Thesis (MPA) --University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus), 2006 / The aim of this inquiry was to gain a deeper understanding of the service delivery in the community by Polokwane municipality as a third sphere of government. Moreover, not much research has been conducted in this field especially in Limpopo Province. The latest policy document on Transforming Public Service Delivery stipulates that public services are not a privilege in a civilised and democratic society, they are a legitimate expectation. Hence meeting the basic needs of all citizens is one of the five key programmes of the government’s Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). From the literature review, it was evident that service delivery is essential in the communities and the municipality has a critical role to play. Therefore this study also aims to examine the problems and challenges the community is confronted with during the provision of services and also reflects on the strategic importance of the municipality in service delivery. This information may be used as a point of departure in showing the municipalities the perception of communities and their level of satisfaction and serves as a yardstick in terms of their effectiveness in delivering services to the community. In order to achieve this goal one individual and two focus group interviews were conducted. The participants ranged from the youth, adults, to people with disabilities and the elderly. The main patterns of concern that emerged from the data related to the low levels of satisfaction among the community in terms of service delivery in general. From the analysis of data it was realised that the lack of proper service delivery impacts negatively on the members of the community. It would probably be advisable for the Municipality to take note of these results and concerns in an effort to improve and ensure effectiveness in this sphere as stipulated in the White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery and the Reconstruction and Development Programme documents.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Development Planning / At the birth of the democracy, there were countless hopes, promises and desires that came with the new era. Many South Africans had a renewed hope for improved living conditions and economic opportunities. The new hope and desires are well articulated in the African National Congress 1994 election slogan ‘a better life for all’. Provision of housing was amongst the list of promised goods. While many South Africans have received the houses they were promised, millions still reside in poor living conditions, crammed in shacks and squatter camps. Other communities have felt the brutal hand of the government, and have been uprooted from their homes to make way for new developments. The ferocious acts have not gone unnoticed by the affected communities as they have taken on the streets as a platform to demand for basic services to be delivered in their locations. In recent years, service delivery related protests have become the order of the day where communities are disregarding the current channels of engagement in favour of new insurgent practices. The new platforms of engagement create a labyrinth of complex situations that planners have to muddle through. With the mounting public protests and increasing demands for basic services, planners are inescapably knotted in complex situations that require immediate response. Planning in diverse and multi-cultural contexts is challenging as planners are confronted with a web of contextual, administrative and political issues. It is from this premise that the study explored the planning challenges of service delivery in local municipalities. The challenges were probed through exploring the planning challenges of delivering housing in local municipalities. From the discussions in the report and the chosen case study of Sicelo Shiceka informal settlement in Midvaal Local Municipality it was evident that there were complexities encountered when it came to delivering services in a context entangled in complex party politics. Issues of power, politics, limited capacity, multiple stakeholders, unrealistic demands and the multi-cultural contexts are just some of the few challenges planners stumble across. From the study, it was evident that the South African rhetoric on service delivery makes it difficult to deliver houses in such contexts as people feel entitled to the services but have no responsibility to the services. The study highlights the difficulty of planning within a maturing democracy. The research further suggests that planning is influenced by politics even when it comes from an objective approach.

M. Tech. Public Management / The issue of public participation in local government is important for the delivery of services to communities. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 and other legislation relating to public participation such as the Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act 32 of 2000,) encourage the participation by communities in the affairs of the municipality. In this study, public participation perspectives are outlined on an international level and in South African local government. The area of the study is the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, which is situated in the Gauteng Province. The study seeks to assess the impact that public participation has on enhancing service delivery in the City of Tshwane. Furthermore, the study seeks to achieve its purpose by establishing the extent to which public participation enhances service delivery in the City of Tshwane.

