„800 Millionen Euro für Schulen, Straßen, Sportstätten und ÖPNV“ konnte man im Februar 2016 einer Pressemitteilung der sächsischen Staatsregierung entnehmen. Von Investitionen, welche „direkt vor Ort in Sachsens Städten und Gemeinden spürbar sein [sollen]“, war auf der Homepage der CDU-Fraktion Sachsen die Rede. Sachsens Ministerpräsident Tillich sprach von einem Konjunkturpaket mit „Einmaligkeitscharakter“, CDU-Fraktionschef Frank Kupfer vom größten Sonderprogramm in der Geschichte des Landes Sachsen. Bei diesem Paket handelt es sich um das Investitionsprogramm „Brücken in die Zukunft“, welches der Freistaat Sachsen auf Grundlage des Gesetzes zur Stärkung der kommunalen Investitionskraft aufgesetzt hat. Die finanziellen Mittel sollen demnach den sächsischen Kommunen zur Finanzierung von Infrastrukturprojekten zur Verfügung gestellt werden.

Magister Legum - LLM / That South African municipalities, in vast majority, are experiencing serious financial problems is well-known to anyone with an interest in local government sector. Given that, the study considers the role of the Auditor-General (AG) in promoting sound financial management in municipalities. The disciplinary perspectives from which the inquiry is considered are law and public administration. The context for this consideration is the North West, a province which is inundated by poorly performing municipalities that are literally on the brink of financial and operational collapse. The study proceeds from the premise that efficient financial management practices are essential to the long-term sustainability of municipalities. The role of the AG is key in this regard in that the latter is a watchdog over state coffers and the pivot of the oversight mechanism over the management of public finances. Furthermore, the AG strives to institutionalise and promote a culture of good governance, accountability and transparency in municipalities. It achieves this through routine auditing and provision of audit recommendations that seek to improve municipalities’ internal controls. However, this purpose gets undermined, and eventually defeated, in the instance where audit recommendations are being ignored. Of concern is that the non-implementation of audit recommendations has become a norm in most municipalities in the North West. The study has considerable breadth in its analysis of this problem by looking closely into three municipalities: Mahikeng, Ditsobotla and Tswaing. It is not immediately clear why this trend is emerging or has emerged. In that note, a resolve to embark on this study was impelled by a sense of commitment to try to understand the real issue behind this trend and to see how best it can be countered. This brings the study to then ask: How can the AG’s recommendations be better and adequately given effect in the North West municipalities? In response, it will be argued that this issue cannot be solved by the AG alone. What is needed, instead, is the development of an action plan, policy and institutional framework that will guide and facilitate the multi-agency approach and inter-institutional collaborations towards addressing the problem. Further argument will be advanced to say that the efforts undertaken to reconstitute and strengthen the legal framework governing the AG through the 2018 amendments to the Public Audit Act do not constitute a magic bullet solution to the dismal downward trajectory across the North West municipalities, as contemporary narratives seek to suggest.

The general poor service delivery in municipalities raised the question of whether the incorporation of an intrapreneurship spirit might contribute in enhancing the effectiveness of service delivery in municipalities. The study aimed to examine whether intrapreneurship, if implemented within the O.R. Tambo District Municipality, can improve service delivery. The primary objective was to explore the intrapreneurship practices that can improve service delivery within the municipalities. A qualitative approach was used in the study. Twelve in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with middle and top managers of the district municipalities. Intrapreneurship was then established to be a positive culture that could be adopted by municipalities to foster innovation and enable efficient and effective service delivery. The results of the study showed that, while there is a general appreciation for intrapreneurship, there are many factors that are working against the success of intrapreneurship in the municipality. These factors need to be addressed if an innovation and intrapreneurial culture is to be fostered in municipalities. The findings were used to develop a framework illustrating the municipality’s internal environment and intrapreneurship. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

