Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The purpose of local government is to promote the realisation of human rights, socio-economic development, and cultural, civil, and political rights to improve communities (Ojochenemi, 2016). Residents are known to be dissatisfied with the poor quality services provided by the local government, which has resulted in unending protests and apathetic citizens. The research focused on the nature of civic participation and the causes of civic apathy in Mankweng Township, as well as the mechanisms that can be implemented to increase civic participation in Mankweng Township and how citizens‟ awareness can be raised. The study discovered that there is high levels of civic apathy in Mankweng Township, which hinders the operation of the municipality, whether it is the service delivery process or the municipality's responsiveness to the citizen's needs, based on the literature, distributed questionnaires, and conducted interviews. Civic apathy also leads to poor governance, which leads to distrust between the government and the citizens. Recommendations were made to help Mankweng Township overcome the challenges of civic apathy; one of these recommendations included encouraging township participation.

This dissertation provides an account of 'Batho Pele' (People First) and 'new public management' as applied in two government call-centres in the Eastern Cape. Focusing on the workers at these call-centres, this research examines the workplace organisation of these call-centres based in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality. The study involved interviews with managers, call-centre operators and trade unionists. The findings show how the work environment is not conducive to the goals of customer satisfaction as presented in the Batho Pele policies. The research investigates the conditions of workers as one explanatory factor for poor call-centre service. If workers are a key element in the success of the 'new public management', their work environment and conditions have to facilitate their job satisfaction and their improved customer service. The research demonstrated the evident lack of professionalism in the call-centre, customer care designed as a matter of compliance rather the need to change the culture and the persistent lack of discipline and supervision. The call centre operator's experiences include issues of surveillance, stress, emotional labour, lack of training, internal conflicts and bad 'customer service' as perceived by the citizens of the Metro.

Thesis (M. Tech) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, 2008 / In terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996), local government in South Africa is obliged to ensure that sustainable services are provided to communities. Without any doubt, the effective and efficient execution of this responsibility would bring about an environment conducive to service excellence on local government level. However, South African municipalities are characterised by poor service provision; and the various incidents arising from dissatisfaction on the part of residents in respect of the services rendered are daily becoming a greater challenge to municipalities in the Free State Province. In order to meet the service provision standards, as stipulated in the Constitution, the development and implementation of municipal policies is essential. Policy is defined, inter alia, as the setting out of basic principles that must be pursued in order to achieve specific objectives. Local government has the legislative and executive competency to develop and implement policies. As a result of the diversity and complexity of policy-making, a conceptual framework for the policy-making process at local government level is an essential requirement. This process is described in the dissertation as a sequential pattern consisting of the following phases: policy agenda-setting, policy formulation, policy adoption, policy implementation and execution and policy evaluation. However, municipalities do not have the institutional capacity, skills and experience necessary for the development and implementation of municipal policies. A further aspect that complicates the creation and implementation of policies is the large amount of legislation that regulates local government in South Africa. This legislation also requires municipalities to develop and implement various policies. There are several factors that influence policy-making at local government level. Aspects such as the political environment, the financial environment and community needs have a direct and significant effect on policy-making at this level of government. Capacity shortages probably comprise the factor that has the most detrimental effect on policy-making at local government level; and therefore the necessity for the relevant skills and knowledge relating to policymaking is indisputable. It is just as essential, however, that the other two spheres of government, namely national and provincial government, should carry out their constitutional obligation to support municipalities and strengthen their capacity. Therefore, the aim of this study is, firstly, to identify specific actions that could be implemented by local and district municipalities to improve the policy-making process. Secondly, to determine the reasons for the inadequate formulation, adoption and implementation of the municipal policies. Thirdly, to determine the specific role of national and provincial government, as well as that of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), in supporting municipalities in the policy-making process. In addition, strategies that could be implemented in order to improve the institutional capacity, skills and experience at local government level, with a view to developing and implementing appropriate policies, have also been identified.

