The purpose of this study is to investigate the transformation process that has taken place in the local government sphere over the past sixteen years. This process is based on the Constitution, Act 108 of 1996. Transformation applies to all areas of society, including the disabled – the focus point of this study. More specifically the focus of the study is on the effect of the transformation process on the disabled. The study was done within Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, taking into consideration the Constitution of 1996, as well as internal policies. The main focus during this study is to emphasize the position of the disabled, focusing on recognition, basic needs, funding, promotion, careers, and the incorporation of the disabled into the Municipality. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the transformation process that has taken place in the local government sphere over the past sixteen years. This process is based on the Constitution, Act 108 of 1996. Transformation applies to all areas of society, including the disabled – the focus point of this study. More specifically the focus of the study is on the effect of the transformation process on the disabled. The study was done within Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, taking into consideration the Constitution of 1996, as well as internal policies. The main focus during this study is to emphasize the position of the disabled, focusing on recognition, basic needs, funding, promotion, careers, and the incorporation of the disabled into the Municipality. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

South Africa's transition to constitutional democracy marked the end of a system of government that perpetuated injustice on the basis of race. The previous system of government, underpinned by the principle of parliamentary supremacy, did not only exclude the majority of the population from public governance processes, it also economically exploited the majority of the population. As such, it laid the foundation for widespread poverty and inequalities in access to basic services. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (the Constitution), is committed to correcting these past injustices and aims to establish a society based on social justice. This constitutional vision finds expression in the notion of transformative constitutionalism. Klare introduced the notion of transformative constitutionalism over a decade ago. For purpose of this thesis, the notion represents the socio-economic and political vision of post-apartheid South Africa to eradicate extreme poverty and inequalities in access to basic services as well as establish a democratic system of government that is inclusive, caring, participatory, representative and accountable. It captures the constitutional commitment to establish and maintain a society based on social justice by inter alia, eradicating poverty and inequalities in access to social services. The realisation of the socio-economic rights entrenched in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution (by all organs of state) is one of the ways in which to contribute towards meeting this transformative constitutional mandate, and by extension, striving towards the attainment of social justice. Although transformative constitutionalism and the achievement of a socially just society remain an ideal, the Constitution as the supreme law in the country, obligates the state, constitutive of public and private entities, to work towards its realisation, to the fullest extent possible. As part of post-apartheid institutional transformation, the Constitution established three spheres of government – national, provincial and local - which are distinct, interrelated and interdependent. All three spheres are obliged to operate in accordance with the principles of co-operative government and intergovernmental relations and are co-responsible for realising a number of constitutional objectives. Since 1996, the Constitution obliges local government (municipalities) to play an expanded "developmental" role. This has marked a move away from local government being regarded as merely a service delivery arm of government. xii The extended function of local government that came about with the constitutional dispensation finds expression in the notion of "developmental local government". This study is based on the premise that developmental local government must and can, together with the authorities in the other two spheres, contribute to transformative constitutionalism and social justice. Primarily, this study questions the extent to which the legal and policy framework on local government in South Africa enable local government (municipalities) to contribute towards realising the constitutional socio-economic rights underpinning the mandate of transformative constitutionalism. This study presents a review of relevant literature in order to establish links between the theoretical concepts underpinning this thesis. It examines the legal and policy framework on "developmental" local government in South Africa and analyses the central legal framework for the realisation of socio-economic rights at the local government level. In addition, the study explores the relevance and potential of local government indigent policies and Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) - as legally prescribed governance instruments - in contributing towards a more just society by examining their underlying legal and policy framework. It further distils from the theories and perspectives of social justice, benchmarks to guide local government towards achieving the transformative constitutional mandate aimed at social justice. Based on the legal, policy and other gaps identified, recommendations are made on how to optimise the potential of IDPs and municipal indigent policies in contributing towards achieving social justice. / PhD (Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

