Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The aim of this study was to assess the impact and the effect of non–payment of municipal services on service delivery in the Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality. The municipalities as the lowest part of Government are responsible for delivering basic services like water supply, electricity, road maintenance, refuse collection and sanitation to communities. Legislation permits municipalities to charge for services rendered. The study adopted the qualitative and quantitative research methods for data collection and analysis. Households in the selected villages (Motetema, Tambo and Groblersdal), were randomly selected to participate in the study and also the officials from the Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality. Non-payment of municipal services is a great challenge in South African local government and threaten the financial viability and proper service delivery. Communities are protesting daily in service delivery outcries. The municipalities are struggling to collect revenue; they basically depend on the grants from the national Treasury. This dissertation probes the nature of non-payment of municipal services, its impact on service delivery and the methods used to tackle non-payments and to recommend the workable solutions. The findings of this study reveal that indeed revenue collection and non-payment of municipal service charges is a challenge in Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality and it is having a dire impact on effective service delivery. This is due to unwillingness to pay for service charges, unemployment, poor quality services, low income amongst other challenges. Thus, the municipality is unable to generate adequate revenue to deliver better services. The study, therefore, gives recommendations on how the Municipality can improve revenue collection and mitigate non-payment of service charges

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The provision of clean water and water scarcity are the most critical impediments to sustainable development in municipal water supply. Adequate water supply and sanitation services are essential for health, economic development, and environmental protection. Recognizing the importance of access to a safe and adequate water supply has become the core business of many South African municipalities. Among the major challenges facing local government regarding basic service provision in South Africa are acute problems of institutional capacity, maintenance of existing infrastructure, mismanagement of funds, high levels of corruption, political interference and a lack of public anticipation. There has been public outcry in South Africa about poor performance of municipalities in service delivery. Moreover, a good proportion of service delivery protests relate to municipalities‟ “failure to carry out” the supply of “basic” services like water.” It is against this” backdrop “that the” aim of this “study” was “to investigate the” causes of” infrequent “water” supply “on the” wellbeing “of” communities “in” the Greater Tzaneen Municipality, “Limpopo province. Although local municipalities in South Africa are regarded as the providers of essential services, such as water, to date most of the municipalities still lack the capacity to provide water services to community members across the country.” Greater Tzaneen “Municipality finds it challenging to provide water services to communities within its jurisdiction. To achieve this objective, the researcher utilised a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies with a semi”- structured “questionnaire. The” study finds that the municipality is a water service provider and not as such has no authority in the provision of water to the villages. Moreover, it is found that the infrequent water supply has negative impact on the wellbeing of communities’ as water is a basic need and without it, it deprives the citizens of their dignity as enshrined in “Chapter two of the Bill of Rights of the” South African “Constitution.”

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 (Ph.D. (Public Administration)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The New Public Management (NPM) movement brought about by the changes that occurred after the first democratic elections in South Africa in 1994. The changes impact on how the three spheres of government; that is, National, Provincial and Local ought to operate when rendering services to the public. These imperatives inspired this research project. Furthermore, quality service is expected to meet acceptable service standards as promulgated in the Act of Parliament. One of them being the Batho Pele White Paper (White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service, 1997). Public Administration is governed by principles and values as enshrined in Chapter 10 of the Constitution, Section 195(1). These legislations and related regulations bring competitive public value approach in the running of local municipalities. Locals municipalities are considered drivers of service delivery in the local government sphere, one may call it the engine or heart of Public Administration. This study, therefore, seeks to highlight leadership challenges in South African municipalities from an organisational culture and