Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Local government in South Africa is an autonomous policy implementation arm of the government system. The purpose of this study was to examine the institutional, organisational, and human resource capacity challenges the Saldanha Bay and Swellendam Municipalities in the Western Cape faced in their policy implementation especially on poverty alleviation. The objectives of the study were to develop a theoretical framework for examining institutional, organisational and human resource capacity in the Saldanha Bay and Swellendam Municipalities; to discuss the local government constitutional, legislative and policy framework within which the Saldanha Bay and Swellendam Municipalities delivered services to communities; to examine the capacity challenges in the service delivery of the Saldanha Bay and Swellendam Municipalities and, thereby, highlight operational problem areas; and to make general policy recommendations on the basis of the research findings of the study. The methodology used was the case-study approach. It allowed an in-depth understanding of the dynamics present within Saldanha Bay and Swellendam municipality. The methodology enabled the researcher to answer the research question: In what ways, and with what results has institutional, organisational and human resource capacity affected service delivery in the Saldanha Bay and Swellendam Municipalities in the Western Cape? The major findings of the study were that local government capacity for policy implementation is directly influenced by the presence or otherwise of institutional, organisational and human resource capacity. These dimensions of capacity are mutually inclusive, independent and interrelated in practice. The study makes several policy recommendations. In the area of institutional capacity the recommendations were that floor-crossing legislation and practices must be done away with; that weak capacitated municipalities ought to be alleviated by public - private partnerships as a mechanism to enhance a municipality's ability to develop and implement policy; and that instead of solely setting standards and monitoring performance, the provincial treasury should assist municipalities to acquire financial competencies. In the area of organisational capacity it was recommended that the community ought to participate in the recruitment and selection committee of the Municipal Manager. It was also recommended that municipalities should establish district-wide forums for financial heads whose purpose would be to create a platform for collaboration, and for the exchange of ideas. And in the area of human resource capacity it was recommended that district municipalities ought to assume a more prominent role in building the capacity of the local authorities with which they share legislative and administrative powers. It was also recommended that both the administrative and political leadership ought to participate in compulsory executive and/or leadership training programmes SALGA implements through some tertiary educational institutions and/or through private service providers.

The perceived lack of progress by the Department of Human Settlements (“Department”) in meeting the increased demand for subsidised housing post-1994 is a ticking time bomb, given the repeated promises without any prospect of meeting the commitment to eradicate or upgrade all informal settlements by 2014. Despite ongoing delivery of subsidised housing, the backlog remained at 2,4 million households from 2005 to 2009, the indicator being the number of informal settlement households. The “Department” has acknowledged the existence of bureaucratic blockages throughout the housing delivery chain. Despite the urgency of the situation, there appears to be no research on the departmental factors hampering delivery under the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme (“programme”) and finding a solution that would maximise delivery within budgetary constraints. This research assesses the suitability of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), a Strategic Management Accounting performance measurement and management tool, for addressing the departmental factors hampering delivery (“factors”) under the “programme” and develops a conceptual framework to guide any future application of the BSC to the “programme”.The complexity of housing delivery and the proposed integration of the BSC call for a detailed literature study of the post-1994 national housing and “programme” documentation and that of the public sector BSC. The theoretical study will establish how and by whom housing delivery should be done, the “factors” and the BSC framework and translation process. This will serve as the basis for the assessment of the suitability of the BSC for addressing the “factors” and the development of the conceptual framework.This study revealed that the BSC is suitable for addressing seven of the eight departmental factors hampering delivery under the “programme” and partially suitable for addressing the remaining factor. The recommendation is that the BSC be applied to the “programme” according to the conceptual framework provided. This study has contributed to knowledge by: producing an overall picture of the national framework for the delivery of subsidised housing, presenting the BSC as a suitable performance measurement tool for addressing the departmental factors hampering delivery under the “programme”, and developing a conceptual framework for any future BSC application to the “programme”. / Accounting Sciences / D. Com. (Accounting)

