This treatise investigates the implementation challenges of performance monitoring and evaluation in the O R Tambo District Municipality. The treatise comprises five chapters. The study is based on the assumption that O R Tambo District Municipality, like any other municipality in South Africa, particularly in the Eastern Cape, is confronted with the implementation challenges of performance monitoring and evaluation. ORTDM has a performance-management system that is not fully implemented, and needs to put into context its challenges, in order to appropriately make those interventions relevant to the situation. The fact that the performance- management system has not yet been cascaded to the lower level employees creates difficulties in performance monitoring and evaluation. There has been a deep concern that municipalities are underperforming, and yet with no visible steps being taken to improve the situation. If the O R Tambo District Municipality is attempting to achieve the objectives of the local government, as stated in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, it is then necessary to properly implement performance monitoring and evaluation, as mechanisms to accelerate service delivery. This has the potential to improve the quality of life of the citizens of O R Tambo District Municipality. This study provides the general background to the implementation challenges of performance monitoring and evaluation in the O R Tambo District Municipality. The challenges of performance monitoring and evaluation, the determinants of performance monitoring and evaluation, as well as the theories used in performance monitoring and evaluation will be addressed. The study presents the findings resulting from the analysis of the data provided by the respondents. Amongst the findings of the study there is a view that the O R Tambo District Municipality does not have monitoring and evaluation specialists who could ensure that performance is being periodically evaluated, in order to close policy gaps that might be in existence. Non-involvement or partial involvement of communities has the potential to cause stagnation, as people generally lack monitoring skills. Some of the recommendations include: the skills development of all the stakeholders, especially those with the mandate to deliver on behalf of government, that is, political office bearers, together with the technical support wing. Performance monitoring and evaluation under the proposed recommendations could be enhanced and positive changes could be realised.

The role and power of ICT today, particularly the Internet, cannot be underestimated. The Internet has a great impact on the business environment, where a large majority of companies and organisations have made substantial investments in an online presence in the form of websites, as well as the IT infrastructure needed to improve business processes. In terms of websites, research has shown that it is critical to identify the target market of the site and the actual users, and to construct the site according to their specific needs and preferences. This is to a large extent the focus of the field of Human Computer Interaction. It therefore makes perfect sense that many software products and websites fail to meet the users‟ needs, as they are designed mainly by Western designers for Eastern and African users. In essence, the failure is due to the fact that the design does not accommodate the cultural behaviours, understandings and preferences of the intended users, thus making it difficult for them to use and adopt them. This has been confirmed by many researchers who have studied various culture dimensions and their relation to Web design. As mentioned, the role of the Internet in terms of its effect in the business world is becoming increasingly important. However, the Internet could prove to play an influential role in the public sector as well and could therefore be used as a critical tool by government in the form of e-Government. Many countries are adopting e-Government initiatives in an attempt to improve their relations within government itself and with their citizens and businesses. This would help them to render better service delivery and at the same time empower the citizens to also participate in the governance of the country itself. The concept for this dissertation was formulated in terms of three key ingredients: e-Government, culture dimensions and Web design. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the way a specific culture dimension, referred to as the cultural-context dimension, which focuses on the communication process, can impact in Web design. Once this is achieved, it will be possible to determine how this can positively affect the design of the South African e-Government website so that the overall usability of the site may be improved. The improvements will be justified because the site would then match the cultural behaviours, perceptions and Web design preferences of South African users. In short, the goal of this III dissertation is to provide guidelines and recommendations that will improve the South African e-Government website (www.gov.za) by examining anthropologist Edward Hall‟s cultural-context dimension and its role in the Web design process.