leadership perspective, with the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality as a research site. This study is guided by the following research questions: Why is service delivery remaining a challenge amidst the existence of regulatory and institutional frameworks in South African municipalities? How can leadership be used to influence change in the municipalities? In South Africa, the local government has undergone numerous reforms, yet elements of bureaucracy are still highly prevalent. Bureaucratic structures like municipalities require leaders and employees with specific behaviours in a particular manner and according to a specific rule. Bureaucracy by its nature limits leaders from being flexible in making decisions that are suitable to address specific issues in different situations while at the same time being compliant with the legislation that governs them. Municipalities are then faced with a challenge of not having flexible and innovative leadership that is willing to boldly take calculated risks to address the challenges of service delivery within the legal framework. This leadership challenge makes it difficult to embed culture change in the public sector. This study posits that there is a need for a culture change to outgrow the outdated bureaucracies in an effort to allow for flexibility, innovation in leadership to ease the tension between these bureaucracies and have the desire to provide quality service while being compliant with the legislation. This research argues that organisational culture is tied to leadership traits when attempting to address service delivery challenges in South African municipalities. A responsive and accountable culture should model the values and principles of the Constitution without fear or favour, and make realistic cost-effective and visible change that will address the imbalances of apartheid municipal system of government. This research has it that leadership influences culture and supports and operationalises it. As much as it acknowledges other theories of leadership in the context of the current diverse challenges that municipalities confront, this study perceives that the contingency theory stands out. The contingency theory allows innovation and flexibility for different situations. It is not rigid and allows for the internal and external adaptation of culture that is effective and suitable for different situations. One size does not fit all in the application of the contingency theory leadership approach. Municipalities and organisations need leadership that is open to change, encourage and support innovation for its competitiveness and survival. For the success of culture change, leaders of organisations need to change their leadership practices, behaviour, decision making, communicate, and create a conducive environment for new ideas, constructive criticism, responsive and accountable. Kanyane (2014:89) reminds us that “the need to improve performance was underpinned by the State’s acceptance of the municipal service delivery challenges that to access descent municipal services was no longer a privilege to be enjoyed by a few.” Leaders are agents and catalyst of change. As Schein,2004: 20 puts it, “Leadership and change are two sides of a coin, the one cannot exist without the other.” Further, leaders must walk the talk if they want to lead. Should they fail to manage the sub-cultures in the organisations they lead, those sub-cultures will end up managing the overall organisational culture. Municipalities and organisations need leaders who are keen to introduce effective culture change that is results-oriented. The stability of effective culture change comes through feedback from the environment and not from the leader because the recipient of service shall have experienced it (Kuppler & Schein, 2016 / National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) and South African Humanities Deans’ Association (SAHUDA)

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 aim of this study was to investigate reasons for non–payment by residents for services rendered by the Vhembe District Municipality. The municipalities are responsible for delivering such services as water supply, electricity, road maintenance, refuse collection and sanitation. Multistage sampling techniques were employed. The subjects in the study were grouped into clusters and a sample was taken from each cluster. In this case the municipalities that took part in the study were selected first, followed by wards, villages and households. Households in the selected villages were selected randomly to participate in the study. The results showed that although the municipalities were making an effort to raise and send bills to the residents, the residents were not forthcoming with payments. The reasons advanced for the unwillingness to pay services by residents include ignorance, poverty and simple unwillingness to pay. / Public Administration & Management / M.P.A. (Master of Public Administration and Management)

