The dawn of democracy in South Africa saw a commitment from the African National Congress (ANC) government to address the ills of apartheid through establishing policies that would transform local government (Republic of South Africa (RSA) 1998). The transformation of local government was seen as ensuring the inclusion of citizens, and particularly communities and groups, in society that were previously excluded in policy and decision-making processes of the country (RSA 1998). The Integrated Development Plan (IDP), which is the planning tool of local government (RSA 2000) was seen as one of the ways to ensure this inclusion. This study critically analyses how some municipalities promoted public participation in the IDP process. In so doing, it critically explores the understandings and conceptualisations of public participation by municipalities. It also analyses organisational structures and institutional mechanisms used by municipalities to promote public participation in the IDP process. The study explores the nature of public participation used through these mechanisms and in these structures. The study employed a qualitative research methodology, relying mainly on secondary written sources of data, which reported on public participation and IDP processes. These sources include journal articles, books, internet sources, government legislation, IDP documents of selected municipalities, research and theses. The focus of the study was on some provinces (Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Kwa-Zulu Natal and Western Cape) in South Africa. The studies of municipalities explored in the Gauteng province are the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Emfuleni Local Municipality, Midvaal Local Municipality, Kungwini Municipality, West Rand District Municipality and Mogale City. In the Western Cape, the study analysed studies done in the Stellenbosch Municipality, City of Cape Town Municipality, Breede Valley Municipality and Boland Municipality. In the Eastern Cape, the study looked at studies done in Amathole District Municipality, Buffalo City District Municipality and Makana Municipality. In Kwa-Zulu Natal studies done in Msinga and Hisbicus Municipalities in the Ugu District Municipality, Ugu District Municipality, eThekwini Metro Municipality, and Sisonke Municipality were utilised. Limitations with the availability of information restricted this study to only these municipalities. To analyse the data, the study used qualitative and data analytical techniques. In particular, content analysis was used. One of the emerging conceptualisations of public participation by municipalities in this study is the commitment towards involving communities in the decision-making processes of municipalities. Another conceptualisation of public participation in the IDP process associates public participation with democracy and governance. Ward Committees were used by municipalities in this study as structures for public participation in the IDP process at local community level. These structures were faced with challenges that rendered them ineffective as structures of public participation. In this regard, Ward Committees in some municipalities were established late after the IDPs were already drafted. In others, they were either dysfunctional or by-passed as structures of participation. The IDP Representative Forums were used as the main structures for public participation in the IDP process. Like Ward Committees, these structures were faced with challenges, such as lack of decision-making powers by role-players, partial functioning of IDP Representative Forums and capacity problems for some role-players. These structures at times accentuated the socio-economic inequalities inherent in society. Municipalities in this study established mechanisms to facilitate public participation in the IDP process, such as public meetings/workshops, public hearings, Mayors‟ Listening Campaigns, road shows and ward-based meetings. While some of these mechanisms yielded benefits for communities, such as promoting access to government, some of these mechanisms were not accommodative of the marginalised groups of society, thus hindering participation of such groups in the IDP process. Municipalities in this study used low levels of participation, with limited power by citizens to influence decisions in the IDP process. Based on these findings, this study makes the following recommendations:  Municipalities must clarify their conceptualisation of who the public is to help them identify appropriate mechanisms for public participation.  Municipalities must find ways of mitigating the challenges inherent in Ward Committees to ensure that they better facilitate public participation in the IDP process.  IDP Representative Forums must accommodate the less-organised groups of society.  Municipalities must devise mechanisms for participation that are accommodative of all kinds of people and their realities.  Lastly, municipal officials are advised to move away from low levels of participation such as consultation and tokenism, to higher levels of participation that will ensure that the public have a real say in decisions that affect their lives. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

