The Constitution, 1996 requires that the public participate in policy making and planning in local government. To ensure compliance, legislation prescribes that local government needs to establish mechanisms, processes and procedures for public participation. However, neither the Constitution, 1996 nor legislation describes what public participation is, and how it should be implemented. Moreover, different people view public participation differently. There is thus a lack of definition and implementation of public participation in the policy making and planning processes of local government. To understand what public participation means, a conceptual analysis was conducted, resulting in the delivery of a working definition of public participation. The definition conveyed indicators of public participation, namely, the public, the levels of participation, the mechanisms for participation, the scope of participation and public influence in decision-making in participation. These indicators were studied qualitatively for description in a metropolitan municipality in South Africa in a single case study using multiple methods. The methods used were a survey questionnaire, a document study and analysis and an interview questionnaire. The findings indicate that the public who participated in the policy making and planning processes in the metropolitan municipality were mainly advantaged instead of disadvantaged people. They participated at the levels of informing, consulting, implementing, and reviewing. Public participation was not attained at the levels of educating, deciding and reporting back. The study established that the municipality employed various public participation mechanisms for informing and consulting the public. The scope of public participation was found to be reasonably broad. Though evidence suggests that the public participated in decisions pertaining to budget ward allocations, no evidence could be found that the public had an influence in decision-making in participation on the whole. It was found that public officials had the influence over public participation decision-making while politicians had the final say. / Public Administration and Management / M. Admin. (Public Administration)

Thesis (Ph.D. (Public Administration)) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / This study was undertaken in four villages which are Makgemeng, Maroga Phalatseng, Mooihoek, and Legabeng, in the Limpopo Province. The aim of the study was to examine whether local communities were benefitting from the local mine, whether the mine promoted an acceptable number of LED projects; whether the mine complied with the Mineral Petroleum and Resources Development Act 2002 (MPRDA), initiatives such as Black Economic Empowerment and Social Labour Policies, and whether the mine helped the development of the local economy, and whether the mine promoted job creation through down-streaming beneficiation which is the core beneficiation form where a mineral is extracted, processed and sold as a finished product and side streaming beneficiation which is an extended form of beneficiation through infrastructures, roads, harbours, airports, railways, institutions The study was anchored on the modernisation theory with a focus on the Sachs economic stages. Four hundred participants took part in the study. The mixed methods research design which integrates both quantitative and qualitative was applied since the study was aimed at exploring and giving in-depth analysis of the relationship between mineral resource wealth gained by the mining industry, and the ongoing poverty and marginalisation in the four rural mining communities. Literature reviewed for the study establishes that despite mining legislation, local economic development growth in rural mining communities remains problematic due to lack of compliance of the Mining Charter which is a legislative instrument of the MPRDA. South Africa has not managed to advance its state of manufacturing through mineral beneficiation as it continues to export minerals partially processed thereby missing out on the full economic value of job creation and industrialisation. Moreover, minimal transformation amongst the Blacks in the rural mining communities has transpired as envisioned under the MPRDA. Instead, an elite core of Blacks have broken into the mining industry while a majority remain marginalised. It is argued that for South Africa to succeed in promoting mineral industrialization through LED in rural communities, it will have to address the challenges that rural typologies mining communities face which include challenges at municipal capacity level, lack of policy alignment between local and national government, historical mistrust between the mining industry and the community, spatial economics and minimal business attraction. Globalisation it is argued can also be addressed better through the modernization framework which promotes strong state intervention of legislative oversight. Most industrialised states it is asserted reached the final economic stage of services through iii interventionist procedures unlike neoliberalism which promotes minimal state participation in the business sector. Neoliberalism has been the bedrock of South Africa’s economic policies since 1994. Due to neoliberalism, South Africa has been forced to take into consideration global trends focused on increasing economic interdependence, and also constrained the ability of South Africa’s ability to diversify its mining sector and communities. The findings confirm that the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) should create a program that will serve as a one stop shop to provide mining information for the local government on mining programs facilitated, and ensure that they are managed properly with the communities involved. This program should also capacitate the local government officials in addressing legislative oversight issues such as Social labour policies with the mines so that they don’t go unchecked. Most of the community members perceived that the mine was not genuinely interested in promoting the development of their communities, particularly in regards to LED projects. The government also need to address the low literacy rate at the mining rural communities which has become a roadblock for transformation. Industrialisation requires a qualified human stock that would be able to professionally deliver on BEE related services and development. For MPRDA to succeed as a beneficiation tool, it can only be accomplished through human resource development beginning at basic education. Value-addition to minerals is only achievable by a well-trained and fully equipped labour force The study also confirmed that the mines were unwilling to engage with the communities, did not understand the communities, were not transparent with them on tenders or procurements, and made minimal effort to assist develop the communities. A majority of the mines did not participate in the integrated development plan, and most of the community members indicated that the mine did not view them as stakeholders. Lack of corporate social responsibility efforts to alleviate poverty in the communities will only further tension and conflict within the community. Moreover, this continued practice by the mines perpetuates lack of transformation as required by the MPRDA leading the mining industry to remains predominately under the control of white owned companies and rural communities to remain marginalized and undeveloped. In summary, the DMR should stop relying on the mines to transform and comply to all the MPRDA requirements without any form of effective oversight. / Human Science Research Council (HSRC)

