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 intention of the essay was to see what Web users’ comprehension might be when watching four videos that are published on the Swedish Government’s Web site. One video contains an interview with Lena Hallengren, Minister for Youth Affairs of the Swedish Government, and in the other three Ulrica Messing, Minister for Communications and Regional Affairs of the same government, gives speeches about the governmental issues she is responsible for. The comprehensions that were examined are those concerning the forms of presentation of the videos, the ministers’ appearances, the videos abilities to create and maintain the Web site visitors’ interest, and the visitors’ behaviours and conducts while being in contact with the Web site. The examination was carried out with the Stimulated Recall method, where the respondents’ memory of what they thought while they visited the Web site and watched the videos were collected, along with an interview where they interpreted what they had seen. The analysis of the data was based on the theories of Marshall McLuhan, Jay D. Bolter & Richard Grusin, and Jacob Nielsen, which contain ideas about how new media incorporate older media, and how Web users comprehend and behave in their contact with the Internet. The conclusion was that the respondents had low interest in Lena Hallengren’s video because it was too long and made them inactive. Ulrica Messing’s appearance in her videos made two of the respondents think that she was a poor performer, while the third respondent liked what she saw because she was interested in what Ulrica Messing said. / Syftet med uppsatsen var att se vilken uppfattning webbplatsbesökare kan ha när de ser fyra videofilmer som finns på regeringskansliets webbplats. En videofilm innehåller en intervju med Lena Hallengren, ungdomsminister i regeringen, och i de övriga tre talar Ulrica Messing, infrastrukturminister, om de politikområden hon är ansvarig för. De uppfattningar som undersöktes var de som handlar om filmernas presentationsform, ministrarnas framträdanden, filmernas förmåga att skapa och upprätthålla intresse hos webbplatsbesökarna, och besökarnas beteenden och förhållningssätt vid kontakten med webbplatsen. Undersökningen utfördes med Stimulated Recall-metoden, där respondenternas minne av vad de tänkte när de besökte webbplatsen och såg filmerna samlades in, tillsammans med en intervju där de tolkade vad de hade sett. Resultatanalysen baserades på Marshall McLuhans, Jay D. Bolter & Richard Grusins, och Jacob Nielsens teorier, som innehåller idéer om hur nya medier införlivar gamla medier, och hur Internetanvändare uppfattar och beter sig i kontakten med Internet. Slutsatsen var att respondenterna hade ett lågt intresse för Lena Hallengrens film, eftersom var för lång och gjorde dem passiva. Ulrica Messings framträdande i sina filmer gjorde att två av respondenterna tyckte att hon var dålig i sitt framträdande, medan den tredje respondenten gillade det hon såg eftersom hon var intresserad av det som Ulrica Messing sa.

