In 1994, democracy in South Africa brought about a developmental local government characterized by democratic and accountable governance. Municipalities are supposed to encourage the involvement of communities and community organizations in the matters of local government. Municipalities are obliged to establish ward committees and ensure that they succeed in facilitating public participation. However, critiques contend that ward committees have not been able to live up to expectations. The institution is said to be faced by countless challenges that inhibit its functioning. This study has, therefore, been undertaken with the purpose of analyzing the factors that affect the performance of ward committees in the Buffalo City Municipality. The research found that ward committees in the municipality were properly constituted, functional and handle serious issues for the benefit of communities. Communities are not very interested in ward committee meetings and do not solicit assistance from them. Based on the results of this study, the following are the factors which compromise and limit the ability of ward committees to facilitate public participation: lack of remuneration, low levels of education and skills, unavailability of information on municipal issues and activities; and a lack of municipal support. Following the research, it is recommended that municipalities put in stringent measures to detect and curb corrupt practices in ward committees. On annual basis they should provide a meaningful budget allocation for the remuneration and provision of facilities and equipment necessary for ward committees to effect public participation. Municipalities should involve ward committees in decision-making

The study examines challenges that exist in local government in relation to cooperation or working together between traditional leaders and elected councillors. This challenge can be seen mainly in municipalities that include rural areas. The country constantly faces protests by people expressing dissatisfaction with service delivery. This is a cause of concern and raises several questions. Councillors and traditional leaders point fingers at each other. More often than not, councillors as elected leaders exclude traditional leaders in matters of governance. Traditional leaders on the other hand see councillors as people encroaching into their territory. South Africa is characterised by rural areas that operate under Kings and Chiefs who are natural leaders and enjoy authority over the people, their subjects. Historically, traditional leadership was exercised in rural areas. Tribal authorities used to play a role in defining the lives of the people. Their role was very clear. They presided over the majority of cases in their jurisdiction. With changing times, especially during the apartheid era, communities started to mistrust the traditional leaders. There was a stigma attached to traditional leaders; they were seen as puppets of the government. They were used to perpetuate the apartheid government laws and this created a wedge between them and the community at large. When the new dispensation was ushered in, in 1994, hatred and non-acceptance was at a high level. The election and introduction of councillors to some extent undermined the legitimacy of the rule of traditional leaders. They were not recognised, Councillors do not create space for traditional leaders; there is no consultation and therefore no cooperation between councillors and traditional leaders. Some members of traditional leadership became uncomfortable with this situation and started to forge relations with the African National Congress in exile. In 1987, they formed the Congress of Traditional Leaders (CONTRALESA).

This study examined the existing levels of effectiveness and efficiency in local government with the application of performance management systems in the provision of municipal services. The provision of district-wide water services in Cacadu District Municipality in the Province of the Eastern Cape, South Africa is used for particular reference. Local government reforms after 1994 led to the creation of the district municipality (which groups together a number of local municipalities) to drive district-wide services provision, the introduction of systematic services provision standards and performance management as part of management reforms in municipalities. The problem for the research deals with how the Cacadu District Council and the councils of the local municipalities within the district are collaborating in using performance management systems, what effects this could have on programmes and services provision and how communication of performance information would improve service provision. Conceptual and practical difficulties encountered in effective and efficient utilisation and some obstacles that contribute to impeding progress in the use of performance management systems in municipalities were analysed. The qualitative research included a review of documents from the public administration and management literature; discourse analysis of interviews with municipal councilors and appointed officials, community members and provincial managers. The document review included a review of municipal documents that incorporated performance management or described development and use of performance management systems. It also included the legal frameworks and statutory requirements for municipal government and administration. All the responding municipal councils within the Cacadu District Municipality reported using performance management over the past five years yet little empirical evidence explains usage for district-wide programmes and services provision. Research shows that a comprehensive performance management approach to programmes and services has a more effective and efficient impact on service improvement than utilisation of personnnel appraisal (Ammons and Rivenbark, 2005). Despite the expected benefits, personnel performance appraisal is often flawed and the need exists in the district municipal model to develop and utilise performance management systems that validly assess the work performance of personnel (Hindo, 2010). Performance management system utilisation in decision making management is more related to the long-term benefits of effectiveness and efficiency than personnel appraisal for performance rewards and reporting. To overcome and address a situation of managing performance without a performance management system the study proposes a programme performance measurement and management system which incorporates information on management inputs, programme-specific data and citizens' feedback for outcomes and impact of the service. The suggested design for district-wide and specific municipal services provision elicit and provide relevant and appropriate performance information for management, decision-making and accountability to community. The effectiveness of the proposed system is to provide information for decision-making, long-term planning, strategic management and accountability reporting. The proposal is built on the exisiting method and thus efficient in the utilisation of resources. This has implications both for the theory of Public Administration and Management and the practical application of performamce management in public institutions. The study explicity provides a Public Administration perspective on management in a multi-municipal district context with different authorities. The study contributes to the theory of administrative policy and management context of the municipality with special attention to functions for which different authorities are responsible and the role of a performance system for better insught into managing overlapping authority, gaps and duplications. A central purpose of public management research is to theorise and influence practice. The practical utilisation of the proposed method is intended to assist managers and politicians with better understanding of a sustainable performance management system.