Thesis (MA (Geography and Environmental Studies)--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In 2004, the then Department of Housing’s Breaking New Ground (BNG) policy introduced a compilation of principles that underlie a sustainable human settlement. The principles were aimed at guiding, amongst others, municipal officials in the decisions they take when faced with a housing development project. This thesis will set out to determine how municipal officials have taken up BNG’s principles for sustainable housing settlements as well as the perceptions, methods of implementation and degree of acceptance that housing and town planning managers have of BNG. In the study, the perceived relevance that these managers have of BNG within their non-metropolitan towns is explored using five of the fifteen leader towns of the Western Cape Province. This research has shown that BNG considers the compact urban form, coupled to other development considerations, as the most sustainable for South Africa. In terms of building sustainable human settlements: the low-income housing unit has evolved substantially since its conception, and that the current unit is held in far higher regard (by both municipalities and beneficiaries) than its predecessors. The design of this unit remains standardised due to a lack of funding for a more flexible design, but its structure allows for additions to be made at the cost of the beneficiary. Funding thus remains a major constraint to housing delivery. Municipalities feel that they are able to implement BNG, but that there are certain shortcomings in the document which prevent its full implementation. One of these shortcomings is the lack of an external funding mechanism for housing delivery, proposed in BNG, but never having materialised. Further, BNG focuses more on the metropolitan scenario and is not always relevant to non-metropolitan towns. Almost all of the municipalities have initiated inner city regeneration projects, but fewer have included the provision of social housing as part of their inner city rejuvenation. Subsidy housing is the most implemented housing typology, but these units often experience decay due to the absence of original owners who have (mostly illegally) sold or rented out their units. The one-erf-one-unit nature of subsidy housing is not seen as sustainable owing to space limitation experienced by most of the municipalities interviewed. Contrary to earlier research, in situ upgrading is a common occurrence in municipalities. However, there is a great need for stronger regional (or broader scale) planning regarding housing delivery. Low-income housing is strongly influenced by politics – a fact which municipalities say negatively influences housing delivery. Migration also poses a serious threat to municipal backlogs. Currently, the fight against an escalating demand for low-cost housing is a losing battle as the rate at which government is rolling out housing is vastly ineffectual. Municipalities deem that large-scale projects like the N2 Gateway might be a solution to their housing backlogs which, they concur, are at crisis point. However, municipalities indicated that their implementation of large scale projects will not follow the same path as the N2 Gateway – the planning of which is seen to be substandard. Currently, urban integration takes place on an income basis and not due to racial division. Inclusionary housing is seen as a relevant tool for the promotion of integration, but cannot be enforced to its full potential due to a lack of supporting legislation.

The perceived lack of progress by the Department of Human Settlements (“Department”) in meeting the increased demand for subsidised housing post-1994 is a ticking time bomb, given the repeated promises without any prospect of meeting the commitment to eradicate or upgrade all informal settlements by 2014. Despite ongoing delivery of subsidised housing, the backlog remained at 2,4 million households from 2005 to 2009, the indicator being the number of informal settlement households. The “Department” has acknowledged the existence of bureaucratic blockages throughout the housing delivery chain. Despite the urgency of the situation, there appears to be no research on the departmental factors hampering delivery under the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme (“programme”) and finding a solution that would maximise delivery within budgetary constraints. This research assesses the suitability of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC), a Strategic Management Accounting performance measurement and management tool, for addressing the departmental factors hampering delivery (“factors”) under the “programme” and develops a conceptual framework to guide any future application of the BSC to the “programme”.The complexity of housing delivery and the proposed integration of the BSC call for a detailed literature study of the post-1994 national housing and “programme” documentation and that of the public sector BSC. The theoretical study will establish how and by whom housing delivery should be done, the “factors” and the BSC framework and translation process. This will serve as the basis for the assessment of the suitability of the BSC for addressing the “factors” and the development of the conceptual framework.This study revealed that the BSC is suitable for addressing seven of the eight departmental factors hampering delivery under the “programme” and partially suitable for addressing the remaining factor. The recommendation is that the BSC be applied to the “programme” according to the conceptual framework provided. This study has contributed to knowledge by: producing an overall picture of the national framework for the delivery of subsidised housing, presenting the BSC as a suitable performance measurement tool for addressing the departmental factors hampering delivery under the “programme”, and developing a conceptual framework for any future BSC application to the “programme”. / Accounting Sciences / D. Com. (Accounting)

Thi s study aims to assess the implementation of the National Development P lan (NDP) and the impact it has had on the provision of human settlements in Gauteng. Th is dissertation has used qualitative research methodology. This nuanced approach has enabled an e laborate exploration and understanding of the NDP as a policy strategy and provided the tools to measure its impact on the provision of human settlements in Gauteng. For this research, the participants were selected purposively based on their expertise in the field of human settlements. The researcher conducted in depth interviews with 15 senior policymakers in the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements and South Africa’s National Department of Human Settlements and collect ed data on human settlements, wh ich fed, into the findings and recommendations of the dissertation This study has argued that housing policies in South Africa have evolved since 1994, moving away from redress and distribution to an approach of creating sustainable integrated human settl ements. It has also assessed how the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements set out to generate inclusive and integrated settlements through the creation of “new towns”. The building of these “new towns” is in line with the provincial government’s mandate of delivering integrated human settlements in the province. South Africa’s Department of Human Settlements and the Gauteng provincial government introduced the Megaprojects in 2014 as a R100billion economic corridor investment, which aims to provide 800 0 00 housing opportunities across five corridors in Gauteng. Despite these initiatives, the provincial Department continues to face several constraints such as population growth, migration, unavailability of land, housing backlogs, a high rate of informal settlements, corruption, poor implementation of policies, and a lack of economic growth and budgetary constraints. The dissertation’s findings suggest that t hese challenges need to be tackled at the policy level the Department of Human Settlements must pr ioritise implementation, good governance and promote greater professionalism within the housing sector in order to achieve these targets . The study further found that p olicymakers must also view housing as a specialised field that requires extensive consul tation and implementation plans that are carefully tailored to address any challenge s that the Department of Human Settlements could potentially encounter during the implementation phase . Only with these changes, can these targets be met. / Public Administration and Management / M. Admin. (Public Administration)