South Africa's transition to constitutional democracy marked the end of a system of government that perpetuated injustice on the basis of race. The previous system of government, underpinned by the principle of parliamentary supremacy, did not only exclude the majority of the population from public governance processes, it also economically exploited the majority of the population. As such, it laid the foundation for widespread poverty and inequalities in access to basic services. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (the Constitution), is committed to correcting these past injustices and aims to establish a society based on social justice. This constitutional vision finds expression in the notion of transformative constitutionalism. Klare introduced the notion of transformative constitutionalism over a decade ago. For purpose of this thesis, the notion represents the socio-economic and political vision of post-apartheid South Africa to eradicate extreme poverty and inequalities in access to basic services as well as establish a democratic system of government that is inclusive, caring, participatory, representative and accountable. It captures the constitutional commitment to establish and maintain a society based on social justice by inter alia, eradicating poverty and inequalities in access to social services. The realisation of the socio-economic rights entrenched in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution (by all organs of state) is one of the ways in which to contribute towards meeting this transformative constitutional mandate, and by extension, striving towards the attainment of social justice. Although transformative constitutionalism and the achievement of a socially just society remain an ideal, the Constitution as the supreme law in the country, obligates the state, constitutive of public and private entities, to work towards its realisation, to the fullest extent possible. As part of post-apartheid institutional transformation, the Constitution established three spheres of government – national, provincial and local - which are distinct, interrelated and interdependent. All three spheres are obliged to operate in accordance with the principles of co-operative government and intergovernmental relations and are co-responsible for realising a number of constitutional objectives. Since 1996, the Constitution obliges local government (municipalities) to play an expanded "developmental" role. This has marked a move away from local government being regarded as merely a service delivery arm of government. xii The extended function of local government that came about with the constitutional dispensation finds expression in the notion of "developmental local government". This study is based on the premise that developmental local government must and can, together with the authorities in the other two spheres, contribute to transformative constitutionalism and social justice. Primarily, this study questions the extent to which the legal and policy framework on local government in South Africa enable local government (municipalities) to contribute towards realising the constitutional socio-economic rights underpinning the mandate of transformative constitutionalism. This study presents a review of relevant literature in order to establish links between the theoretical concepts underpinning this thesis. It examines the legal and policy framework on "developmental" local government in South Africa and analyses the central legal framework for the realisation of socio-economic rights at the local government level. In addition, the study explores the relevance and potential of local government indigent policies and Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) - as legally prescribed governance instruments - in contributing towards a more just society by examining their underlying legal and policy framework. It further distils from the theories and perspectives of social justice, benchmarks to guide local government towards achieving the transformative constitutional mandate aimed at social justice. Based on the legal, policy and other gaps identified, recommendations are made on how to optimise the potential of IDPs and municipal indigent policies in contributing towards achieving social justice. / PhD (Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

In 2009 Operation Clean Audit was launched with the objective that all municipalities must achieve a clean audit by the 2014 financial year. A clean audit is an audit opinion when the financial statements are unqualified; no adverse findings were identified on compliance with laws and regulations as well as on predetermined objectives. The overall aim of the programme is to clean up the governance of municipalities and to enhance service delivery. In both the public and the private sector internal control is crucial. It is seen as one of the key elements of good governance, it provides assurance of the rendering of reliable financial statements, of compliance with legislation and it also indicates how the organisation performs against its objectives. Budgetary control in local government can be used as an effective internal control method by legally limiting the authorised expenditure and to monitor the actual service delivery against the budgeted targets. If variances are identified in the budget or with regard to service delivery objectives, remedial action can be taken. If municipalities do not provide services to communities in a sustainable manner, it contravenes its constitutional mandate as stipulated in section 152(1)(b) of the Constitution of South Africa. The qualitative research method, in the format of a case study of the Tlokwe City Council, a local municipality in the North West Province, was chosen for this research. In the 2010 financial year, the Auditor General reflected that the Tlokwe City Council experienced deficiencies in the key fundamentals of internal control: leadership, financial and performance management, and governance which could directly be linked to the basis of the qualification of the financial statements, findings on predetermined objectives and compliance with legislation. The material underspending of the capital budget was also found to be affecting service delivery negatively. The purpose of this study is to benchmark the internal budgetary control systems of municipalities in South Africa, which have already achieved clean audit reports for consecutive years, to improve the internal budgetary control system of the Tlokwe City Council. This research was formulated in such a way that — through the findings obtained in the literature study with regard to the legislative framework regulating the budget formulation, internal and budgetary control of the local government sphere in South Africa, analysis of the internal budgetary control deficiencies at the Tlokwe City Council and the benchmarking exercise with the Swartland and Steve Tshwete local municipalities — a strategy can be developed to provide for effective budgeting and to improve the internal control system of the Tlokwe City Council. Potential benefits that can arise from the implementation of the recommended strategy to improve the internal budgetary control system of the Tlokwe City Council are the attainment of a clean audit opinion by the Auditor General and subsequently the enhancement of service delivery to the community. / MCom (Management Accountancy), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

South Africa is a water-scarce country and over the years, the quality of water resources has deteriorated due to poor effluent discharge, agricultural, industrial, mining and human activities. The major contributing factors of poorly-treated or inadequately treated wastewater may be attributed to: (a) the poor design and construction of wastewater treatment plants; (b) lack of qualified process controllers; (c) non-compliance with applicable legislation; (d) lack of proper monitoring; and (e) management issues with regard to wastewater treatment plants. Water quality is important as many communities depend on water resources for their daily activities and livelihood. There is a need therefore to build and manage wastewater treatment plants effectively as they have an impact on water quality. Wastewater treatment plants in South Africa are regulated by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998, the National Water Act 36 of 1998, the Water Services Act 108 of 1997, Provincial legislation, Municipal by-laws and other Government policies applicable to Local Government. Chapter 7 of the Constitution inter alia, provides that Local Government has the duty to provide a safe and healthy environment to its community in a sustainable manner. Schedule 4B of the Constitution imposes the function of delivering water, sanitation and wastewater treatment services on Municipalities. This responsibility rests on District Municipalities but may be performed by a Local Municipality if the district municipality lacks the capacity to do so. Although Local Government has the right to govern on its own initiative the affairs of its communities, it needs support and monitoring from other spheres of Government (National and Provincial) to ensure the delivery of wastewater treatment services in a sustainable manner. In this study, Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality is used as an example of a Municipality in the Limpopo Province faced with challenges related to the operation and management of its wastewater treatment plant. This study aims to determine who should be responsible for the regulation of wastewater treatment plants in Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality area in order to ensure service delivery to communities in a sustainable manner. In order to deal with the challenges experienced by Local Government in dealing with wastewater treatment plants, the study considers Best Practice Guidelines and external service delivery mechanisms, specifically in the form of Public-Private Partnerships. The study concludes with recommendations based on Best Practice Guidelines which Municipalities can use to avoid wastewater pollution and proposes management mechanisms in managing a Public-Private Partnership effectively in order to ensure that they provide service delivery in a sustainable manner. / LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