The sustainability of South Africa municipal water services provision is being challenged by the desire of government to extend high quality services from a relatively small portion of the population to the whole. Evidence of failures in delivery are mounting and many reasons for this have been identified, including a lack of political will at local government levels, low budget priority, insufficient capital, lack of capacity and skill and flawed tariff and accounting structures. This study generates new perspectives by surveying selected but representative, South African municipalities in their capacities as water service authorities (WSAs) on a range of financial sustainability issues – including cost burden on users, cross sub-subsidisation and cost calculations to set tariffs. The study is part of a wider investigation into the setting of tariffs that cover costs and satisfy demand, funded and advised by the Water Research Commission (WRC). The conclusions and recommendations of WRC Project K3/2087 (Hosking, 2011b) are to address: 1. The choice of water service provider, including the private utility option; 2. Market vulnerabilities in water service provision under alternate models of supply; 3. The determination and realisation of full cost recovery; 4. Demand responsiveness/sensitivity of local government supply; 5. The increasing block tariff (IBT) tariff structure; and 6. Abuse of dominance in the market process. Given the limited perspective (i.e. a focus on WSAs), some important national water sustainability issues are given less prominence, e.g. raw water availability and national government capacity to subsidise water service delivery. The key water service sustainability elements on which attention was focused in this study are: • Backlogs in the water service coverage and infrastructure rehabilitation and maintenance. • Standard of water service indicators. • Relative importance of the provision of water services in water service authorities’ strategy and implementation (including budget and risk). • Adequacy of skills to provide a sustainable water service. • Budgeting and planning for the sustainability of the water service. • Adequacy of the costing and tariff setting nexus, with particular attention paid to method and principle. A survey was used to elicit information from selected municipalities (Chapter Four). The municipalities which formed part of the sample and were surveyed were: 1. Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality; 2. Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality; 3. eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality; 4. Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality; 5. Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality; 6. George Municipality; 7. uMhlathuze (Richards Bay) Municipality; 8. Steve Tshwete (Middleburg) Municipality; 9. Kouga Municipality; 10. Sol Plaatjie (Kimberley) Municipality; 11. Polokwane Municipality; 12. Stellenbosch Municipality; 13. Overstrand Municipality; 14. Midvaal Municipality; and 15. Amathole District Municipality.

The study investigates problems affecting housing delivery in King Sabatha Dalindyebo Municipality Local Municipality. The housing development in this area is not up to standard. This situation is worse in rural areas where housing projects have been obstructed by lack of infrastructure and other essential services. This is a serious problem that this local municipality is facing; the most vulnerable are the poor, residing in these rural areas. The study has investigated this problem in King Sabatha Dalindyebo Municipality Local Municipality with specific attention to Bongweni Administrative Area in Mthatha. The investigation indicates that there are serious challenges facing housing.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the academic requirements for the degree of Masters in Development Theory and Policy, / The present study contributes to the subjective well-being literature by looking at how the provisioning of government service affects subjective well-being in South Africa, how this differs by various groups, and whether the relationships have changed over time, specifically between 2009 and 2016. The study aims to provide an updated analysis of how subjective well-being and government service provision are linked within the current political climate for differing groups within the South African context. This paper utilises the South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) data for both the 2009 and 2016. The SASAS survey is a nationally representative survey. The dependent variable (Y), life satisfaction, is derived from the question in the SASAS data set that is phrased as “Taking all things into consideration, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole these days?”. Ordered probit regression modelling is used in the empirical analysis to explore the indicated research outcomes. The results suggest a decline in the effect that access to government services have on individuals’ life satisfaction in South Africa. In 2009, access to electricity and access to a flushed toilet were both positively and significantly related to SWB. However, in 2016, only access to piped drinking water was statistically significant with a positive effect. This effect was particularly large in 2016 for those living in formal areas and for women, suggesting that service delivery affects different groups’ SWB in different ways. The various control variables (unemployment, education, health, etc.) had the expected effects on SWB given evidence in the existing international and South African literature on this topic, providing some confidence in the specification and data reliability. / PH2020

Local government is the sphere of government that is most directly involved in rendering services to communities and individuals. It is also at this sphere of government where the basic needs of people are addressed. Services like water, sanitation, waste removal and electricity have a direct influence on the quality of life that people live. In order for the occupation of local public administration to contribute meaningfully towards rendering services of a high level, both in quantity and quality, it is important to lay down a number of preconditions. In this research report it was argued that for local public administration management to become a profession in the full sense, it will be necessary: to draw well-qualified graduates from tertiary institutions / to develop practitioners in the occupation on a continual basis / to develop minimum performance standards and requisite competencies / to develop standards of ethical conduct acceptable to the community at large, and the occupation as a whole / and to continuously develop knowledge in the science of public administration as it is found in the local sphere of government.