No abstract available / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Administration)

This thesis discusses the involvement of informally housed communities in shaping local government policies aimed at poverty alleviation. Involving the poor in the design of anti-poverty policies at local level is regarded as an invaluable opportunity that should be used by municipal governments to make poverty alleviation efforts more demand-driven and therefore more relevant to the people they are meant to benefit. The argument is that because the poor know about poverty first-hand, they would be in a position to revive local government's capacity to respond effectively to their needs. But this does not come without a price. Because of the complexity of public management, participative democracy is liable to slow down the process of governance. It may also become advantageous to the interests of some people or groups of people at the expense of others if attention is not paid to the representation and consideration of all the voices in the community–to name two drawbacks. For this reason, it is essential to the realization of an effective bottom-up approach to anti-poverty policy-making that certain conditions are in existence and practical issues of involvement are worked through. Accordingly, it is the intention of this study to focus on two particular areas (conditions and practical issues that would facilitate the process of involving informally housed communities in the design of local government policies that affect their lives), which are investigated with particular reference to the South African context. Drawing upon a series of field surveys and a broad selection of relevant works of scholars from both the international and local scene, the picture that emerges is that there needs to be a proper level of government's commitment, capacity and legally binding responsibility coupled with a healthy degree of community's motivation, ability and organizational capacity in order to involve the poor in local governance efficiently. The study has also found that there needs to be proper forms of involvement (the most relevant of which are identified as an ombudsman, public meetings and residents' committees) that are to be employed with attention to such issues as stakeholders to be engaged, degree of participation, timing of involvement and topics for which public debate may be sought. / Development Studies / D.Litt. et Phil. (Development Studies)

This study examines the role of Ward Committees in facilitating “authentic” public participation, with particular reference to Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality. The key question of the study is whether Ward Committees serve as effective mechanisms to promote public participation in the local sphere of government in South Africa. To answer this question, this research project focuses on the composition, functioning and responsibilities of Ward Committees, and how these contribute to effective public participation. This is important because one of the mandates of local government in the post-apartheid era in South Africa is to promote local democracy through the participation of communities. The empirical findings of this research project reveal that Ward Committees are confronted with a multitude of challenges where their functioning tends to be compromised. This has led this research to recommend the improvement of capacity among Ward Committees as a way of enhancing public participation. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

The dissertation deals with the roots of civic apathy in local government, and the main emphasis is to establish the root cause/s of civic apathy. The hypothesis: 'civic apathy is a phenomenon intensified by ignorance and a feeling of powerlessness and frustration on the electorate' is tested in this study. To examine further specific aspects of civic apathy, including establishing the cause/s and effects of apathy, the author conducted a quantitative research in the Northern Metropolitan Area m Johannesburg, using questionnaires and literature study as the research method. The hypothesis advanced in the dissertation has been validated insofar as it has been argued and demonstrated that indeed people can feel powerless and frustrated if they are deliberately being excluded from, or denied the opportunity to participate actively in their local government activities. The main finding is that civic apathy is intensified by ignorance. However, the most important finding is that there ts a causal relationship between powerlessness, frustration and apathy. / Public Administration and Management / M. Admin. (Public Administration)