This study was on the effect of non-payment of services by the government to the local municipality referring specifically to the Mafikeng Local Municipality. According to the literature review, there Is lack of research on the management of finances hence not only this municipality Is still struggling to manage their finances and as a result, some are collapsing. The main objective was to Investigate the reasons for non-payment of services by the government. The study used questionnaires and structured interviews to get the information on non-payment. The government owes the Mafikeng Local Municipality huge amount of services. There is a poor system of collection of debts at the Mafikeng Local Municipality which impact negatively on the financial condition of this municipality. There are challenges surrounding the failure of the government departments In paying the Mafikeng Local Municipality due to the fact that they do not budget enough for services. The other factor is that they do not receive their bills on time which makes difficult for them to pay their bills on time. / (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

Community participation is relevant to every sector of development, for example, education, health, housing, water and sanitation, agricultural development and conservation. The assumption is that public participation is positive in that it can contribute to making programmes more sustainable. Public participation in local government processes, especially in the Integrated Development Plan, is imperative to the promotion of institutional democracy. The Integrated Development Plan as a development tool promotes participatory democracy. This public participation study of the Integrated Development Plan in the City of Cape Town was conducted in four sub-council areas of the city to determine whether public participation was successful and whether the objectives of local government are being met.

It is certainly true that a number of the men who have sat in homeland representative councils live in white areas. Apartheid idealogues draw two inferences from this observation. Firstly, that as the policy of separate development unfolds, urban representation in homeland councils will be a continuing trend. Secondly, that the political aspirations of urban blacks can be fulfilled in the homeland political arena. (1) Both of these conclusions can be refuted at the empirical level alone. With regard to the first, Kotze himself inadvertently provides us with evidence to the contrary. Of the seven representatives " from white urban areas" whom he mentions, four of these men were forced out of the homeland political arena, in 1975 alone. Collins Ramusi and Mageza, having become "interior ministers" for their homelands (Lebowa and Gazankulu respectively) were forced to leave their positions towards the beginning of that year, and Barney Dladla, Executive Councillor for Community Affairs in Buthelezi's KwaZulu cabinet, was ousted as well. Baldwin Mudau’s Venda Independence People’s party suffered continual harassment and was thwarted in its attempts to hold elections in Venda. It was decided to examine the cases of Mudau and Mageza in greater depth to explain how the demise in their roles as ’homeland politicians’ occurred. This examination revealed the fallaciousness of the second and central inference mentioned earlier. It was shown that although these men lived and worked in the city, their electoral support did not come from the urban areas. Once it was established that their electoral base was in fact a predominantly rural one, the refutation of this second theme became complete. On a purely empirical level then, the contentions of Kotze et al were refuted. But to merely refute these ideological statements by providing evidence to the contrary does not answer the questions that have arisen as a result of the investigation. / Opposition politics in Venda and Gazenkulu

The main objective of this study was to explore how change can be understood fromthe change management perspective, especially in the local sphere of government. The study looked specifically at the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality journey through a significant shift or transition from a category B to Category A municipality during the 2011 Local Government elections. Based on change theory and a selected change management model, the framework for change management and issues related to it were constructed. Additionally, a synthesis of the most important phases and interventions in a strategic change process or project was created. The phases included: starting point, planning, implementation and evaluation, and securing. Various literature sources were consulted during the study. Inter alia, these included Lewin’s change management model, which states that change has to follow three stages—including, unfreezing, moving and refreezing. All these stages by Lewin(1951) emphasise the critical management role in driving planned or proactive change in order to address the likely emergence of resistance by observing a systematic process. A qualitative approach was utilized in order to solicit in-depth information using a structured questionnaire. Respondents were visited by the researcher in their offices, to gather data. To this effect, a total 25 respondents from the top management, councillors and middle management were sampled and interviewed accordingly. According to the findings of this study, important change management phases were recognized through researching theoretical literature—starting, planning and implementation phases. Empirical information at the starting phase involves analysis of the current and desired states and the need for change accompanied by guiding coalitions. In the planning phase, the most important interventions is project formulation, action plan development, analysis of prior and current strategic change initiatives and organizational structure analysis. In the change implementation phase the interventions of importance are the launch, quick-wins, creation of a sense of urgency, management of change resistance and communication of the change.