Thesis (DPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South African local government literature suggests a historical problem of municipal non-consultation in services identification and provision that goes hand-in-hand with community non-participation in municipal activities, coupled by a ‘culture of non-payment’ for these services. This research, which was conducted between 2002 and 2005 in the city of Johannesburg municipality, had the central purpose of ascertaining the manner and ways in which the city of Johannesburg provides its basic services to the Soweto communities and, in turn, of understanding if communities participate in municipal activities and hold possible attitudes of non-payment for municipal services. In order to attain the research purpose, six research questions were identified through local government theories and literature and advanced. The first set of four questions was aimed at the Soweto communities: How affordable are the basic municipal services to the Soweto communities? What are community’s perceptions of the importance of the various municipal services? Are the communities participating in the services identification and provision? How satisfied are the communities with the service delivery? The second set of two questions was aimed at service providers or the municipal services managers and councillors: What methods does the municipality use in identifying and delivering service? What does the municipality perceive to be their application and enforcement of service quality management standards? The original methodological intent was to interview the Soweto communities and the city of Johannesburg municipal services managers and councillors. 200 Soweto households were indeed interviewed from the eight townships of Chiawelo, Diepkloof, Dobsonville, Dube, Jabulani, Meadowlands, Naledi and Orlando, which were randomly selected. The survey amongst the heads of these 200 households was followed by four focus group meetings at Chiawelo, Dobsonville, Dube and Meadowlands and between five and eleven households participated in the discussions in clarifying survey outcomes. It was only possible, however, to interview three service managers from the city of Johannesburg services utilities Pikitup, Johannesburg Water and the Contract Management Unit. Frustrated attempts to interview municipal councillors in the city of Johannesburg led to obtaining permission for proxy interviews from the MEC of Local Government and Traffic Safety in Mpumalanga municipalities of Govan Mbeki and Emalahleni and the inclusion of the KwaZulu-Natal municipality of Emnambithi. The usage of proxy interviews is thought to be relevant since the perceptions on service provision relate to the application and implementation of the uniform countrywide local government structures and systems. A total of 24 interviews were conducted with the Mpumalanga MEC, the city of Johannesburg service managers (3), councillors (9) and senior municipal administrators (11). In order to confirm or repudiate service provider findings from the Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal municipalities, supplementary interviews were held with persons knowledgeable about service delivery in Soweto between 2002 and 2005. A total of four additional interviews were thus conducted. In the analysis of the community survey data, townships were classified as well-off and worse-off on the basis of household incomes and thus participation in municipal activities, payment of services and other attitudes were compared between the two strata. The findings of the research reveal low levels of ability to pay for municipal services by communities in terms of household incomes. However, the household possessions of the living standard measurement (LSM) utilities indicated otherwise. The use of income as a measure of affordability to pay is suspect in methodological reliability; hence income related findings should be interpreted with caution. The worse-off townships preferred state provision of the basic municipal services. There was less inclination to participate in municipal structures such as ward committees and Integrated Development Plans (IDP) processes by the well-off townships, although they were the least satisfied with service provision and municipal performance. The city of Johannesburg municipality was found to be addressing service backlogs as a method for service identification and prioritisation. The municipality has semi-privatised basic municipal services such as water, electricity and garbage collection through section 21 companies in order to overcome service provision inefficiencies and ineffectiveness. This has devastating effects in terms of the community’s inability to pay, leading to services disconnection. Communities in general, however, believed that service provision has improved through these utilities even though the municipality has not finalised its performance management contracts with the utilities. Whereas the service provider interviews were conducted in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, additional telephone interviews with service provision experts for Soweto agreed that municipal challenges throughout the country are generally the same since they operate within relatively new policy frameworks. It is acknowledged, however, that metropolitan municipalities and specifically the city of Johannesburg face some unique challenges too. It is concluded that the central role of the local government as the custodian of basic municipal services cannot be disputed; however, the inefficiencies and ineffectiveness of the market forces require private-public partnerships. It can also