Thesis (M.Dev. (Planning and Management)) -- University of Limpopo, 2023 / The study aimed at investigating the efficacy of the Integrated Development Plan (IDP)‟s implementation to enhance basic service delivery at Mpakeni Village in the Mpumalanga Province. The South African government constitutionally mandates local municipalities, which are the spheres closer to societies, to provide basic services to their constituencies. The South African government has been attempting to address service delivery challenges and existing backlogs bequeathed by the apartheid regime. For this reason, instruments such as the IDP have been formulated to enhance basic service delivery, especially in previously disadvantaged communities. However, in many South African municipalities, such as Mbombela Local Municipality, the IDP is used only as a blue-print rather than a tool to enhance basic service delivery. The study was guided by the Humanistic Paradigm and Systems Theory. It employed both qualitative and quantitative research approaches to investigate the institutional factors that lead to effective IDP implementation. Assisted questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data from the respondents in the Mpakeni Village. The sample of the study was used to select different household respondents and municipal officials. The study involved a total of 70 household respondents and 4 key informants from the municipality. The research findings indicated the lack of capabilities in the municipality, high corruption rate and maladministration, as factors which hindered the improvement of basic service delivery. It was found that many of the residents do not understand what an IDP is all about. This means that many local citizens have little or no knowledge about how basic services are delivered to their communities. It was also found that there is lack of public participation during the IDP process and its implementation. Therefore, the study concluded that IDP implementation does not enhance basic service delivery because of the inexperience of municipal officers, among other things. Consequently, the study recommended that only experienced candidates should be employed to implement the IDP whilst the existing ones should be trained.

Thesis (D. Tech.(Public Management)) -- Central University of Technology, free State, 2011 / The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, No. 108 of 1996 (SA, 1996) brought about a new system of government comprised of the national, provincial and local government spheres. In terms of the Constitution, these spheres of government must establish effective, transparent and accountable government. Local government is specifically responsible for the provision of democratic and accountable government to local communities, and for ensuring that municipal services are rendered to the community. As in the case of the national and provincial spheres of government, local government has a distinctive political nature and character. Councillors are elected to represent the voters who participate in municipal elections, as well as the relevant political parties, on municipal councils. The decisions of municipal councils are influenced by political considerations, as well as by the policy directives of the ruling party. The Constitution also establishes and describes the various governmental bodies that exercise the powers of the state. These governmental bodies represent the state and can be classified in terms of three primary groups, namely legislative, executive and legal structures. In a bona fide democracy, the doctrine of separation of powers, also known as the trias politica, is of fundamental importance in order to prevent autocracy and ensure civil liberty. The provision of viable municipal services is the most crucial reason for the existence of local government. The community has a legitimate expectation with regard to the provision of appropriate municipal services; and in terms of the Municipal Systems Act, No. 32 of 2000 (SA, 2000c) municipalities must supply basic municipal services in order to ensure an acceptable quality of life. However, inadequate levels of municipal service provision are encountered in South Africa in general, and in the Free State in particular. Such inadequate service provision has led to several violent community-protest actions in the country. These protests are an indication that municipal service provision does not meet the expectations of the communities. Various factors tend to have a negative effect on local government in the Free State, including capacity shortages, such as the lack of professional and experienced staff; financial shortages; and the extensive quantity and complexity of local government legislation. Political challenges that influence local government service provision include factors such as the absence of the political will to provide services, political in-fighting within the ruling party, the selection criteria for the appointment of municipal employees, and political interference in municipal administration. It is also essential that the ruling party should put acceptable mechanisms in place to ensure that the public sector becomes an effective instrument for carrying out the ruling party‟s mandate, rather than allowing political interference to affect the day-to-day activities of government. In order to meet the needs of the community with regard to service provision, it is essential that the three spheres of government should function as a coherent unit. Intergovernmental relations therefore play a central role in ensuring that the joint functions of government are effectively carried out. The national and provincial departments have a specific responsibility to support and strengthen local government capacity, and also to ensure the effective execution of municipal functions. However, various intergovernmental challenges need to be dealt with, namely ineffective co-ordination and integration, as well as the absence of the political will to promote intergovernmental relations. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify specific actions and strategies that can be implemented by the government in order to address the challenges that have a negative influence on local government service provision, with specific reference to the political challenges.