Immovable asset management is the key element in enabling better service delivery by the national government. An improvement in the management of government’s immovable assets is required in South Africa to ensure that assets are optimally utilised for service delivery. The entire research attests to the importance of excellent management of government immovable assets throughout its life cycle within a framework of cost effectiveness, efficiency and reduced risk. The study discusses three technical challenges which comprise the incompleteness of the asset register, immovable asset life cycle management, a lack of implementation of the immovable asset management plan, the asset performance measures and standards for the immovable assets. The National Department of Public Works was targeted as a potential candidate to participate in this research. Primary data was collected through questionnaires and interviews to reveal the strengths and weaknesses and to develop the current theories and models. Secondary data was collected from books, journals, internet and conference papers. The asset management branch in the department was formed recently. The results of the research indicated that the asset management frameworks and the immovable asset management plans are not implemented as designed and there is no integration between the asset’s life cycle processes. The corrosion of information in the asset register was because of a lack of asset-computerized systems, competent personnel and adequate skills. In conclusion, immovable assets should be managed through integrated life cycle processes, policies and procedural documents should be developed and planning is important to the management of immovable assets. The asset register should work as a basic system for the management of immovable assets.

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2017. / Refer to document

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Public Policy in the Wits School of Governance, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management February 2017 / The objective of the study is to investigate problems and trends experienced in implementing Network Governance in the City of Tshwane. Local government/municipalities are at the forefront of service delivery. Voters assess government’s performance through the provision of basic services to residents. Government’s ability to deliver services is mainly dependent on the governance models that they adopt. Governments adopt different governance models in the quest to improve service delivery. One of the most widely adopted models of governance that is seen to be progressive in improving the provision of services is Network Governance. The study adopted a qualitative methodology approach because the objective was to understand the challenges experienced in implementing the network governance model in the City of Tshwane. In-depth interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire as a main tool of data collection. The interviews were conducted with 22 respondents who comprised City officials, councillors, civil society and members of the community. The study established that there were shortcomings in the implementation of Network Governance in the City of Tshwane. The findings also indicate that Network Governance was not adopted as a service delivery implementation model in the City of Tshwane. The study reflects that the Regions are not well capacitated to enhance principles of Network Governance. The findings reveal various problems in stakeholder management and communication which impede the implementation of Network Governance. The following recommendations are made to improve the implementation of Network Governance: The City of Tshwane must institutionalise Network Governance through policies; and standard protocols and procedures for network governance must be formulated to guide the implementation of the Network Governance policy. / MT2017

D.Litt. et Phil. (Public Governance) / South Africa’s negotiated revolution in 1994 was hailed by many observers as a beacon to other societies wracked by ethnic conflict. The Constitution adopted in 1996 was widely endorsed by most South Africans and by international commentators, as a model for building an equitable, developmental state, uniting the diverse aspirations of citizens. The author’s political and professional roles in recent decades has involved him in several dimensions of the democratic transition; and has made him acutely aware of the results-based urban governance debates, drivers and developmental dilemmas. Significant motivation for this thesis’ problem statement was that the constitutional vision, values and principles have been compromised by the processes of redefining the democratic state – exacerbated by the public governance caveats of political greed, managerial incompetence and systematic corruption of state power. Available evidence of systemic progress in the post-1994 public governance implementation and outcomes has been frequently negative, yet substantially inconclusive, in terms of the achievement of democratic equity and socio-economic development. The particular focus of the thesis is on the results-based co-operative government imperatives of rapid urbanisation and sustainable socio-economic urban development across the Cape Town City-region. Although the concept of a functional city-region is relatively new in South Africa, the significance of results-based urban developmental public governance has been internationally recognised and has been highlighted by the South African Cities Network, in its State of Cities reports. Expectations of effective community engagement and equitable services in the geo-politically heterogeneous, rapidly expanding Cape Town City-region, second most populous in South Africa, were the subject of the insightful Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Territorial Review (2008). This review, one of an international series of city-regional studies, has served as the thesis baseline for the Cape Town City-regional developmental governance assessment, analysis and formative evaluation.