be concluded that non-participation is an outcome of, among other things, poor participative capacity within communities, apathy, feelings of distrust of both the municipal institutions and municipal councillors and the lack of information regarding community obligations to municipal institutions. The research recommends the use of similar service utilities in both townships and former white suburban areas in order to overcome the perceptions of the municipal services level disparities that are formed on the basis of townships versus white suburban areas; an overhaul of the municipality’s billing system to overcome its debt and service charges collection problems; ward committee participation capacity improvement for both the municipal councillors and communities and the development and communication of clear guidelines on the roles of regional services management centres. Further research is recommended on, among other things, whether privatisation of municipal services results in better access by all and improves efficiency and payments, and on the functionality and effectiveness of ward committees as vehicles for community participation and in developing new and more reliable socio-economic modelling for assessing community ability to pay for government services. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Uit ’n literatuuroorsig van plaaslike regering in Suid-Afrika het dit geblyk dat daar ’n historiese probleem van nie-oorlegpleging by die identifisering en lewering van dienste deur munisipaliteite bestaan. Hierdie probleem gaan hand aan hand met niedeelname aan munisipale aktiwiteite deur gemeenskappe en ’n kultuur van “geenbetaling” vir dienste gelewer. Die hoofdoel van hierdie navorsing, wat tussen 2002 en 2005 in die stad Johannesburg gedoen is, was om vas te stel hoe die stad se munisipaliteit basiese dienste aan Soweto lewer en of daar enige gemeenskapsdeelname aan aktiwiteite is en of gemeenskappe ’n geenbetaling-houding inneem. Om die navorsingsdoel te bereik is ses vrae deur middel van literatuur en teorieë oor plaaslike regering geïdentifiseer. Die eerste vier vrae is gemik op gemeenskappe in Soweto: Hoe bekostigbaar is die basiese munisipale dienste aan die gemeenskappe in Soweto? Wat is die gemeenskap se mening oor die belangrikheid van die onderskeie munisipale dienste? Het gemeenskappe deel aan die identifisering en lewering van dienste? Hoe tevrede is die gemeenskappe met dienslewering? Die laaste twee vrae is gemik op die diensleweraars of munisipaledienstebestuurders en raadslede: Watter metodes gebruik die munisipaliteit om dienste te identifiseer en te lewer? Wat beskou die munisipaliteit as op hulle van toepassing sover dit die afdwingbaarheid van kwaliteitstandaarde in die lewering van dienste en bestuur betref? Oorspronklik was die doel om onderhoude te voer met gemeenskappe in Soweto sowel as munisipaledienste-bestuurders en raadslede van Johannesburg. Onderhoude met hoofde van 200 huishoudings in Soweto is wel gevoer. Hierdie huishoudings is ewekansig uit Chiawelo, Diepkloof, Dobsonville, Dube, Jabulani, Meadowlands, Naledi en Orlando gekies. Die onderhoude is gevolg deur vier fokusgroepvergaderings te Chiawelo, Dobsonville, Dube en Meadowlands, en tussen vyf en elf huishoudings het aan besprekings deelgeneem ten einde duidelikheid te verkry oor bevindinge van die ondersoek. Dit was egter net moontlik om onderhoude met drie dienstebestuurders van die stad Johannesburg te voer, naamlik Pikitup, Johannesburg Water en die Kontrak Bestuursgroep. Verskeie vrugtelose pogings om onderhoude met raadslede te bekom het uiteindelik gelei tot die verkryging van toestemming vir plaasvervangende onderhoude met die LUR vir die Plaaslike Regering sowel as Verkeersveiligheid in die volgende munisipaliteite: Govan Mbeki en Emalahleni in Mpumalanga en Emnambithi in KwaZulu-Natal. Hierdie plaasvervangende onderhoude is as toepaslik beskou, aangesien die menings oor dienslewering te doen het met die toepassing en implementering van die uniforme landswye plaaslikeregering-strukture en -stelsels wat dus op Soweto ook van toepassing is. ’n Totaal van 24 onderhoude is gevoer met die Mpumalanga-LUR (1), die dienstebestuurders van die stad Johannesburg (3), raadslede (9) en senior munisipale administrateurs (11). Om die bevindinge van die Mpumulanga- en KwaZulu-Natal-munisipaliteite te bevestig of te weerlê, is aanvullende onderhoude met persone wat kennis van dienslewering in Soweto het tussen 2002 en 2005 gevoer. Altesaam vier addisionele onderhoude is dus gevoer. Tydens die ontleding van die gemeenskapsdata is gemeenskappe as gegoed of minder gegoed geklassifiseer op grond van huishoudelike inkomste en dus is deelname aan munisipale aktiwiteite, betaling vir dienste en ander gesindhede tussen die twee strata vergelyk. Daar is bevind dat min mense munisipale dienste kan bekostig in terme van huishoudelike inkomste, maar dat huishoudelike besittings wat lewenstandaard bepaal op die teenoorgestelde dui. Die gebruik van huishoudelike inkomste as ’n maatstaf van die vermoë om te betaal is ’n aanvaarbare metode, maar moet tog met omsigtigheid benader word. Die gemeenskap wat die slegste daaraan toe was, verkies dat die staat basiese munisipale dienste voorsien. ’n Laer geneigdheid tot deelname aan munisipale strukture soos wykskomitees en geïntegreerde ontwikkelingsplanne