För att skydda kulturhistoriskt värdefulla byggnader från rivning används PBL 9 kap. 34 § 2 om byggnaden är placerad inom detaljplan eller områdesbestämmelser. Förarbeten till paragrafen är tydliga med att vad som definieras som kulturhistoriskt ska avgöras med hänsyn till lokala överväganden. När en ansökan om rivningslov inkommer till kommunen ska den prövas mot PBL 9 kap. 34 § 2. För att kunna neka rivning ska byggnaden uppfylla rekvisitet kulturhistoriskt värdefull. Det kulturhistoriskt värdefulla kan vara byggnaden i sig eller den helhetsmiljö byggnaden är en del utav. För att styrka det kulturhistoriska värdet används utlåtanden från muséer, kulturinventeringar, privata företag med bebyggelseantikvarisk kompetens och kommunens egna planer. Kommunernas kulturhistoriska planer och program är inte alltid uppdaterade, vilket ställer högre krav på kunskapen om kulturhistoriskt värdefulla byggnader hos kommunernas tjänstepersoner. Studien tyder på att det finns en varierande kunskapsnivå bland tjänstepersonerna som deltagit i enkätundersökningen, i vissa fall förekommer feltolkningar av lagen. Det går inte att härleda kunskapsnivån till varken utbildning eller erfarenhet inom yrket. När tjänstepersonerna brister i kunskapen försvårar det kommunernas förutsättningar att följa lagens intentioner. För bedömning av en byggnads kulturhistoriska värde är bebyggelseantikvarisk kompetens till stor hjälp. Kommunerna bör uppdatera och utöka inventeringen av kulturhistoriskt värdefulla byggnader för att kunna göra kvalificerade avvägningar när det gäller att neka eller bevilja rivningslov. Studien visar på brister när det gäller kommunens information till fastighetsägare om fastighetsägarens rättighet till ersättning vid nekat rivningslov. Det är dessutom ovanligt att kommunerna budgeterar för denna ersättning. Det är svårt att avgöra varför kommunerna brister i informationen till fastighetsägarna och om bristen av budget leder till sämre information. Faktum kvarstår dock, kommunen är skyldig att ersätta fastighetsägaren om skadan av det nekade rivningslovet uppfyller kvalifikationsgränsen betydande skada i förhållande till värdet på berörd del av fastigheten. Lagstiftningen är tydlig, men kunskapen behöver spridas bland Sveriges kommuner för att i större utsträckning möjliggöra bevarandet av kulturhistorsikt värdefulla byggnader. / To protect culturally valuable buildings from demolition Planning and Building Act chapter 9 section 34 p. 2 is used if the building is located within the detailed development plan or area regulations. Preparatory work on the section is clear that what is defined as cultural history must be decided regarding local considerations. When an application for demolition permit is submitted to the municipality, it must be tested against Planning and Building Act chapter 9 section 34 p. 2. To deny demolition, the building must meet the cultural heritage prerequisite. The cultural-historical value may be the building itself or the overall environment the building is part of. To prove the cultural-historical value, statements from museums, cultural inventories, private companies with building antiquarian competence and the municipality's own plans are used. The municipalities' cultural history plans and programs are not always updated, which places higher demand on the knowledge of culturally valuable buildings in the municipal's officials. The study indicates that there is a varying level of knowledge among the officials who participated in the survey, in some cases there are misinterpretations of the law. It is not possible to deduce the level of knowledge neither to education nor experience in the profession. When the officials knowledge is not sufficient municipalities make desitions in conflict with the intentions of the law. The competence of conservation officers is of good help for the building committee in assessing the cultural historical value of a buildning. Municipalities should update and expand the inventory of culturally valuable buildings to be able to make qualified assesments when it comes to denying or granting demolition permits. This study shows deficiencies in the municipality's information to property owners about their rights to compensation in the event of a denied demolition permit. Furthermore, it is unusual for municipalities to budget for this compensation. It is difficult to determine why the municipality's lack in information to property owners and whether the lack of budget leads to deficient information. However, the fact remains, the municipality is obliged to compensate the property owner if the damage of the refused demolition permit meets the qualification, significant damage in relation to the value of the affected part of the property. The legislation is clear, but the knowledge needs to be spread among Sweden's municipalities in order to enable the preservation of culturally valuable buildings.

Non-compliance with pieces of legislation may be considered the root cause of qualified, disclaimer and adverse opinions that continue to emerge in South African municipalities. One of those pieces of legislation is the Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003. The study has assessed compliance with the Municipal Finance Management Act at Blouberg Municipality in terms of public consultation and management of the municipal budget. The researcher has used qualitative method in this study. Public consultation plays a significant role in a budgetory process of the Municipality, Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003 requires Municipalities to take public views into consideration when compiling a budget. The objectives of local government are often defeated by maladministration because of non- compliance with legislations such as Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003. This can be supported by audit outcomes (2011-11) from the office of the Auditor General. The report states that during the year 2010-11 forty Municipalities had not been audited because they did not submit annual financial statement on time which is a requirement in terms of the MFMA. The objective of the study is to assess compliance with the Municipal Finance Management in the Blouberg Municipality in terms of Public consultation and the competency of the Municipal officials to implement MFMA. During the study, it was found that Blouberg Municipality has embarked on Municipal Finance Management training in order to capacitate its officials to be able to implement MFMA and little has been done in terms of public consultation as members of the public were not aware of their responsibilities in terms of the Municipal budget. It is recommended that the Municipality should review its communication strategy to ensure maximum participation of the public and to create a conducive environment for public participation. / Public Administration and Management / M. P. A