In 2009 Operation Clean Audit was launched with the objective that all municipalities must achieve a clean audit by the 2014 financial year. A clean audit is an audit opinion when the financial statements are unqualified; no adverse findings were identified on compliance with laws and regulations as well as on predetermined objectives. The overall aim of the programme is to clean up the governance of municipalities and to enhance service delivery. In both the public and the private sector internal control is crucial. It is seen as one of the key elements of good governance, it provides assurance of the rendering of reliable financial statements, of compliance with legislation and it also indicates how the organisation performs against its objectives. Budgetary control in local government can be used as an effective internal control method by legally limiting the authorised expenditure and to monitor the actual service delivery against the budgeted targets. If variances are identified in the budget or with regard to service delivery objectives, remedial action can be taken. If municipalities do not provide services to communities in a sustainable manner, it contravenes its constitutional mandate as stipulated in section 152(1)(b) of the Constitution of South Africa. The qualitative research method, in the format of a case study of the Tlokwe City Council, a local municipality in the North West Province, was chosen for this research. In the 2010 financial year, the Auditor General reflected that the Tlokwe City Council experienced deficiencies in the key fundamentals of internal control: leadership, financial and performance management, and governance which could directly be linked to the basis of the qualification of the financial statements, findings on predetermined objectives and compliance with legislation. The material underspending of the capital budget was also found to be affecting service delivery negatively. The purpose of this study is to benchmark the internal budgetary control systems of municipalities in South Africa, which have already achieved clean audit reports for consecutive years, to improve the internal budgetary control system of the Tlokwe City Council. This research was formulated in such a way that — through the findings obtained in the literature study with regard to the legislative framework regulating the budget formulation, internal and budgetary control of the local government sphere in South Africa, analysis of the internal budgetary control deficiencies at the Tlokwe City Council and the benchmarking exercise with the Swartland and Steve Tshwete local municipalities — a strategy can be developed to provide for effective budgeting and to improve the internal control system of the Tlokwe City Council. Potential benefits that can arise from the implementation of the recommended strategy to improve the internal budgetary control system of the Tlokwe City Council are the attainment of a clean audit opinion by the Auditor General and subsequently the enhancement of service delivery to the community. / MCom (Management Accountancy), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

South Africa is a water-scarce country and over the years, the quality of water resources has deteriorated due to poor effluent discharge, agricultural, industrial, mining and human activities. The major contributing factors of poorly-treated or inadequately treated wastewater may be attributed to: (a) the poor design and construction of wastewater treatment plants; (b) lack of qualified process controllers; (c) non-compliance with applicable legislation; (d) lack of proper monitoring; and (e) management issues with regard to wastewater treatment plants. Water quality is important as many communities depend on water resources for their daily activities and livelihood. There is a need therefore to build and manage wastewater treatment plants effectively as they have an impact on water quality. Wastewater treatment plants in South Africa are regulated by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998, the National Water Act 36 of 1998, the Water Services Act 108 of 1997, Provincial legislation, Municipal by-laws and other Government policies applicable to Local Government. Chapter 7 of the Constitution inter alia, provides that Local Government has the duty to provide a safe and healthy environment to its community in a sustainable manner. Schedule 4B of the Constitution imposes the function of delivering water, sanitation and wastewater treatment services on Municipalities. This responsibility rests on District Municipalities but may be performed by a Local Municipality if the district municipality lacks the capacity to do so. Although Local Government has the right to govern on its own initiative the affairs of its communities, it needs support and monitoring from other spheres of Government (National and Provincial) to ensure the delivery of wastewater treatment services in a sustainable manner. In this study, Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality is used as an example of a Municipality in the Limpopo Province faced with challenges related to the operation and management of its wastewater treatment plant. This study aims to determine who should be responsible for the regulation of wastewater treatment plants in Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality area in order to ensure service delivery to communities in a sustainable manner. In order to deal with the challenges experienced by Local Government in dealing with wastewater treatment plants, the study considers Best Practice Guidelines and external service delivery mechanisms, specifically in the form of Public-Private Partnerships. The study concludes with recommendations based on Best Practice Guidelines which Municipalities can use to avoid wastewater pollution and proposes management mechanisms in managing a Public-Private Partnership effectively in order to ensure that they provide service delivery in a sustainable manner. / LLM (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014