Thesis (D. Tech.(Human Resources Management)) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, 2014 / How to address the apparent failure of South African municipalities to deliver service that meets citizens’ expectations, poses a major challenge. The often violent protests that have resulted in deliberate destruction of private and public property, and sometimes fatalities, have been used by the public to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the poor quality of service received from municipalities. With all these incidents, and no visible solutions yet in place, one can bluntly say that some South African municipalities have failed to deliver quality service to citizens, and they appear to be at a loss of how to change this state of affairs. This study proposes that the poor service delivery of municipalities in South Africa can be attributed to their human resource practices, which have been rendered ineffective by political interference. Borrowing from organisational justice theory, the researcher argues that political interference in human resource management (HRM) in municipalities in South Africa will lead to low employee perceptions of HRM fairness (or justness) (PHF) in the practices of municipalities, and this, in turn, will lead to low levels of employee organisational commitment (EOC) and employee motivation (MOT), conditions which are enough to make municipal employees develop negative or unacceptable employee citizenship behaviour (ECB), which may affect the quality of service delivery (QSD) that municipalities render to customers. This theory was tested using ten (10) emergent hypotheses. The theory was partially validated with empirical data collected from nine municipalities in the Free State province. Key findings of the study point to political interference in the HRM practices of municipalities, employees’ perception of HRM practices of municipalities as largely unfair, and service delivery that does not meet citizens’ expectations. These and other findings are presented and fully discussed in this research report. The report also provides recommendations for practice and further research.

The study focused primarily on the socio-economic benefit(s) of land reform beneficiaries with regard to food security. The study further investigated the socio-economic impact of selected land reform projects in the Limpopo Province which is also very critical for many parts of South Africa. Apart from the traditional output based evaluation of land reform projects, the study managed to identify key significant variables that could be the focus in reforming land reform projects in the future. The study also highlights variables that could contribute positively or negatively to the attainment of socio-economic deliverables of the objectives of land reform. The conclusive data for the study was obtained from 170 beneficiaries of the land reform programme. Beneficiaries have benefited from Land Redistribution and Agricultural Development (LRAD) and Settlement Land Acquisition Grant (SLAG) sub-programmes of land reform in the area of Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality within the Greater Sekhukhune District Local Municipality. The Multinomial Logic Model (MLM) was regarded as the best model for data analysis and was used to analyse the degree of contribution of socio-economic factors to food security among beneficiaries of LRAD and SLAG. Three categories were selected to determine the level of beneficiaries satisfaction with food security, namely; 1) None; 2) Moderate and 3) High. Dependent variables selected were 1) Number of beneficiaries, 2) Gender, 3) Farm size/ha, 4) Enterprise, 5) Land reform sub programme, 6) Proximity to the project, 7) Decision, 8) Knowledge, 9) Skills, 10) Training, 11) participation in Development organisation, 12) Sustaining production, and 13) Sustaining financial obligation. The study indicated that the participation of beneficiaries in decision making could contribute positively to the attainment of food security. A positive relationship with food security was determined and confirmed the study hypothesis. Knowledge was also found to have a significant relationship with the attainment of household food security. Knowledge was again found linked to training of beneficiaries which in general was inadequate. The study further revealed that almost all beneficiaries were failing to maintain production and financial obligations. Contrary to the hypothesis, enterprise was not found to be significant to the attainment of beneficiaries’ household food security. v The study concluded that land reform is still relevant to food security in the area. It was also concluded that there is a need to develop a comprehensive agricultural development plan to advance the objective of the land reform programme. / Agriculture, Animal Health and Human Ecology / M.Sc. (Agriculture)