is by die meer gegoede gemeenskappe aangetref, hoewel hulle die grootste ontevredenheid toon met dienslewering en munisipale werkverrigting. Daar is gevind dat die munisipaliteit van die stad Johannesburg die agterstand in dienste aangespreek het as metode om dienste te identifiseer en te prioritiseer. Om die probleem van oneffektiewe en ondoeltreffende dienste te oorkom, maak die munisipaliteit gebruik van artikel 21- maatskappye vir dienste soos water, elektrisiteit en vullisverwydering. Dit lei tot die beëindiging van die dienste van gemeenskappe wat nie kan betaal nie. Oor die algemeen is inwoners egter van mening dat dienste deur hierdie maatskappye verbeter is, hoewel die munisipaliteit nog nie sy prestasiebestuurkontrakte met hierdie maatskappye gefinaliseer het nie. Terwyl die onderhoude met diensverskaffers in Mpumalanga en KwaZulu- Natal gevoer is, is verdere telefoniese onderhoude met kundiges op die gebied van dienslewering in Soweto gevoer. Laasgenoemde het saamgestem dat munisipaliteite regoor die land oor die algemeen voor dieselfde uitdagings te staan kom, omdat hulle binne relatief nuwe beleidsraamwerke funksioneer. Daar word egter toegegee dat stedelike (metropolitaanse) munisipaliteite, en spesifiek die stad Johannesburg, ook met sekere unieke uitdagings te kampe het. Die gevolgtrekking waartoe gekom is, is dat die rol van plaaslike regering as die toesighouer oor basiese munisipale dienste nie betwis kan word nie, hoewel oneffektiwiteit en ondoeltreffendheid privaat vennootskappe vereis. ’n Verdere gevolgtrekking is dat niedeelname onder andere ’n gevolg is van ’n gebrek aan deelnemende kapasiteit binne gemeenskappe, apatie, wantroue in munisipale instellings en raadslede, en ’n gebrek aan inligting rakende gemeenskappe se verpligtinge jeens munisipale instellings. Die navorsing beveel aan dat gelyke dienste gelewer word in swart gemeenskappe en in tradisioneel wit gemeenskappe ten einde die siening dat daar onderskeid getref word, te verander. Daar behoort ook ’n hersiening van die munisipaliteit se rekeningestelsel te wees ten einde die skuldinvorderingsprobleme uit die weg te ruim. Deelnemende kapasiteit vir raadslede en gemeenskappe binne wyke moet verbeter word. Duidelike riglyne oor die rol van streeksdienstebestuursentrums moet ontwikkel en aan gemeenskappe oorgedra word. Verdere navorsing word aanbeveel om te bepaal of die privatisering van dienste tot beter toegang vir almal sal lei en of dit doeltreffendheid en betaling sal verbeter. Die funksionaliteit en effektiwiteit van wykskomitees as meganisme vir gemeenskapsbetrokkenheid sowel as die ontwikkeling van nuwe en meer betroubare sosio-ekonomiese modelle vir die bepaling van gemeenskapsvermoë om vir dienste te betaal, behoort ook ondersoek te word.

Thesis (MPA (School of Public Management and Planning))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / Since its establishment in the 19th century, the City of Johannesburg has metamorphosed from a gold mining dormitory, a segregated town to a modern metropolitan municipality that is one of the flagships of South African municipalities. The formerly apartheid city had the legacy of fragmentation along racial lines based on the disintegrated economic logic that systematically developed areas disproportionately with black urban and peri-urban areas at the mercy of the white urban areas1. The advent of democracy in 1994 necessitated the city’s transformation into a democratic, non-racial, developmental and mega municipality encompassing the townships that were previously on its periphery. This required the national government, as the superior government to formulate a regulatory framework for local government to foster a developmental orientation, democracy, good governance and accountability to the constituent inhabitants, provincial and national government. Similar to all other municipalities country wide, it became paramount to improve the provision of public services to cover the backlogs that were created by the previous separate development policies of apartheid, but specific to Johannesburg, to maintain its position as the biggest city by population, gross domestic expenditure and economic growth. In this study the researcher maintains the seven assumptions advanced by Caiden (1982:14-6) about public administration i.e. that it is unavoidable, expects obedience, has priority, has exceptional size, has political top management, poses difficulties in performance measurement and that more is expected from it. Although public management is not entirely unique in the above ways due to the phenomenon of new public management (NPM), it is easy in the South African context to identify public administration through the schedules in the Constitution (1996), the Public Finance Management Act, 2002 (PFMA)2 and the formation structures of service providing municipal entities. Public policy analysis literature documents the paradigm shift in public management from traditional bureaucratic structure to decentralisation, NPM and policy networks amid the complexity theory in the public service endeavour to provide services. The local legislature i.e. the municipal council is granted the authority over the sphere of work of the municipality and therefore has the final say in the running of the municipality to meet the expectations of the electorate. In this