred by section 23 of the Constitution; (b) To give effect to obligations incurred by the Republic as a member state of the International Labour Organisation. Section 3 of the LRA further stipulates that any person applying this Act must interpret its provisions:(a) To give effect to its primary objects; (b) in compliance with the Constitution; (c) in compliance with the public international law obligations of the Republic.This treatise further shows the importance of the Constitutional values and principles that govern the Public Administration in terms of Chapter 10, section 195.Of importance the elements of fraud and corruption are discussed in this study.This study also gives a detailed analysis of the case laws that give guidance on how best to deal with and successfully punish employees involved in misconduct relating to fraud and corruption.

Effective, efficient and expeditious resolution of labour disputes plays a crucial role in terms of the realization of one of the primary objectives of the Labour Relations Act (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) which is the achievement of labour peace. Although there is no proper definition of a dispute offered by the Act, there are several elements raised by authors within the labour relations and labour law fields which constitute a dispute. Two types of disputes are discussed, namely disputes of right (emanating from entitlement) and disputes of interest (based on demands not provided for, and these are also known as disputes based on matters of mutual interests). Labour relations in South Africa has a history that is tarnished by segregation and dualism, where there was a system of labour relations and labour statutes for all races (except for Africans). The first statute dealing somewhat comprehensive with labour disputes, the Industrial Conciliation Act, did not apply to Africans. This situation (exclusion of Africans) prevailed until the early 1980’s. Therefore, although the apartheid system was legislated in 1948, its segregation practices based on race existed long before 1948 and also extended to the workplaces. The turning point in the labour relations arena in South Africa was the appointment of the Wiehahn Commission. As a result of the recommendations by this Commission, African Workers were for the first time included in labour legislation. So, of great interest is the fact that African Workers attained labour rights before the demise of the apartheid system. The birth of the Act with its dispute resolution fora like the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (hereinafter referred to as “the CCMA”), Bargaining Councils, Labour Court and the Labour Appeal Court, revolutionized dispute resolution in the country. However, there are some challenges that have emerged even within the new system. Prior to 1993, labour relations in the public service, simply just did not exist. This was mainly due to the fact that the public service was excluded from mainstream legal framework governing labour relations. The State was very much in control of what was happening with regards to employment relations in the public service. There were some structures developed for engagement with the State like the Public Service Commission (PSC) which was politicized to push the agenda of apartheid, Public Servants Association (PSA) for White Public Servants, Public Service Union (PSU) for Indian Public Servants and Public Service League for Coloured Public Servants. There was no structure established for African Public Servants though. Nevertheless, these established structures were useless. One of the recommendations of the Wiehahn Commission was the inclusion of public servants within the mainstream labour relations framework and this was never pursued by the then government. It took the wave of strikes in the early 1990’s for the Act to be extended to the public service. Even with the inclusion of public service within the scope of the Act, there are still challenges pertinent to the public service. Central to these challenges is the problem of fragmentation in terms of approach regarding dispute resolution and the fact that there are too many pieces of legislation dealing with dispute resolution. This situation has also resulted in a jurisdictional debacle within the public service. Also, there is a huge challenge in terms of dealing with abscondments / desertion within the public service. In terms of the way forward, there is an initiative to streamline the public service. In this regard, there is a Draft Single Public Service Bill and also the Public Service Amendment Bill.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Public Policy in the Wits School of Governance, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management February 2017 / The objective of the study is to investigate problems and trends experienced in implementing Network Governance in the City of Tshwane. Local government/municipalities are at the forefront of service delivery. Voters assess government’s performance through the provision of basic services to residents. Government’s ability to deliver services is mainly dependent on the governance models that they adopt. Governments adopt different governance models in the quest to improve service delivery. One of the most widely adopted models of governance that is seen to be progressive in improving the provision of services is Network Governance. The study adopted a qualitative methodology approach because the objective was to understand the challenges experienced in implementing the network governance model in the City of Tshwane. In-depth interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire as a main tool of data collection. The interviews were conducted with 22 respondents who comprised City officials, councillors, civil society and members of the community. The study established that there were shortcomings in the implementation of Network Governance in the City of Tshwane. The findings also indicate that Network Governance was not adopted as a service delivery implementation model in the City of Tshwane. The study reflects that the Regions are not well capacitated to enhance principles of Network Governance. The findings reveal various problems in stakeholder management and communication which impede the implementation of Network Governance. The following recommendations are made to improve the implementation of Network Governance: The City of Tshwane must institutionalise Network Governance through policies; and standard protocols and procedures for network governance must be formulated to guide the implementation of the Network Governance policy. / MT2017

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate recruitment policies and practices in the DPSA to determine challenges with the recruitment of competent and qualified candidates, since it is the custodian of human resources in the public service. Findings of this study revealed that if the DPSA’s well-crafted recruitment and selection policies were to be translated into practice, then the public service would be the employer of choice. This process could be hampered by the decisions taken by shortlisting and selection panels, which are reluctant to appoint candidates who are better qualified than them. The DPSA should create an enabling environment in which communication between management and non-management freely takes place without people being victimised. The findings of the study pointed to the necessity to invoke remedial measures and monitoring mechanisms that would ensure the effective execution of recruitment and selection policies and practices in the public service. / Public Administration / M.A. (Public Administration)

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate recruitment policies and practices in the DPSA to determine challenges with the recruitment of competent and qualified candidates, since it is the custodian of human resources in the public service. Findings of this study revealed that if the DPSA’s well-crafted recruitment and selection policies were to be translated into practice, then the public service would be the employer of choice. This process could be hampered by the decisions taken by shortlisting and selection panels, which are reluctant to appoint candidates who are better qualified than them. The DPSA should create an enabling environment in which communication between management and non-management freely takes place without people being victimised. The findings of the study pointed to the necessity to invoke remedial measures and monitoring mechanisms that would ensure the effective execution of recruitment and selection policies and practices in the public service. / Public Administration and Management / M.A. (Public Administration)

This research report set out to provide an evaluation of the progress made by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development with respect to affirmative action and employment equity, and particularly with respect to the promotion of greater gender equity in employment, especially at the management levels.