In this dissertation a study was undertaken of the function of the public sector manager at the central level of government and of the role which the public manager plays in the human resources management. South Africa is a three-tier state, which consists of the central, provincial and local levels of government. The central government is the supreme body of government entrusted with the responsibility of making policies, rules and giving direction to the entire citizenry. The central government is manned by politicians from different political parties who have to decide on behalf of their electorates. It is a given fact and a reality that politicians alone cannot deliver the services to the communities. So public officials are appointed to implement the policies enacted by Parliament. Public managers have to interpret policies and give direction to the various structures of government. Among the activities of government, public managers have also to give direction as to the management of human resources in the public sector. This study investigated the function of the public manager at the central government with a reference to the management of human resources. This research was necessitated by the fact that since the new constitutional dispensation in South Africa, many changes have taken place most of which implied that the management of human resources in the public sector would have to reflect such changes. Public managers perform various functions, including generic administrative functions, auxiliary functions and functional activities. These functions are performed at senior management level. Furthermore, these functions performed by public managers will be viewed from the human resource management. Particular, attention is focused on the staffing in the public sector and how public managers can best perform their function in absorbing proper personnel in the public sector. AFRIKAANS : 'n Studie is onderneem om die funksie van die openbare sektor bestuurder op sentrale regeringsvlak te ondersoek asook die rol wat die openbare bestuurder speel in menslike hulpbronbestuur. Die verantwoordelikheid van die openbare sektor is om dienste te verskaf aan die landsburgers en om dit suksesvol te bereik meet die openbare sektor oor goed opgeleide personeel beskik. Ten einde personeel te kan bestuur behoort openbare bestuurders kennis te dra van die behoeftes, vrese en verwagtinge van die publiek. Een van die vernaamste funksies van die openbare bestuurder is om leiding te gee aan andere. Suid Afrika is 'n driedelige staat, wat bestaan uit die sentrale, provinsiale en plaaslike vlakke van regering. Die sentrale regering is die hoogste regeringsliggaam verantwoordelik vir beleidmaking, die daarsteling van reëls en om rigting te gee aan alle landsburgers. Die sentrale regering word gevorm deur politici van verskillende politieke partye wat namens hul ondersteuners besluite moet neem. Dit is 'n onomstootlike feit en werklikheid dat politici nie alleen die dienste aan die gemeenskap kan verskaf nie. Daarom word openbare amptenare aangestel om die beleid wat deur die Parlement aanvaar is, te implementeer. Openbare bestuurders moet beleid interpreteer en leiding gee binne die verskillende strukture van die regering. Die aktiwiteite van die regering bring mee dat openbare bestuurders leiding moet gee rakende die bestuur van menslike hulpbronne in die openbare sektor. Hierdie studie het die funksie van die openbare bestuurder in die sentrale regering ondersoek met verwysing na die bestuur van menslike hulpbronne. Die navorsing was genoodsaak deur die feit dat sedert die nuwe grondwetlike bedeling in Suid Afrika baie veranderinge plaasgevind het waarvan meeste impliseer dat die bestuur van menslike hulpbronne in die openbare sektor sodanige veranderinge sal reflekteer. Openbare bestuurders voer verskeie funksies uit insluitende generiese administratiewe funksies, hulpfunksies en funksionele aktiwiteite. Hierdie funksies word op senior bestuursvlak uitgevoer. Verder word hierdie funksies wat deur openbare bestuurders uitgevoer word beskou vanuit 'n menslike hulpbron oogpunt. Spesifieke aandag is gegee aan die personeel in die openbare sektor en hoe openbare bestuurders hulle funksies tot die beste van hul vermoë kan uitvoer deur bekwame personeel in diens te neem in die openbare sektor. Die studie toon aan dat daar tydens die transformasie van die Suid-Afrikaanse staatdiens politieke oorweging geskenk sal moet word aan die vervanging van wit persone met swartes, vrouens en gestremdes. In partypolitieke terme beteken dit geensins 'n balans tussen diegene wat die waardes van die ou orde aanhang en diegene wat die waardes van die nuwe orde bevorder nie. Die Grondwet van die Republiek van Suid-Afrika, 1996 volg 'n humanistiese benadering, wat beteken dat die armes, werkloses, verwaarloosde en wanhopige mense gehelp moet word wat in sigself nie 'n partypolitieke kwessie is nie. Verder toon internasionale onderving dat die radikale transformasie van grondwette dikwels vrees, onsekerheid en paniek onder inwoners veroorsaak. Hierdie gevoelens word dikwels op verskillende wyses deur verskillende gemeenskappe tot uiting gebring. S.A. is daarom geen uitsondering nie. Die vermoë van die staatsdiens om dienste te lewer sal nie net afhang van die politieke leierskap en bestuursvaardighede van die politieke ampsbekleders nie, maar ook van die professionalisme van staatsamptenare. Copyright / Dissertation (MAdmin)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / School of Public Management and Administration (SPMA) / Unrestricted