Text in Afrikaans / Die Suidelike Pretoria Metropolitaanse Substruktuur word onder toenemende druk geplaas om meer en beter dienste, wat onder andere sport- en rekreasiedienste behels, aan die gemeenskap te voorsien. Dit kan daaraan toegeskryf word dat veranderinge in die omgewing plaasvind wat vereis dat die Substruktuur in die gees van die heropbou en ontwikkeling van die gemeenskap, daarby moet aanpas. Een manier om die druk op die Suidelike Pretoria Metropolitaanse Substruktuur te verlig is om sport- en rekreasiedienste aan die hand van eenvormige beleid te organiseer. Hieruit spruit 'n doelwit voort, te wete om beleid vir die organisering van sport- en rekreasiedienste van die Suidelike Pretoria Metropolitaanse Substruktuur te ondersoek. Die ondersoek omsluit die milieu waarbinne beleid ontwikkel het, byvoorbeeld die eksterne omgewing en die bestaande organisatoriese reelings wat vir sport- en rekreasiedienste in die Substruktuur geld. In die studie is bevind dat beleid vir die organisering van sport- en rekreasiedienste van die Suidelike Pretoria Metropolitaanse Substruktuur gebrekkig en gefragmenteerd is. Daar is ook bevind dat die organisering van sport- en rekreasiedienste, weens 'n gebrek aan beleid, tot organisatoriese leemtes, soos die duplisering van dienste en gebrekkige kommunikasie, aanleiding gee. 'n Verdere doelwit met die studie is om 'n universele beleidsmodel vir die Suidelike Pretoria Metropolitaanse Substruktuur saam te stel waardeur leemtes in die organisering van sport- en rekreasiedienste uitgeskakel kan word en eenvormige beleidsreelings getref kan word. Daar is bevind dat die universele beleidsmodel wetenskaplik gefundeerde riglyne vir die daarstelling van beleid bied. Sodanige bevinding het tot die gevolgtrekking gelei dat die beleidsmodel 'n ideale raamwerk skep waarvolgens plaaslike owerhede, soos die Suidelike Pretoria Metropolitaanse Substruktuur, probleme kan identifiseer, doelwitte kan stel, organisatoriese reelings kan tref en beleid kan formuleer, implementeer en evalueer. Dit skep in der waarheid 'n raamwerk waarvolgens beleidbepalers te werk kan gaan om beleid te bepaal. Die beleidsmodel het 'n universele toepassingswaarde omdat dit riglyne bevat wat deur enige ander plaaslike owerheid in die proses van beleidbepaling aangewend kan word. / Increased pressure is placed on the Southern Pretoria Metropolitan Substructure to provide more and improved services, such as sport and recreation services, to the community. This can be ascribed to changes taking place within the external environment and which, in the spirit of reconstruction and development, requires the Substructure to adapt to such changes. One way to relieve the pressure on the Southern Pretoria Metropolitan Substructure is to organize sport and recreation services according to a uniform policy. This resulted in an objective, namely to investigate policy for the organization of sport and recreation services of the Southern Pretoria Metropolitan Substructure. The investigation entails the environment within which policy develops, for example the external environment and the present organizational arrangements applicable to sport and recreation services in the Substructure. During the study it was determined that policy for the organization of sport and recreation services of the Southern Pretoria Metropolitan Substructure was limited and fragmented. It was also determined that, due to the lack of policy, the organization of sport and recreation services resulted in organizational shortcomings such as the duplication of services and insufficient communication. A further objective with the study is to construct a universal policy-model for the Southern Pretoria Metropolitan Substructure through which shortcomings in the organization of sport and recreation services can be limited and uniform policy arrangements can be determined. It was determined that the universal policymodel offered scientifically based guidelines for the determination of policy. The aforementioned determination lead to the conclusion that the policy-model created an ideal framework within which local governments, such as the Southern Pretoria Metropolitan Substructure, could identify problems, determine objectives and organizational arrangements, formulate, implement and evaluate policy. In fact it creates a framework within which policymakers can work to determine policy. The policy-model is of universal value because it offers guidelines which can be applied by any other local authority during the policy-making process. / Public Administration and Management / D. Admin. (Publieke Administrasie)