The purpose of this study was to critically analyse the evidence-based revelations from the South African Office of the Auditor-General on the records management challenges being encountered in the local government sector. The aim of the study was the analysis of available evidence and the proposal of solutions for collaborative planning and implementation. The lack of strategic planning in ensuring the accessibility of authentic information sources required during auditing remains unchallenged by the South African public archivists and records managers. These audit reports are required to demonstrate governance, transparency and accountability. This information held in the records of local government is also required to satisfy service delivery and plan development ventures. The World Bank, International Monetary Fund and United Nations formulated an ambitious agenda to eradicate world poverty by 2025. Eight millennium development goals were identified that would provide impoverished communities with better access to basic services and conditions spurring sustainable development. Governance-based criteria were identified as barometers to gauge transparency, accountability, respect for the rule of law and citizens’ rights. Consolidated audited reports from 2000 to 2013 were scrutinised to unravel the conundrums relating to governance, transparency and the management of public sector information sources. According to the 2013 report, only 5% of the local government sector managed to attain clean audits. Related evidence revealed in the unclean audit reports and media narratives related to service delivery and community protests. The approach used for the study was the qualitative methodology, regarded as an appropriate method for the archival discipline. This research method allowed for the incorporation of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary fields of interest. The case study method design enabled the focus of the study to be on local governments and six selected community development ventures in different areas of South Africa. The latter method enabled information collection from records officials and persons involved with socio-economic development projects. Sound interventions are needed to ensure evidence-based governance. This, in turn, would create favourable conditions for development endeavours in post-apartheid South Africa. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

Business management / M. Com. (Business management)

South Africa comes from an apartheid local government system that was structured to divide the citizens socially, economically, spatially and racially to ensure that only a small minority of South Africans benefited from the development and the resources of this country. Since 1994 government departments have undergone a number of transformation processes. The Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 and affirmative action became instrumental in ensuring racial and gender representation within the local government structures. This study investigates the perceptions of racism, nepotism, fraud and other related problems which were perceived as a hindrance towards the effective implementation of affirmative action. The main findings of the study confirm that the implementation of affirmative action in municipalities is not effective due to lack of commitment from top management. It is anticipated that the implementation of Local Government Systems Amendment Act 7 of 2011, will enforce service delivery within municipalities. / Public Administration & Management / M. Tech. (Public Management)