Local government is the sphere of government that is most directly involved in rendering services to communities and individuals. It is also at this sphere of government where the basic needs of people are addressed. Services like water, sanitation, waste removal and electricity have a direct influence on the quality of life that people live. In order for the occupation of local public administration to contribute meaningfully towards rendering services of a high level, both in quantity and quality, it is important to lay down a number of preconditions. In this research report it was argued that for local public administration management to become a profession in the full sense, it will be necessary: to draw well-qualified graduates from tertiary institutions / to develop practitioners in the occupation on a continual basis / to develop minimum performance standards and requisite competencies / to develop standards of ethical conduct acceptable to the community at large, and the occupation as a whole / and to continuously develop knowledge in the science of public administration as it is found in the local sphere of government.

The researcher investigated and identified a municipal policing model for Mangaung Local Municipality. The five municipalities that have established a municipal police services in terms of the South African Police Service Amendment Act, Act 83/1998 were identified. Fifteen members of these municipalities who were involved in the establishment of a municipal police services, were interviewed to acquire First hand information on the process of establishing a municipal police service. The purpose of the study was to explore and therefore it required the research to be a qualitative approach, because the adversities the officials encountered were comprehended. Judgemental sampling was engaged to select participants since it was necessary to describe rather than to generalize and it also relevant to ensure that comparisons on the data collected are recognized. Three out of five municipalities that were investigated converted from traffic departments to municipal police services. Traffic officers of these municipalities undertook a bridging course determined by the National Commissioner of Police and to augment the numbers of the municipal police service members, these municipalities recruited and trained security officers. The Ethekweni municipality converted the then Durban City Police Department and other traffic departments that amalgamated with it to form a municipal police service. Unlike the other municipalities, Cape Town Metro recruited new members and trained them to formed a municipal police service in addition to the existing traffic departments and law enforcement agency. Mangaung Municipality should convert the existing traffic department and follow the route model to establish a municipal police service and augment the number of the municipal police service members by recruiting within the security division. / Criminology / M.Tech. (Policing (School of Crtiminal Justice))

The researcher investigated and identified a municipal policing model for Mangaung Local Municipality. The five municipalities that have established a municipal police services in terms of the South African Police Service Amendment Act, Act 83/1998 were identified. Fifteen members of these municipalities who were involved in the establishment of a municipal police services, were interviewed to acquire First hand information on the process of establishing a municipal police service. The purpose of the study was to explore and therefore it required the research to be a qualitative approach, because the adversities the officials encountered were comprehended. Judgemental sampling was engaged to select participants since it was necessary to describe rather than to generalize and it also relevant to ensure that comparisons on the data collected are recognized. Three out of five municipalities that were investigated converted from traffic departments to municipal police services. Traffic officers of these municipalities undertook a bridging course determined by the National Commissioner of Police and to augment the numbers of the municipal police service members, these municipalities recruited and trained security officers. The Ethekweni municipality converted the then Durban City Police Department and other traffic departments that amalgamated with it to form a municipal police service. Unlike the other municipalities, Cape Town Metro recruited new members and trained them to formed a municipal police service in addition to the existing traffic departments and law enforcement agency. Mangaung Municipality should convert the existing traffic department and follow the route model to establish a municipal police service and augment the number of the municipal police service members by recruiting within the security division. / Criminology and Security Science / M.Tech. (Policing (School of Crtiminal Justice))