Text in Afrikaans / Suid-Afrika het as gevolg van apartheid vir etlike dekades oor 'n gedeeltelik legitieme plaaslike regeringstelsel beskik. Die probleem is dat die land se apartheidsregering afsonderlike stelsels vir blankes en swartes in aparte woongebiede in stand gehou het, welke beleid vir meeste Suid-Afrikaners onaanvaarbaar was. Swart plaaslike owerhede wat swart plaaslike regering moes bedryf, was nog polities nog ekonomies lewensvatbaar. Die rede hiervoor is dat hul enersyds deur die gemeenskap verwerp is en andersyds nie voldoende inkomstebronne gehad het om plaaslike owerheidsdienste finansieel onafhanklik te lewer nie. Stedelike swart gemeenskappe was aan 'n, vir hulle, onaanvaarbare apartheidsgestruktureerde swart plaaslike regeringstelsel onderworpe. Swart plaaslike owerhede was voorts as gevolg van hul ekonomiese nie-lewensvatbaarheid, gekniehalter in die lewering van plaaslike owerheidsdienste asook die daarstelling en instandhouding van kapitale ontwikkelingsprojekte. Stedelike swartes was dus blootgestel aan gebrekkige dienslewering in aparte, onderontwikkelde "slaapdorpe" waar hulle noodgedwonge moes woon. 'n Vraag waarna gevolglik gekyk word, fokus op die kenmerke van 'n ideeeltipiese model van plaaslike regering wat die gedeeltelik legitieme stelsel behoort te vervang. As gevolg van die onaanvaarbaarheid van die swart plaaslike regeringstelsel was swart plaaslike owerhede sedert die vroee tagtigerjare die teikens van aksioniste teen hierdie apartheidsproduk. Aksioniste het nie-gewelddadige aksie (NGA), geskoei op die Gandhiaanse filosofie en metodiek van Satyagraha, aangewend ten einde swart plaaslike owerhede te vernietig. NGA (wat dikwels ook tot gewelddadigheid gelei het), het tot gevolg gehad dat die owerheid later noodgedwonge 'n nuwe plaaslike regeringstelsel vir die totale Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing, met alle deelvennote moes beding. Onderhandelings het vervolgens meegebring dat 'n oorgangsproses na legitieme (demokratiese) plaaslike regering vir alle Suid-Afrikaners ingevolge die Oorgangswet op Plaaslike Regering, 1993 (Wet No. 209 van 1993) geaktiveer is. In hierdie proefskrif is gevolglik vasgestel: (1) welke invloed die politieke bedeling (apartheidsbedeling) op die ontwikkeling van stedelike swart gemeenskappe en die bedryf van swart plaaslike regering gehad het; (2) wat die aard en effek van NGA op die ontwikkeling van swart plaaslike regering was; en (3) hoe geldig die onderhandelde plaaslike regeringstelsel is, vergeleke met die ideeel-tipiese model wat geidentifiseer is. / As a result of apartheid South Africa possessed a partially legitimate local government system for several decades. The problem is that the country's apartheid government maintained separate systems for whites and blacks in separate residential areas, a policy that was unacceptable to the majority of South Africans. Black local authorities who had to maintain black local government were neither politically nor economically viable because they were rejected by the community and lacked sufficient sources of revenue to render financially independent local government services. Urban black communities were subject to what, for them, was an unacceptable apartheid-structured black local government system. Black local authorities were also prevented by their economic nonviability from delivering local government services effectively and from instituting and maintaining capital development projects. Urban blacks were therefore subjected to poor service delivery in separate, underdeveloped "dormitory towns" where they were forced to live. An issue to be considered in this regard concerns the characteristics of an ideal-typical model of local government that should replace this partially legitimate system. As a result of the unacceptability of the black local government system local authorities became the targets of activists who waged a campaign against this product of apartheid since the early eighties. Activists used non-violent action (NV A), based on the Gandhian principle of Satyagraha, to destroy black local authorities. As a result of NVA (which often led to violence) the central government was eventually forced to negotiate a new local government system for the whole of South African society with all stakeholders. Negotiations led to a process of transition to legitimate (democratic) local government for all South Africans as promulgated in the Local Government Transition Act, 1993 (Act No. 209 of I 993). Consequently the following has been established in this thesis: (1) the influence of the political dispensation (apartheid dispensation) on the development of urban black communities and the maintenance of black local government; (2) the nature and the effect of NV A on the development of black local government; and (3) how valid the negotiated local government system is, compared to the identified ideal-typical model. / Development Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Ontwikkelingsadministrasie)

This research is an examination of the practical application of intergovernmental relations (IGR) and co-operative government at the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (CTMM)’s Department of Housing and Human Settlements. By use of questionnaire and direct interviews, the research extracted responses from methodically selected employees and officials at the Department of Housing and Human Settlements in the CTMM. Literature study was combined with document analysis and a part of participant observation to gather data and information that has been examined and analysed in the study that has established the need for training and skilling for officials and employees in financial and project management. The need for the rolling back of political interference, regular review of legislation to keep abreast with the changing environment and international standards and improved institutional communication are but some of the observations and arguments that the research has established from a careful reading of data gathered. The enabling policies, laws and regulations that are in place remain largely good on paper, but still limited in their practical application. It is argued in this research that housing and human settlements are a provision that is central in the democratic and development life of the Republic of South Africa, and that the provision of sustainable human settlements enriches the livelihoods of communities in so far as other services such as education, recreation, health care, electricity, economic opportunities, safety, transport and communication are also dependent on the availability of sustainable human settlements and the amenities that comes with it. It is the recommendation of the present research that if the policies, regulations, laws and goals that govern the IGR towards the delivery of sustainable human settlements are to achieve maximum fruition, there is a need for vigorous monitoring and evaluation mechanisms that will ensure that budgets are efficiently used, that standing decisions are implemented and that partisan politics and corruption and opportunistic tendencies are eliminated as these hinder performance and delivery. / Public Administration / MPA