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: All the countries in the world at one or another stage undergo reform or transformation primarily for political reasons and/or to adapt to the challenges and demands placed on the national governments by their electorate or populace. The type of reforms, that is, centralised or decentralised which are implemented in turn is dependent on the political conditions that prevail in a country as well as its system of government. Any reforms which take place, whether in a developed or developing country, will have an impact on its political system as well as governmental structures which in turn will influence the intergovernmental relations in that country. Thus, any reforms implemented in a country with a centralised system of government will result in the weakening of the position of the national government in terms of power and functions. Conversely, reforms introduced in a country with a decentralised system of government will invariably strengthen the national government and weaken the lower levels of government in terms of legislation and executive power and functions. For the purpose of this dissertation, the following criteria have been identified for comparison in respect of the decentralised reforms which have been implemented in the selected developed and developing countries, namely: • political system; • local political structure; • local functions; and • local finance. The decentralised reforms which have taken place in the selected countries since the 1960's were evaluated individually in respect of the aforementioned criteria, whereupon a comparative evaluation was made between South Africa and the developing countries, namely, Botswana and Nigeria, as well as between South Africa and the selected developed countries, namely, Britain and the United States of America. The foregoing evaluations infer alia revealed that decentralisation was implemented in the selected countries in various degrees or forms, namely, deconcentration, delegation, devolution and privatisation, the latter form by way of contracting out and/or by local authorities playing an enabling or facilitating role in respect of the provision of facilities and services. Flowing from the evaluations, an integrated approach was followed to formulate an effective system of local government for South Africa with regard to the four criteria identified for the study, bearing in mind infer alia that South Africa is an advanced developing country, which in turn has an impact on the extent of the decentralised reforms which can practically be implemented. The macro organisational decentralised reform proposals regarding the political system in South Africa entail: • the separation of the legislative and the executive; • the granting of greater guaranteed autonomy to the provincial and local governments; and • the provision of local charters and listing of municipalities in the Constitution of 1996. Turning to the local political structure, a decentralised two tier structure is proposed for metropolitan areas, a three tier structure for non-metropolitan areas, that is, the districts as well as the establishment of land boards in tribal areas and the appointment of commissioners in the districts to facilitate development planning and to eo-ordinate the activities of the provincial and local government agencies. With regard to the third criteria identified for the study, various functions are proposed to either be devolved or delegated to the local sphere of government, the functions to be executed by the different tiers of local government within the context of the decentralisation, functions which should be eontracted out by local government and in respect of which functions private-public partnerships should be established with relevant bodies or organisations. Finally, additional sources of revenue are proposed for municipalities in both the metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas, the increase in the rate of certain levies and taxes, the transfer of certain taxes between the tiers of local government, the introduction of a hybrid system of local government finance and for an integrated plan to be developed for the management of public finance. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: AI die lande in die wêreld ondergaan op een of ander tydstip hervorming en transformasie hoofsaaklik vir politieke redes en/of om aan te pas by die vereistes en uitdagings wat op nationale regerings deur die bevolking of kiesers geplaas word. Die soort hervorming, dit wel sê, sentralisasie of desentralisasie wat geïmplementeer word, is op sy beurt afhanklik van die politieke toestande wat in 'n land heers, asook die land se stelsel van regering. Enige hervormings wat plaasvind, hetsy in 'n ontwikkelde of ontwikkelende land, sal 'n impak hê op sy politieke stelsel asook owerheidstrukture wat weer op sy beurt 'n invloed sal hê op die interowerheidsverhoudinge in daardie land. Derhalwe, enige hervorming wat in 'n land met 'n gesentraliseerde stelsel van regering geïmplementeer word, sal die posisie van die nasionale regering verswak in terme van magte en funksies. Daarenteen, sal enige hervormings wat in 'n land met 'n gedesentraliseerde stelsel van regering geïmplementeer word, die posisie van die nasionale regering in terme van wetgewende en uitvoerende magte en funksies, versterk en dié van die laer vlakke van regering verswak. Vir die doel van hierdie verhandeling, is die volgende kriteria geïdentifiseer vir vergelyking met betrekking tot die desentralisering hervormings wat geïmplementeer is in die geïdentifiseerde ontwikkelde en ontwikkelende lande, naamlik: • politieke stelsel; • plaaslike politieke struktuur; • plaaslike funksies; en • plaaslike finansies. Die desentralisering hervormings wat in die geïdentifiseerde lande sedert die 1960's plaasgevind het, is individueel ge-evalueer met betrekking tot bogenoemde kriteria, waarna 'n vergelykende evaluasie tussen Suid-Afrika en die geïdentifiseerde ontwikkelende lande, naamlik, Botswana en Nigerië, asook tussen Suid-Afrika en die geïdentifiseerde ontwikkelde lande, naamlik, Brittanje en die Verenigde State van Amerika, gemaak is. Die voorafgaande evaluasies het onder andere aan die lig gebring dat desentralisasie in die geïdentifiseerde lande in verskeie grade of vorms geïmplementeer was, naamlik, dekonsentrasie, delegasie, devolusie en privatisering, die laasgenoemde vorm deur middel van uitkontraktering en/of deur plaaslike owerhede wat 'n ondersteunende of fasiliterende rol speel met betrekking tot die voorsiening van geriewe en dienste. Voortspruitend uit die evaluasies, is 'n geïntegreerde benadering gevolg om 'n effektiewe stelsel van plaaslike regering vir Suid-Afrika te formuleer met verwysing na die vier kriteria wat vir die studie geïdentifiseer is, met inagneming inter alia van die feit dat Suid-Afrika 'n gevorderde ontwikkelende land is, wat op sy beurt 'n impak het op die omvang van die gedesentraliseerde hervorming wat prakties geïmplementeer kan word. Die makro-organisatoriese gedesentraliseerde hervormingsvoorstelle betreffende die politiese stelsel in Suid-Afrika behels: • die skeiding tussen die regsprekende en die uitvoerende magte; • die toekenning van groter gewaarborgde outonomie aan die provinsiale en plaaslike regerings; en • die voorsiening van selfbeskikkingshandveste en notering van munisipaliteite in die Grondwet van 1996. Met verwysing na die plaaslike politieke struktuur, word 'n gedesentraliseerde twee-vlak struktuur vir metropolitaanse gebiede voorgestel, en 'n drie-vlak struktuur vir nie metropolitaanse gebiede, dit wil sê vir distrikte sowel as die vestiging van landelike rade in stamgebiede en die aanstelling van kommissarisse in distrikte om ontwikkelingsbeplanning te fasiliteer en om die aktiwiteite van die provinsiale en plaaslike regeringsagentskappe te koordineer. Met verwysing na die derde kriteria wat vir die studie geïdentifiseer is, word verskeie funksies voorgestel wat op die plaaslike sfeer van regering afgewentel of gedelegeer kan word, funksies wat deur die verskillende vlakke van plaaslike regering binne die konteks van desentralisasie uitgevoer kan word, funksies wat deur die plaaslike regering uitgekontrakteer kan word en met verwysing na funksies waar privaat-publieke vennootskappe met betrokke liggame en organisasies gestig behoort te word. Ter afsluiting word addisionele bronne van inkomste vir munisipaliteite voorgestel in beide metropolitaanse en nie-metropolitaanse gebiede, die verhoging van die skaal van bepaalde heffings en belastings, die oordra van bepaalde belastings tussen die vlakke van plaaslike regering, die instelling van 'n gemengde stelsel van munisipale finansies en 'n geïntegreerde plan wat vir die bestuur van openbare finansies ontwikkel kan word.