Submitted in fulfilment of Masters in Development Planning, Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning, University of the Witwatersrand, 2016 / The purpose of the thesis is to assess municipal own sources of revenue in the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Section 229 of the Constitution of South Africa states that municipalities may impose rates on property and surcharges on fees for services provided by the municipality or on behalf of the municipality. The primary data obtained from the City of Johannesburg facilitated the assessment of property tax and user fees revenue performance of the municipality as well as the challenges in the administration of revenue. A case study approach was used and the data required was on assessment of property tax and user fees revenue performance of the municipality as well as the challenges in the administration of revenue. Data was therefore collected from the primary data sources.This research shed the light on challenges that the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality encounter in the process of tax rate and charges administration in order to raise enough revenue to cover the cost of service delivery. Findings in relation to revenue collection were based on the information obtained from a user’s survey, the department of revenue, head of property unit, MMC finance and the executive mayor. Amongst other challenges that affect the CoJ own source of revenue, is the issue of property valuation and billing system which is to allow the city to charges tax payers according to property market value. In addition, there is no proper line of communication between the city and the community about the necessity of property tax rates and fee charges. Hence, some members of local community are not fulfilling their property tax obligations because of poverty or by preference. Observations from the study indicates that practical difficulties related to tax base identification and the lack of human capacity contribute significantly to the underperformance of the property tax administration system across South Africa as a whole. The inadequate records on property information have contributed to the inefficiency of the property tax system since many taxable units are not known, and therefore, it becomes difficult for the taxing authorities to collect property tax. Consequently, the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is unable to collect enough revenue to cover the cost of service delivery. In order to rectify these problems some of the measures recommended include the need to improve human capacity and the communication/collaboration between local community and the municipality. / MT2017

The aim of this research project was to investigate the impact of funding on the service delivery of the Information Technology Division in the Department of Finance, North West Province. A secondary related purpose of the study was to determine the existence and utilisation of a proper strategic plan in the Division of Information Technology. A Division or Programme without a proper strategy would not be in a position to compile a credible budget. Two different self-administered questionnaires were developed. The first questionnaire was a survey of all Information Technology staff members including high-ranking officials such as assistant directors, deputy directors and managers. The second questionnaire was directed to provincial departmental officials across various departments who were willing to take part in the study. Eight provincial departments were chosen and the sample represented a total population of twelve provincial departments in the North West Provincial government. In addition to the surveys, direct interviews were conducted in cases where the respondents were not able to complete questionnaires without assistance. Although the intention of the study was to determine the impact of funding on the service delivery of information technology Division in the Department of Finance, the overall findings revealed that the strategic plan, which was not well defined, was found as the major problem that impacted on the process of compiling a reasonable budget. This, in effect, had a greater impact on service delivery than the actual funding of the Division. / (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2004

This research critically analysed the role, if any, that is played by the budgetary reforms in enhancing basic service delivery, with specific reference to the case of Amathole District Municipality. The main objectives of this study were to investigate and evaluate the causes of possible challenges encountered by the ADM in the implementation of local government budgetary reforms; to assess and determine the role played by budgetary reforms in promoting basic service delivery by the Amathole District Municipality; to analyse the extent to which budgetary reforms are used in the preparation of the municipal budget and the IDP; and to evaluate the level of ADM institutional capacity in delivering basic services to communities in terms of the municipality’s capital budget and financial plan. The study is premised on the fact that there is no guaranteed service delivery without a sound financial management and planning. In this study, it is acknowledged that municipalities in South Africa are struggling to implement the local government budgetary reforms; and as such, South African municipalities could succeed in rendering effective and efficient public services, provided the matters of governance are adhered to, as well as financial governance in particular. This research is solely based on the assumption that the Amathole District Municipality’s budgets and budget process, like other municipalities in South Africa, are done for the sake of compliance with the requirements of National Treasury and the MFMA – with less emphasis being placed on enhanced basic service delivery to communities. The study proposed to provide a brief literature review on the basic service delivery, with reference to the South African context, as well as a theoretical overview on the evolution of developmental local government budgetary reforms. The empirical survey and research methodology employed in the study are described, followed by the operationalization of the survey questionnaire used for gathering the field data. The research findings of the empirical survey are then statistically analysed, using statistical procedures. The qualitative data analysis involved thematic content analysis, being interpreted and reported on. The triangulation-research methodology was employed with the emphasis being on the quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The sample comprised councillors, officials and ward committee members. Questionnaires, with open and closed-ended questions, were employed for the councillors and the officials. Focus-group interviews were conducted with the ward committee members from the respective local municipalities.The findings strongly suggest that, the introduction of the budgetary reforms indeed resulted in a shift by municipalities from their core mandate – that is service delivery – to a more legislative-compliant mode of practice. Recommendations flowing from, inter alia, the results of the empirical study, are presented to improve financial governance and service delivery in the Amathole District Municipality, as well as in other municipalities in South Africa. If adopted, these recommendations should enable the Amathole District Municipality, as a development agent, to fulfil its developmental mandate, thereby addressing the matters of financial governance and service delivery.