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2008 / The merger of South African municipalities in the year 2000, and the dawn of the era of developmental local government, has confronted local authorities with a range of new challenges. In addition to the need to develop a new organisational culture and mutual trust, or the introduction of soft management actions, municipalities have to aetualise the concepts and processes of co-operative governance, integrated development planning, public participation and developmental local government. In addition, the White Paper on Local Government (WPLG, 1998) implores municipalities to lead and learn while they search for local solutions. An inability to learn and manage in a changed context and circumstances will inevitably lead to public displays of dissatisfaction, such as public demonstrations, that undermine municipalities' legitimacy. To overcome legitimacy dilemmas, municipalities need to strengthen their learning capabilities to enable them to operate effectively within changed circumstances and to become learning organisations. Such organisations, according to Senge (1990), have succeeded in formulating a shared vision, displayed a high level of personal mastery and team learning, as well as practising systems thinking. Together with these elements municipalities must identify and improve potentially constraining mental models. However, transforming any organisation into a learning organisation according to Dilworth (1996) requires a particular set of leadership qualities, such as commitment to the improvement of the quality of work life, democratic leadership and the promotion of human dignity. In this thesis, a learning organisation survey of the Saldanha Bay municipality's leadership cadre, consisting of Municipal Councillors, Executive Directors and Departmental Managers and Division Heads is undertaken with a view to determine whether these key functionaries practise the key learning disciplines of team leaming, shared vision, systems thinking, mental models and personal mastery. The results of this study indicated that the municipality in question has not yet succeeded in becoming a learning municipality. It has at best succeeded in laying a foundation for both councillors and officials to build on in order to achieve the desired result.

In this mini-dissertation, a study is undertaken for an investigation into the Executive Mayoral System with reference to the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality. The mini-dissertation comprises of five chapters. The study is based on the assumption that the introduction of an executive mayoral system will enhance the decision-making and policy-making processes at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality. This is also based on the assumption that all local authorities and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality in particular are faced with challenges of developmental local government. The Executive Mayoral System, therefore, is expected to provide possible solutions and avenues to promote and improve socio-economic development and service delivery to strengthen the local tax base. Another challenging aspect is the capacity building for the staff members of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality especially the Executive Mayor who has all the powers vested in him. The main objectives of the research include, inter alia, to provide a brief theoretical background explanation regarding the reasons for the existence of local authorities and restructuring of local government in South Africa. To investigate and report on the implementation of the new mandate for local government with reference to the Executive Mayoral System at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality. To investigate whether the Executive Mayoral System at the NMMM will contribute towards efficient and effective service delivery. This will be followed by the impact of the Metropole to promote and encourage community involvement on all the programmes of the municipality. This investigation will ensure that the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality provides conducive environment for socio-economic development and achieve the national economic strategy under Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) policy. To bring about experiences from other countries and learn from those experiences based on their approach to the Executive Mayoral System. An overview of the legislative framework and an explanation of selected policies for the Executive Mayoral System are made. Finally, a number of conclusions that were arrived during the study, followed by various recommendations are made. These are based on the qualitative research analysis in order to come up with solutions of ensuring sustainable service delivery with the Executive Mayoral System.

This study is about implementing the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) for effective service delivery: The case of Mnquma municipality. The need for improved standards of living and access to better infrastructure which are seen as crucial issues in addressing poverty have necessitated the introduction of the Integrated Development Planning. The IDP looks at the economic and social development. It aims to coordinate the work of the local government in a coherent plan to improve the quality of life of all the people living in an area. Many municipalities in South Africa are faced with the challenge of service delivery and Mnquma is one of those municipalities. There are still backlogs in service delivery in Mnquma. This study was triggered by the high level of poverty, high unemployment rate and the non service delivery in Mnquma municipality. It sought to understand whether the IDP is serving its purposes in the Mnquma Municipality. Questionnaires were used as a method of collecting data. The respondents were asked to give their opinions on the impact of IDP in Mnquma, the IDP implementation for effective service delivery, and highlight the challenges that they think hinder the IDP from realizing its intended goals. The results of this study show that there is lack of communication between the municipality and the community. The study uncovered that the communities do not understand the purpose and existence of the IDP document. IDP is a tool to fast track service delivery. The study argues that without its proper implementation, service cannot be rendered effectively and efficiently.The research findings also point out the need for sensitizing the community about the need to participate in the affairs of their development so that the IDP can be a true reflection of their needs. The mantra of this research is effective service delivery through the implementation of the IDP.