The Sámi are a marginalized group in Sweden, there are a lot of preconceptions of them as the indigenous group of Sweden, like most States that has indigenous groups living within their boarders, clashes with the majority population will occur. The Swedish State has created management municipalities to help the Sámi gain control over some specified collective rights. The Sámi has, for example, collective rights assigned to them specifically because they are a people who internationally and nationally are recognized as the indigenous people of Sweden. This thesis sets out to investigate what rights the Sámi have to use their language and language education in connection to the management municipalities, and if Sweden, as a state that holds itself so high concerning the rights of indigenous peoples and a guardian of human rights for all, actually grant the Sámi the rights they are entitled to. I will do so by using a qualitative method and content analysis method which will draw on a liberal theory of collective rights. The research will show, that Sweden has indeed established the management municipalities to maintain rights assigned to the Sámi, however it does not provide all rights reserved and in some cases it actually violates the rights for the indigenous population.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of LImpopo, 2017. / The new democratic government of South Africa came into power in 1994 and it inherited a dysfunctional municipalities. In fact it inherited a country with high levels of poverty, growing levels of inequality and also social dysfunctionality. The local government sphere was established in South Africa with the main aim of addressing inequality, segregation, inequity, discrimination in the provision of municipal services and eradication poverty within communities. However, ever since the establishment of local government sphere in South Africa, the sphere of local government is fraught with many challenges which make it impossible for municipalities to render proper municipal services to the members of the public. This is evident from the protests which were observed in the country ever since the year 2008 were communities demanded better services from their municipalities. This mini-dissertation therefore discusses the application of the principles of corporate governance in delivering and improving municipal service in South Africa. It further discusses the legislative framework and the institution of government which are responsible for the effective implementation of corporate governance in the local government sphere. Pursuant to that it also explains the concept of Corporate Governance within the local government. Furthermore, it discusses the parameters of the challenges that are faced by the municipalities which are ranging from fraud, nepotism, corruption and poor financial management which result in poor service delivery.

Sport has the potential to attract and engage people into active, social, and healthy lifestyles. A high grade of easy access to sports facilities increases the chances to increase the number of participants. In smaller municipalities the choices of sports are often limited in comparison to bigger cities. The aim of this study was to gain understanding of how adolescents experience the choices of sports in their municipalities with a narrow range of sports to choose from. In relation to their experiences of local sports, this study also enlightens factors of importance to gain interest and continue in sports among youth, both in the initial phase of being new to a sport but also what keeps them interested to continue. With Bourdieu's theory of capital, field and habitus as a theoretical framework, this study gives attention to adolescents and their opportunities as well as obstacles for participation in leisure activities that includes sport. The selection of individuals for the study originate from two small municipalities: Nordmaling and Bjurholm with Bjurholm having the lowest number inhabitants in Sweden. Data for this study was collected through seven interviews where three of them were group interviews. The results show that the participants overall experience a good range of sports and sufficient opportunities for being active within their municipalities, despite that sports clubs are losing members, closing, and are unable to maintain sports facilities. The results also show that less popular sports also face difficulties to recruit new members, because of the norms within the municipalities. The study shows that friends often is a crucial factor, friends that quit usually results in their friends also quitting, where migration is one of the most common reasons. The conclusion of this study is that sports in Västerbottens rural municipalities of Nordmaling and Bjurholm has a narrow selection of sports, however they do attract youth but have difficulties of keeping them in the club as they grow older.