study the researcher focuses on the analysis of the council’s choices of the above public management structures or policies options in exercising its authority. The council has to decide on functional activities i.e. municipal services from what the Constitution (1996) allows and decide on the executive institutions that are tasked to execute the functions within the budgetary allocations. Regarding research methodology, annual reports, departmental reports, AG performance reports, community complaints, council meeting minutes, provincial government reports, national treasury reports and primary data from questionnaires and expert interviews were consulted to answer the questions on the levels effectiveness and efficiency. It was found that the provision of services has substantially improved as from the beginning of the 21st century and the reason for this improvement is the public service reforms that include NPM. The semi permanency of entities and utilities could inhibit the provision of services in future. It was also found that the weaknesses with the utilities and entities can well be covered by the implementation of policy networks and the municipality finds it difficult to cope under exogenous complexity challenges.

Thesis (MPA (School of Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / The uMgungundlovu District Municipality is one of the ten district municipalities of the KwaZulu-Natal Province which was formed after the disestablishment of the Indlovu Regional Council in the year 2000. This Municipality has within it seven local municipalities that have varying capacity in terms of service provision. The thesis investigates how the evolution of the uMgungundlovu District Municipality’s organisational structure has impacted on the Municipality’s service delivery over the past eight years. The investigated problem is that the Municipality and its predecessor have never reviewed their organisational structures, while their functions, leadership and staff complement have changed over the past eight years. The purpose of the study was to address a practical problem at the Municipality, with the intention to throw some light on the impact of organisational structures on service delivery, and possibly suggest some solutions for the Municipality to implement. The investigation focuses on the challenges faced by the Technical Department, as a line-function department, in their efforts to deliver services to the public. The exploration begins with an analysis of the structure that populated the erstwhile Indlovu Regional Council, and follows through to the structure of the current Municipality. The investigation has been done through the consultation of documentation of the Municipality as well as interviewing staff and management of the Municipality. The staff who were interviewed included technical staff who were employed during the reign of the Regional Council, as well as technical staff who joined the organisation once it had become the District Municipality. In addition, Human Resources staff, performance management staff, the staff union representative and general staff were also interviewed. The focus of the study excludes political influences on the problem of the Municipality due to the sensitivity of this issue. However, responses from the interviews that relate to the role of political principals of the Municipality have been discussed to illustrate the necessary points. The thesis draws on relevant theories, legislation and policies to form the basis for the arguments that are put forward. The legislation and policies used include national, provincial and local government legislation and policies that guide the functioning of municipalities. One of the main findings of the investigation is that the staff and management do not have the same understanding of organisational structures or of their functions. The management understand that organisational structures need to be done with all staff of the organisation and that the structure should be informed by the organisational strategy to ensure that all plans that are followed thereafter assist with the implementation of the organisational strategy; the Integrated Development Strategy. The staff, on the other hand, owing to their exclusion from the relevant organisational structuring and design processes, believes that their work is separate from the organisational strategy. Furthermore, the staff argued that the formulation and implementation of the organisational strategy is the responsibility of the management and they, as low-level staff, have to focus on their ‘normal work’. One of the limitations to the study is that one of the senior managers that was going to be part of the study group resigned before the interviews were conducted. It is submitted that this did not substantially alter the conclusions of the thesis because the Municipal Manager, as the manager of the senior manager and as the Chief Information Officer and Accounting Officer, was available for the interview and has provided the required information. The thesis concludes that the Municipality’s service delivery efforts can only be efficient and sustainable if the organisation ensures that its structure is informed by its strategy, and that these are both reviewed at regular intervals to ensure that this is done in an up-to-date manner.