The aim of this study was to investigate reasons for non–payment by residents for services rendered by the Vhembe District Municipality. The municipalities are responsible for delivering such services as water supply, electricity, road maintenance, refuse collection and sanitation. Multistage sampling techniques were employed. The subjects in the study were grouped into clusters and a sample was taken from each cluster. In this case the municipalities that took part in the study were selected first, followed by wards, villages and households. Households in the selected villages were selected randomly to participate in the study. The results showed that although the municipalities were making an effort to raise and send bills to the residents, the residents were not forthcoming with payments. The reasons advanced for the unwillingness to pay services by residents include ignorance, poverty and simple unwillingness to pay. / Public Administration and Management / M.P.A. (Master of Public Administration and Management)

Financial innovation is a process that is not fully understood because of ~ts nebulous nature and the difficulties in determining its causes and effects. The pace of financial innovation has increased rapidly in recent years. With this increased level of new financial instruments and processes has also come the realisation that financial innovation may well influence the successful application of monetary policy. Under certain circumstances monetary policy may hampered or may be rendered ineffective by financial innovation. This dissertation examines the nature and causes of financial innovation and its implication for the successful application of monetary policy both internationally and in South Africa. / Economics / M. Com (Economics)

The debate concerning small firm access to finance continues. The proliferation of research of the issue underlines the importance attached in promoting a strong entrepreneurial culture within a country. Small firms are significant to economic growth if they are growing. Central to this significance is ascertaining the role of finance and in particular bank finance in accelerating small growth potential. The case study, through its ontological, epistemological and methodological position, draws on a document review and interview material from small firm owners and key informants to explore the role of bank finance in small firm growth. Case study evidence reveals that small firm owners do not intend to finance firm growth with bank finance but prefer to finance growth with internally generated funds. The owners indicate that non-financial and behavioural factors, such as, maintaining decision-making control, experience accessing bank finance, the perception of the banking relationship and growth aspirations of owners may be more important in dertermining the finance structure for firm growth. From the bank's perspective, findings suggest that risk assessment, financial viability of the enterprise and provision of collateral are more important in the lending decisions; findings supported by an analysis of selected documents. The small sample of small firm owners, bank representatives, experts and documents makes it difficult to generalize the findings. However, the findings are significant because exploring the issue from different perspectives presents invaluable insights, which can be investigated further to assist small firm owners, to develop finance products geared for small firm operations, and in the development of the knowledge base on finance-related issues in the South African context.

An analysis of the current monetary policy framework in South Africa, which followed the exampie of a number of developed countries by implementing an inflation-targeting regime in 2000, is presented. The primary goal of the framework is to establish price stability, with financial stability a secondary objective. However, as has been evident in other countries, price stability does not guarantee financial stability. Movements in asset prices and the development of asset price bubbles have resulted in a number of episodes of financial instability, which negatively impacted on the growth and development of the countries involved. In addition, the majority of these episodes have occurred in periods of low and stable inflation. The dissertation analyses whether monetary policy would be more efficient if asset price movements were incorporated within the inflation-targeting regime. International experience indicates that early intervention of monetary policy can dampen the negative effects that result when an asset price bubble "bursts". However, if the monetary authorities act too early the effects on the economy can be just as disruptive. The literature is scrutinized to establish what the most effective form of monetary policy should be. The results are then transposed within the South African context to establish how the South African Reserve Bank can best ensure both price and financial stability.

This thesis investigates the relationship between expected inflation and nominal interest rates in South Africa and the extent to which the Fisher effect hypothesis holds. The hypothesis, proposed by Fisher (1930), that the nominal rate of interest should reflect movements in the expected rate of inflation has been the subject of much empirical research in many industrialised countries. This wealth of literature can be attributed to various factors including the pivotal role that the nominal rate of interest and, perhaps more importantly, the real rate of interest plays in the economy. The validity of the Fisher effect also has important implications for monetary policy and needs to be considered by central banks. Few studies have been conducted in South Africa to validate this important hypothesis. The analysis uses the 3-month bankers’ acceptance rate and the 10-year government bond rate to proxy both short- and long-term interest rates. The existence of a long-run unit proportional relationship between nominal interest rates and expected inflation is tested using Johansen’s cointegration test. The data is analysed for the period April 2000 to July 2005 as the research aims to establish whether the Fisher relationship holds within an inflation targeting monetary policy framework. The short-run Fisher effect is not empirically verified. This is due to the effects of the monetary policy transmission mechanism and implies that short-term nominal interest rates are a good indication of the stance of monetary policy. A long-run cointegrating relationship is established between long-term interest rates and expected inflation. The long-run adjustment is less than unity, which can be attributed to the credibility of the inflation-targeting framework.