Bakgrund: Polismyndighetens mål och budget återfinns i regleringsbrevet som varje år ges ut av regeringen. Genom regleringsbrevet vill regeringen på så sätt styra polisverksamheten. Det kan uppstå ett problem i denna process då politikerna inte alltid innehar den insikt som krävs för att sätta målen på ett verklighetsenigt sätt, vilket innebär att målen inom offentlig sektor ofta ses som otydliga. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att förstå hur Polismyndigheten styr utifrån regeringens mål samt vilka problem som kan uppstå. Dessutom ligger fokus på att ge insikt i hur målen hanteras och omvandlas i praktiken samt hur man förstår dem på olika nivåer inom organisationen. Vidare undersöks hur prestationsmätning utförs i praktiken samt vilka problem som uppstår i detta arbete. Metod: Genom en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi och en abduktiv ansats har en enfallstudie med semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts. Även dokument har studerats som ett komplement till de semistrukturerade intervjuerna. Slutsats: Regleringsbrevet bryts ner till en verksamhetsplan (Strategi 2024) och den operationaliseras sedan ute på de olika avdelningarna och regionerna. Problemen vi fann är en brist i förståelse mellan politiker och Polismyndigheten gällande kunskap samt att myndigheten inte äger hela rättsprocessen då andra myndigheters arbete också spelar in här. En enorm mängd mätningar görs både av kvalitativ och kvantitativ art. Under senare år har ett stort fokus lagts på effekten av insatserna vilket också är en del av problemet då effekter är svåra mäta. Uppföljningen handlar om att se till effekterna som målen ska leda till men det är däremot svårt att veta om ett mål är uppfyllt eller inte då målen är av ökande, minskande eller bibehållande art. Informationen från uppföljningarna används av högre uppsatta chefer för utvärdering samt förbättringar i verksamheten. / Background: The police agencies goals and budgets are given from government directives which are given out each year by the government. Through these directives the government means to manage the police operation. A problem can occur in this process since politicians do not always have the required understanding of needed to set realistic targets, which leads to goals within the public sector often being seen as obscure. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand how the Swedish police agency is managed through the governments goals and which problems can occur. The aim is also to provide insight these goals are handled and transformed in practice as well as how these goals are understood on different levels within the organisation. Furthermore, we examine how performance measurement is used in practice as well as which problems occur in the process. Method: Through a qualitative research strategy and an abductive approach, a case study containing semi-structured interviews has been completed. Documents have also been studied as a complement to these semi-structured interviews. Conclusion: The government directives are broken down into a business plan (Strategy 2024) which is further operationalised in the different departments and regions. The problems we found were a lack of understanding between the politicians and police agency regarding knowledge as well as the agency itself does not own the entire legal process, since other agencies also play a part in it. An enormous number of measurements are being performed of both qualitative and quantitative sorts. During the last years, a large focus has been put on the actual effect of their efforts which also is a part of the problem since effects are difficult to measure. Monitoring is about looking at the effects that the goals are intended to provide but it can be difficult to assess whether a goal is attained or not since these goals are set in a way that they must always increase, decrease or be maintained. The information from the monitoring process is used by leaders within the organisation for evaluations as well as for making improvements to the organisation.

This essay examines the implementation of the Swedish government's Action Plan on Business and Human Rights by two Swedish companies. The study is conducted using a qualitative method in combination with a comparative approach. The data analyzed consists of the UN's Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Swedish government's Action Plan on Business and Human Rights from 2015, and the Swedish legal framework on business including human rights in there sustainability report. The study also looks at the government's follow-up of the Action Plan to determine if the measures taken had any effect. The study does not take into account any new developments in the issue presented by the current government. The study finds that the two companies have implemented some of the recommendations made in the Action Plan, but not all. The analysis shows that the companies' reporting on human rights is inadequate and not in line with the Action Plan's requirements. The study concludes that more needs to be done by companies to ensure the respect for human rights and the implementation of the Action Plan.

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

Mining contributes significantly to the economic development of South Africa, contributes to pollution and other negative environmental impacts. Section 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Constitution) places a duty on government to, amongst others adopt legislative measures to protect the environment, prevent pollution and degradation, and secure sustainable development, while promoting justifiable economic and social development. Government responded with the introduction of new acts or the amendment of existing acts most of which require an authorisation process as a “command and control” tool to enforce environmental governance within the mining sector. The abovementioned legislative development will be discussed from a historical perspective up to the current developments. The research aims to attempt to align the authorisation process pertaining to mining. The mining life cycle will be illustrated and the authorisation requirements for each of the mining life cycle processes will be discussed alongside its challenges such as fragmentation, lack of capacity in government sectors, lack of communication and cooperative governance within government. The lack of focus within the authorisation requirements will be deliberated. To avoid the negative consequences of the current authorisation processes such as duplication, unnecessary time delays and the stifling of economic growth, an investigation into how the various fragmented authorisation processes can be aligned into a single streamlined authorisation process which will contribute to the sustainable development within South Africa will be made. / MPhil (Environmental Law and Governance), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

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