In recent years, an increasing number of people move into cities to search for better opportunities for themselves and their families. This movement is known as urbanisation and makes it difficult for the local government to fully understand citizens’ needs particularly pertaining to public safety matters. During the first phase of the Public Safety Smart City project, it was identified that there is a need for feedback loop to facilitate effective communication of public safety issues between citizens and local government. This means that EL citizens do not have a better channel in place to address their public safety issues to the local government. This could lead to the decisions made by the local government in public safety not fully communicated back to the citizens. The primary objective of the study is to develop a feedback loop model that will assist in more effective reporting of public safety issues between citizens and the local government. The study followed an interpretivism paradigm and the research methodology employed is the qualitative approach. This was influenced by the existing De Fleur model of communication, secondary data and also semi-structured interviews. The interviews were conducted with eleven citizens and four managers from the Department of Public Safety. It was ascertained that the lack of a feedback loop about public safety issues between citizens and local government is likely to increase public safety issues. Findings revealed that this is because citizens are not continuously updated about their reports and also about the state of public safety matters. Furthermore, the methods of communication utilised lead to poor communication of public safety issues. The study concludes that the introduction of an Information and Communication Technology enabled feedback loop between citizens and local government can help in reducing public safety issues and make public safety officials proactive rather than reactive.

The negotiation process in South Africa did, by 1993, lead to change in inputs in policy-making, and led to change in political relations with specific reference to norms of equality and respect for human rights. Significantly, these changes imposed obligations on the public service on issues of transformation, amongst others: service delivery, restructuring, democratisation of the policy-making process, and representativity and equity. This study was undertaken to examine the latter two namely, to determine the policy-making mechanisms by which the public service seeks to legitimise the policy-making process by involving a wider populace in participation; and to examine legislation that exists on representativity and equity and their consequent implementation. In support of the empirical research, use and analysis of a theoretical study of public policy in Public Administration were undertaken. The analysis showed that the theoretical distinction in the roles of political office-bearers and appointed public officials in the policy-making process, was incorrect. Rather, the empirical study supported a close co-operation of the functionaries in the process, including implementation. Further, it was found that the various models for analysing public policy had all been applicable at different periods in the South African political system. For the purpose of this study, the hypotheses are formulated that the new political dispensation that ushered South Africa into a popular constitutional democracy impacted on the functioning of the public service, amongst others: • an obligation to involve a wider population in the policy-making process to achieve legitimacy; and • an obligation to enforce norms of representativity and equity through legislation and the implementation thereof. In the study of the policy-making process, it was empirically established that the public service does possess comprehensive mechanisms to engage the wider populace in consultation and negotiation on public policy-making. Yet, public participation was found to be thin. Further, it was established that elaborate legislation exists to change the demographic face of the public setvice, and there is progress on implementation of representativity and equity legislation with reference to target quotas, time frames and the control thereof. Proposals for further study on effects of change, are made. / Public Administration / D. Litt et Phil (Public Administration)

M. Tech. Business Administration / The South African National Department of Environment Affairs (DEA) in Pretoria has been experiencing a high vacancy rate of 20%, 18% and 26% in the financial years 2008/9, 2009/10, and 2010/11 respectively against a target of 16% . The vacancy rate for 2013/14 financial year has increased to 24.5% against a target of 10%. The Department is struggling to meet its own set target by end of financial year. The current recruitment method utilised by DEA is too slow and tedious, takes time to appoint and has human elements as some documents get lost and does not promote efficiency and value for money. The study was aimed at assessing the degree to which e-recruitment methods were used in the Department of Environmental Affairs. The study was conducted in line with the objective of the DEA to reduce the existing vacancy rate at the DEA to at least 10% by 31 March 2014. This study assessed and evaluated the impact of implementing the online recruitment process in the Department and the contributing factors to a high vacancy rate such as the long waiting process.

M. Tech. Business Information Systems / Data underpins the smooth operations and strategic decision-making of the day-to-day operation of an organization’s business processes. With the increasing automation of an organization's activities, large volumes of data are generated faster than they may be consumed and digested. The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform is faced with such a generation of large volumes of data. The department could have benefited from data warehousing in which data is stored within a single repository. However, there is no framework that could inform the adoption of Data Warehousing by a South African government department. This research study therefore intended to design a framework for the adoption of Data Warehousing by a South African government department.