Hostels are a product of the migrant labour system that originated in the copper mining industry in Namaqualand in the 1850s. The migrant labour compounds were used to accommodate migrant labour workers in the urban areas. However, these compounds also meant that migrant labour workers were denied the right of access to permanent accommodation and residential space in the urban areas. After the repeal of the influx control and segregative laws in South Africa in 1986, some of the hostel dwellers brought their relatives and friends to live in the hostels and this resulted in problems such as overcrowding which were exacerbated by poor management and control of the hostels. The living conditions of the hostel dwellers deteriorated during the 1990s. After the announcement of the unbanning of all liberation movements and political parties in South Africa in the 1990s, hostel violence broke out. This hostel violence left many hostel blocks vandalised and without basic municipal services such as electricity, water and waste removal. The hostel violence was primarily between the Inkata Freedom Party (IFP) aligned hostel dwellers and the African National Congress (ANC) aligned township and informal settlement residents. The hostel violence has catalysed the public housing challenges faced by the democratic government since its inception in 1994. Nevertheless, since 1994 the democratic government has introduced various housing programmes in an effort to provide adequate houses for all South African citizens. One such housing programme is the hostel redevelopment programme. The hostel redevelopment programme was adopted by the democratic government after 1994 with the aim of, among other things, upgrading public hostels, redeveloping and converting the rooms in public hostels into family rental units in order to improve the living conditions of the hostel dwellers and introducing hostel dwellers to family life. The Mogale City Local Municipality (MCLM) is one of the municipalities in Gauteng province that is participating in the hostel redevelopment programme. The findings of this study have revealed that the upgrading of the Kagiso hostel involved the following two processes: During the first process, the MCLM upgraded the Kagiso hostel by fixing broken windows and doors, repairing toilets and providing basic municipal services such as electricity, water, and waste removal in order to improve the living conditions of the hostel dwellers. The second process involved demolishing the hostel blocks and converting them into family units in order to address the public housing challenges relevant to the Kagiso hostel. In this study, the hostel redevelopment programme is called process 1 and the community residential units (CRU) programme is called process 2. / Public Administration & Management / M. Tech. (Public Management)

Hostels are a product of the migrant labour system that originated in the copper mining industry in Namaqualand in the 1850s. The migrant labour compounds were used to accommodate migrant labour workers in the urban areas. However, these compounds also meant that migrant labour workers were denied the right of access to permanent accommodation and residential space in the urban areas. After the repeal of the influx control and segregative laws in South Africa in 1986, some of the hostel dwellers brought their relatives and friends to live in the hostels and this resulted in problems such as overcrowding which were exacerbated by poor management and control of the hostels. The living conditions of the hostel dwellers deteriorated during the 1990s. After the announcement of the unbanning of all liberation movements and political parties in South Africa in the 1990s, hostel violence broke out. This hostel violence left many hostel blocks vandalised and without basic municipal services such as electricity, water and waste removal. The hostel violence was primarily between the Inkata Freedom Party (IFP) aligned hostel dwellers and the African National Congress (ANC) aligned township and informal settlement residents. The hostel violence has catalysed the public housing challenges faced by the democratic government since its inception in 1994. Nevertheless, since 1994 the democratic government has introduced various housing programmes in an effort to provide adequate houses for all South African citizens. One such housing programme is the hostel redevelopment programme. The hostel redevelopment programme was adopted by the democratic government after 1994 with the aim of, among other things, upgrading public hostels, redeveloping and converting the rooms in public hostels into family rental units in order to improve the living conditions of the hostel dwellers and introducing hostel dwellers to family life. The Mogale City Local Municipality (MCLM) is one of the municipalities in Gauteng province that is participating in the hostel redevelopment programme. The findings of this study have revealed that the upgrading of the Kagiso hostel involved the following two processes: During the first process, the MCLM upgraded the Kagiso hostel by fixing broken windows and doors, repairing toilets and providing basic municipal services such as electricity, water, and waste removal in order to improve the living conditions of the hostel dwellers. The second process involved demolishing the hostel blocks and converting them into family units in order to address the public housing challenges relevant to the Kagiso hostel. In this study, the hostel redevelopment programme is called process 1 and the community residential units (CRU) programme is called process 2. / Public Administration and Management / M. Tech. (Public Management)