Die Folgen der Corona-Pandemie betreffen die Belange der sächsischen Wirtschaft und der kommunalen Haushalte erheblich. Während die Aufrechterhaltung der öffentlichen Daseins-vorsorge höchste Priorität genießt, ist ein massiver Einbruch der kommunalen Steuereinnahmen zu erwarten. Hinzu kommen mögliche negative Folgewirkungen über den Wirkungsweg der Landeszuweisungen (kommunaler Finanzausgleich und Förderprogramme). Bisher lag der Fokus der Hilfen des Bundes und der Länder auf der Unterstützung der ge-werblichen Wirtschaft und der Vermeidung von Arbeitslosigkeit. Die Sicherung der kommunalen Haushalte ist nun der nächste Schritt in der Bewältigung der Coronakrise. Mit diesem KOMKIS-Report werden die Auswirkungen auf die kommunalen Finanzen nach ak-tuellem Kenntnisstand skizziert. Als Grundlage dafür dient eine kurze Analyse der wirtschaft-lichen Ausgangssituation. Weiterhin umfasst der Report mögliche Handlungsempfehlungen, die auch den Aspekt einschließen, wie die Aufrechterhaltung der kommunalen Infrastruktur in Krisenzeiten unterstützt werden kann. Insgesamt sind die fiskalischen Konsequenzen für die Kommunen durch massive Effekte auf die Gewerbesteuer und moderate Effekte auf die gemeindlichen Einkommensteuereinnah-men geprägt. Die Landeszuweisungen wirken derzeit noch stabilisierend. Gleichwohl besteht das Risiko, dass bei einer unveränderten Durchführung des Gleichmäßigkeitsgrundsatzes weitere Mindereinnahmen auf die Kommunen zukommen. Mehrausgaben sind zunächst lediglich im Bereich akuter Maßnahmen sowie im Bereich der Sozialen Sicherung absehbar. Kurzfristig sind die Handlungsfähigkeit und die Liquidität der Kommunen zu sichern. Dabei ist ggf. die kurzfristige Nutzung von Kassenkrediten in bisher nicht gekanntem Ausmaß er-forderlich. Landesmittel können bereits frühzeitig Unterstützung liefern, vor allem über eine Stärkung der Schlüsselzuweisungen. Sparen in der Krise ist zu vermeiden. Mittelfristig ist ohne Zweifel eine Unterstützung der Kommunen durch die Länder und den Bund erforderlich. Dabei kommt dem kommunalen Finanzausgleich und vor allem dem Schlüsselzuweisungssystem eine entscheidende Rolle zu. Die unterjährige Aktualisierung der Steuerkraftmesszahl im Jahr 2020 kann die finanziellen Auswirkungen noch im laufenden Haushaltsjahr glätten. Eine Infrastrukturpauschale kann den Prozess zusätzlich stützen. Ungedeckte kommunale Infrastrukturbedarfe sind vorhanden und ihre Behebung ist konjunkturpolitisch sinnvoll. Die langfristig zu erwartenden Tilgungsanforderungen sollten moderat formuliert werden. Um die zukünftige Resilienz der Kommunen zu stärken, sollten Maßnahmen zur Eindämmung der Schwankungen bei der Gewerbesteuer ergriffen und Reserveplanungen für die kommunale Infrastruktur ermöglicht werden.

Auch nach über einem Jahr Corona-Pandemie sind die sozio-ökonomischen Auswirkungen der Krise nach wie vor noch nicht vollständig absehbar. Durch die lockdown bedingten starken ökonomischen Verwerfungen wirkt die Krise bis heute auf Bund, Länder und Kommunen stark ein. Dies hat nicht zuletzt Folgen für die Haushaltsführung der unterschiedlichen fiskalischen Ebenen. Dabei haben sich Bund und Länder auf teils gemeinsame, teils eigene fiskalische Hilfen für Kommunen und die Privatwirtschaft verständigt, die bei der Bewältigung der Krise unterstützend wirken sollen. Hierzu waren Bund und Länder jedoch genötigt, die Ausnahmeklausel der Bundes- und Landesschuldenbremsen aufgrund der außergewöhnlichen Notsituation in Kraft zu setzen. Für die Länder ergab sich somit das bizarre Bild, dass die Länderschuldenbremsen 2020 just in jenem Jahr außer Kraft gesetzt worden sind, in welchem sie zum ersten Mal fiskalisch wirken sollten. Hiermit verbunden sind Tilgungsbelastungen, die sich auf Ebene der Länder unterschiedlich stark ausdifferenzieren, was nicht zuletzt auch damit zu tun hat, dass die Tilgungszeiträume heterogen gesetzt worden sind. Dies hat zur Folge, dass die zukünftigen fiskalischen Belastungen und somit auch der fiskalische Handlungsspielraum der Länder unterschiedlich verteilt ist. Welche Auswirkungen dies hat, zeigt die kommunale Krisenpolitik im Freistaat Sachsen exemplarisch auf und knüpft an den KOMKIS Report 07 vom vergangenen Jahr an.