This study examines Local Economic Development intervention strategies in relation to promoting infrastructural development with specific reference to roads as one of the vital interventions for alleviating poverty in the KSD Municipality. The study sought to evaluate the impact of the deteriorated condition of roads on the growth of economic activity and community development, the understanding of LED by both the Council and the officials, and also to evaluate LED approach on infrastructural development for poverty alleviation. The study reveals that the municipality does not understand the concept of LED as a result this has caused blockages and impediments in terms of implementing the program in the municipality. Though there are some successes achieved through the construction of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Stadium, there are key constraints related to shortages of funds, staff, skills and resources. The study has established that LED is not living up to expectations in the area, there seems to be confusion regarding its definition and application. Furthermore, there is a confusion regarding the purpose of LED whether it is purely about poverty alleviation or whether LED it is about encouraging economic growth. Ideally it should be about the combination of the two. LED clearly has a critical role to play in terms of considerations of poverty alleviation in terms of addressing development backlogs and promoting sustainable economic growth. In order to achieve this, there is a need to establish a permanent LED facilitation and support unit. The need to identify key intervention strategies, for example, the Expanded xii Public Works Program which aims at identifying labor-intensive and community construction methods. In order to achieve this the study details a number of key recommendations which are mentioned below: The need to properly define LED and its goals, also to align LED with business and market realities. There should be adequate and appropriate training of officials, adequate funding and ensuring accountability. Active encouragement of local leaders, local level forums and partnerships and close co-operation with beneficiaries should be encouraged. It is also vital to establish LED units and development agencies at local level to drive LED process. It is also important for the municipality to encourage economically viable projects which meet poverty and growth requirements and which can also encourage SMME development

In this study, it was attempted to gain insight on coordination of decentralized health and social development services. Further, it was attempted to evaluate the coordinating arrangements of and relationship between decentralized provincial health and social development services with similar services rendered by district and local municipalities. Since the literature on coordination of decentralized services is limited, it is anticipated that this study will provide valuable information for further research on the topic. In the literature study undertaken however, it was evident that coordination of services increases the rate of effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of public services. It was found that role players can no longer afford to work in different compartments. They need to work cooperatively together in achieving unity of purpose, unity of effort as well as unity of action towards the realization of the objectives of government, that of rendering of public services. Thirty four respondents composed of mayors in Amathole District Municipality and Buffalo City Local Municipality, municipal managers for the respective municipalities, portfolio heads for health and social development services in the respective municipalities as well as two councillors, one in each municipality, were given questionnaires to complete. Also given questionnaires to complete were the political office bearers of the Provincial Department of Health and the Provincial Department of Social Development as well as respective Heads of the two departments. Again, officials of the five decentralized offices of the Provincial Department of Health and the Department of Social Development namely, Mbashe, Mnquma, Buffalo City, (v) Amahlathi and Nkonkobe, were given questionnaires to complete. The intentions of the study were to determine the effectiveness in coordinating the rendering of health and social development services between the Provincial Authority, the district as well as local municipalities in the Eastern Cape. Also, the intention was to determine the problem areas in the coordination of the health and social development services rendered by the above authorities. Lastly, the intention was to ascertain whether or not proper measures and standards are put in place for the effective coordination of health and social development services rendered by the above authorities. The findings of the study confirmed firstly, that there is a need to coordinate decentralised health and social development services with similar services rendered by district and local municipalities as well as other role players. Secondly, the study confirmed that departments and municipalities experience problems of coordinating decentralised health and social development services. Thirdly, the study confirmed that there are measures in place to coordinate decentralised health and social development services with similar services rendered by municipalities and other role players. Lastly, the study confirmed, that such measures are not properly defined and need to be strengthened.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Master of Accounting degree, Faculty of Accounting and Informatics, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / Financial accountability, financial control and financial reporting are the three main elements that determine the performance of the municipality. An analysis had to be made on each of these elements to find any limitations and gaps that negatively impact on the performance of the organisation. The aim of the study was to evaluate financial accountability, financial control and financial reporting of Umtshezi Municipality. The study was a census study and it was quantitative, descriptive and cross sectional in nature. The target population comprised of 45 employees from the finance department which was divided into five units, namely, Supply Chain Management, Expenditure, Asset/Fleet, Revenue and Budget. The IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0 was used to determine statistical results. The findings of the study discovered that officials lack educational qualifications and adequate understanding of the MFMA. The respondents also indicated that there was political influence affecting administration within the municipality. The study recommended that the municipality should provide funds to train employees. National Treasury should conduct consistent reviews on the implementation of the MFMA. The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) should intervene to protect the administration from political threats. / M