In recent years, concern about food safety linked to health issues has seen a rise in private food safety standards in addition to the regulations set by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO). These have presented challenges to producers and exporters of agricultural food products especially the producers of fresh fruits and vegetables. In spite of the food safety-linked challenges from the demand side, the vast range of business-environment forces pose equally formidable challenges that negatively impact on the exporting industries’ ability to maintain or improve their market shares and their ability to compete in world markets. The objective of this study was therefore to establish the competitiveness of the South African citrus industry in the international markets within this prevailing scenario. Due to the diversity of the definitions of competitiveness as a concept, this study formulated the following working definition: “the ability to create, deliver and maintain value and constant market share through strategic management of the industrial environment or competitiveness drivers”. This was based on the understanding that the international market shares of an industry are a function of forces in the business environment which range from intra-industry, external and national as well as the international elements. The unit of analysis were the citrus producers engaged in export of their products and the study made use of 151 responses by producers. The study adopted a five-step approach to the analysis of the performance of the South African citrus industry in the global markets, starting with the analysis of the Constant Market Share (CMS) of the South African citrus industry in various world markets, establishing the impact of the business environmental factors upon competitiveness, establishing the costs of compliance with private food safety standards, determining the non-price benefits of compliance with the standards, as well as highlighting the strategies for enhancing long-term competitiveness of the industry in the international markets. South Africa is one of the top three countries dominating the citrus fruit export market. Since its entry into the citrus fruit exports market in the 1900s, the industry has sustained its activity in the international market. The Constant Market Share Analysis shows that, amidst the challenges on the international market side, and the changes in the business environment, over much of which the industry has limited control and influence, the industry has maintained its competitive advantage in several markets. The CMS shows that South Africa’s lemons are competitive in America. Despite a negative trend, the South African grapefruit has been competitive in France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. Oranges have been competitive in the Greece, Italy, Portugal, UK, Asian and Northern Europe markets. Competitiveness in these markets has been due to the inherent competitiveness of the industry. Competitiveness in such markets as the Middle East has been attributed to the relatively rapid growth of these markets. The South African citrus industry has similarly undergone many major processes of transformation. The business environmental factors influencing its performance have ranged reform to the challenges beyond the country’s borders. These factors directly and indirectly affect the performance of the industry in the export market. They have influenced the flow of fruits into different international destinations. Of major concern are the food safety and private standards. Challenges in traditional markets as well as opportunities presented by demand from newly emerging citrus consuming nations have seen a diversification in the marketing of the South African citrus. The intensity of competition in the global market is reflected by the fluctuations in the market shares in different markets as well as the increase and fluctuations of fruit rejection rates in some lucrative markets such as America. A combination of challenging national environmental forces and stringent demand conditions negatively impact on revenues especially from markets characterised by price competitiveness. This study identified cost of production, foreign market support systems, adaptability, worker skills, challenges of management in an international environment and government policies such as labour and trade policies as some of the most influential obstacles to competitiveness. Some of the most competiveness-enhancing factors were market availability, market size, market information, market growth and the availability of research institutions. However, compliance with private standards still poses a challenge to the exporters. The different performance levels of the industry in various markets prove the dissimilarity of the demand conditions in the global market. These are supported by the negative influence associated with the foreign market support regimes as well as the challenges associated with compliance with private food safety standards. While market availability, market growth, market information and size were identified as enhancing competitiveness, the fluctuations and inconsistencies in the competitiveness of the industry in different foreign markets require more than finding markets. Resource allocation by both the government and the industry may need to take into account the off-setting of the national challenges and support of farmers faced with distorted and unfair international playing fields. Otherwise, market availability is not a challenge for the industry save meeting the specifications therewith as well as price competitiveness which is unattainable for the South African citrus producers faced with high production costs. For the purposes of further study, it is recommended that account should be taken of all the products marketed by the industry (including processed products such as fruit juices) in order to have a whole picture of the competitiveness of the industry in the international market. This study also proffers a new theoretical framework for the analysis of the business environment for the citrus industry and other agro-businesses. This framework takes into account the indispensability of the food safety standards and measures as well as the diversity of the global consumer and the non-negotiability of food trade for the sustenance of the growing population.

This study investigates the impact of networking on access to finance and performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Buffalo City Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The objectives of this study are to examine (1) whether entrepreneurial characteristics of the SME owner and the firm characteristics of the SME are related to networking by SMEs, (2) whether networking is related to access to bank loans and trade credit by SMEs, (3) whether networking is related to the performance of SMEs and (4) whether access to debt finance by SMEs mediates the relationship between networking and performance of SMEs. The results reveal that the gender and education of SME owners and the age, size and legal status of SMEs are the entrepreneurial and firm characteristics that are positively related to networking by SMEs. In addition, the results indicate that there is a positive relationship between networking and access to finance and performance of SMEs. The results of this study further reveal that access to debt finance partially mediates the relationship between networking and performance of SMEs. Lastly, the study recommended that SMEs should network more to gain access to information, resources and contact sharing. This will increase the likelihood of SMEs obtaining finance, and will also improve the performance of SMEs.