South African municipalities have often been labelled as failing in the provision of services to local communities. These allegations include poor governance, mal administration, corruption and poor delivery of services to where they are needed most. Certain municipalities, however, are unable to deliver sufficient services to the communities of their geographic areas due to mal administration, political interference and corruption. This study is about the analysis of Community Participation and Consultation in Local Government, using the Umhlontlo Local Municipality as a case study. The focus of the study was on the participation of communities in the decision making processes of their local municipalities. The issue of community participation in decision making has been receiving attention in South Africa, from both government and civil society sectors. Only 50% of the areas are receiving running water, enjoying electricity and living in RDP houses. Government in many parts of the world has begun to take a fresh look at the need for public participation in the decision making process. The main problem that will be addressed in this study, is the extent to which communities can be involved in the decision making process in the Umhlontlo Local Municipality. To address this research problem and to achieve the aim of this study, an in-depth review of the literature on decision making was conducted. The empirical research was done by distributing self-administered questionnaires to the participants in Umhlontlo Local Municipality. The research findings will reveal that there is poor community consultation. This report presents the findings of a study conducted to identify the strategies and consultation structures used in the participation of communities in the decision making processes. Measures of effectiveness of these strategies are also indicated in the report. A key indicator of the need for this study was triggered by the non-attendance of the communities in the IDP (Define IDP – Integrated Development Plan) road shows and also by the complaints of a serious lack in service delivery. It was also noted that there was little understanding of the IDP concept & documentation. The results of this study also show that the communities do not fully participate in the development planning processes. The researcher hopes that this study will sensitize the communities to participate in the affairs of their development so as to accelerate progress in communities, which will further improve the quality of their lives.

Integrative Summary: Municipalities are the third level of government and are responsible for delivery of basic services to citizens. They carry the developmental mandate of government and are often the first point of interaction between government and citizens. Being at the front line of service delivery, the issue of fiscal stability of municipalities and their ability to deliver sustainable services is of grave importance (Carter & Ajam 2003). Unfortunately in a South African context most municipalities are not fiscally sustainable (Roos & Stander 2005). In a study of 142 South African municipalities, it was found that poor collection of outstanding debt and irregular or wasteful expenditure were the biggest causes of fiscal stress (Roos & Stander 2005). In fact, in 2004 the difficulties appear to have reached crisis level (Lubbe & Roussouw 2005). The fiscal situation within municipalities was so bad that the South African Local Government Authority (SALGA) implemented a unit specifically to assist municipalities that were at “crisis point” (Roos & Stander, 2005 p. 165). This research report focuses on the evaluation of Igoli 2002 which was a response to fiscal crisis within the City of Johannesburg metropolitan municipality when in 1997 the City of Johannesburg was declared insolvent. The research evaluated the long term sustainability of the Igoli 2002 programme to determine its success in addressing the issues of fiscal stress and crisis facing the municipality. The research also attempted to assess the applicability of international indicators of fiscal stress and crisis to the City of Johannesburg. The research evaluated the Igoli 2002 programme via a financial condition analysis, against international indicators of fiscal stress and crisis and against a logic framework detailing the goals of the programme. The research found that ultimately, the Igoli 2002 intervention implemented by the City of Johannesburg was successful in improving the fiscal position and sustainability of the City. In addition, indicators from predictive models of fiscal stress and crisis were found to be relevant to the City of Johannesburg.