Thesis (Ph. D. (Public Administration)) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / Municipalities have the responsibility to deliver services to the communities in a fast and efficient manner, and to deliver these services there is a need for financial resources and institutional capacity. The challenge that beset the municipalities is that they struggle to collect revenue. There is a gap between available financial resources and the municipal expenditure needs largely as a result of the revenue collection challenges facing the municipalities. The revenue collection challenge therefore, needs to be adequately addressed for the municipalities to be successful. Municipalities have the right to finance their affairs through charging fees for services; imposing surcharges on fees, rates, levies and duties. The municipal council have the responsibility to implement and adopt tariff policies. These tariff policies must espouse the principles that ensure the equitable treatment of municipal service users. Tariff policies must also ensure that the amount paid by individual users for services is proportionate to their usage. Municipalities should, in terms of law, differentiate between the different categories of ratepayers, users of services, debtors, taxes, services and service standard. This study was based on the combination of both qualitative and quantitative research design. It followed a case study approach of comparative investigation between the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality revenue collection and South African Revenue Service. The quantitative research was done through the administration of questionnaires to the ratepayers, corporate taxpayers and tax practitioners. This was complemented by the qualitative in-depth interview questionnaires administered to both South African Revenue Service and the Tshwane Metropolitan municipality to ensure that the data collected are both collaborated and diverse to enable the researcher to draw a balanced conclusion. In the light of the above, this study therefore investigated the strategies and legislative framework that is employed by the municipalities and contrasted with those that are used by the South African Revenue Service, with the aim of taking possible learnings that can be applied in the municipalities. The study concluded by proposing guidelines that can be used by municipalities in revenue collection.

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies

Firstly, the study contributes to the understanding of voluntary IC disclosure practices in the South African metropolitan municipalities and therefore narrows the gap between IC theory and practice. Secondly, the findings provide valuable insights into the frequency, patterns and quality of voluntary IC disclosure in metropolitan municipalities across a three-year period. Thirdly, the results of the study may be used by various stakeholders of municipalities such as management, regulators and standard-setting bodies to improve disclosure of IC in this sector. / Financial Accounting / M. Phil. (Accounting Sciences)

Thesis (M. Dev. (Development and Planning)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The central emphasis of this study was to investigate the determinant of public participation in Integrated Development Planning (IDP) of Polokwane Local Municipality, Limpopo Province. To this culmination, precise working objectives were formulated as follows: to study the typologies and processes of public participation; to explore the roles of stakeholders in public participation; To examine the phases in Integrated Development Planning and to examine the levels of public participation in Integrated Development Planning. This dissertation studies the determinant of public participation in Integrated Development Planning. Douglas Huber (2008); Franks, Sharma, and Dayaratna (2004); Kimathi (2016) found that there is a positive relationship between public participation in the Integrated Development Planning locally and globally. From a South African perspective, the study shows that public participation is the strongest element for successful development planning. To operationalise this study, descriptive statistics were used to analyse data and data analysis was performed using inferential statistics mainly correlation and linear regression. The data collected from the Capricorn District Municipality Socio-Economic Impact Assessment Study of Integrated Development Planning (2012) was analysed using the 2013 Microsoft Excel Software for raw data and Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) to compute variables that represent the determinants of public participation in Integrated Development Planning into factors. The results of this study show that generally, there is a strong positive relationship with public participation in Integrated Development Planning in Polokwane Local Municipality with an average magnitude of 0.75 correlation. However, the most interesting discovery is that the economic factor is a determinant of public participation in Integrated Development Planning in Polokwane Local Municipality.