The purpose of the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act 13 of 2005 is to facilitate co-operation among the three spheres of government. The implementation of this Act has posed many challenges for departments in Provincial Governments. Provinces lack monitoring and support mechanisms for the supervision of local government. In this study intergovernmental relations and co-operative governance are explored as tools to enhance service delivery in the Free State Province. The primary objective of this study was to analyse the views of managers, staff members in public participation units, Speakers and Whips of municipalities in order to determine their level of understanding of intergovernmental relations and cooperative governance, and how these can enhance service delivery in the Free State Province. To attain this primary objective, the concept of intergovernmental relations and co-operative governance are explained. Structures that enhance service delivery in the Free State Provincial Government were analysed. Research on the successes and failures of Provincial Government and Free State Legislature in enhancing service delivery was conducted. Recommendations on how intergovernmental relations and co-operative governance can enhance service delivery are made. The research was conducted in Free State Provincial Government and Municipalities in the Free State Province. The research comprised of literature study and an empirical survey using questionnaires to obtain data from managers, staff members in public participation unit, Speakers and Whips of municipalities. Respondents were tested on their views regarding their understanding of intergovernmental relations, co-operative governance and effective service delivery. The findings of this research demonstrated that there is no frequent engagement of Provincial Government and Municipalities during IDP processes, there is no system of monitoring and oversight over municipalities, and that the Provincial Government does not work together with municipalities during public consultation processes. This, therefore, is an indication that intergovernmental relations and co-operative governance are not implemented effectively to enhance service delivery in the Free State. The study ends with recommendations for political leadership and management to action on intergovernmental relations, co-operative governance and makes recommendations for further research. The findings of the research demonstrate that: •There is no regular or frequent communication among the Provincial Government and Local Municipalities during the process of public consultation on IDPs. •Intergovernmental relations and co-operative governance are not implemented effectively. •Municipal Speakers and Whips do not understand effective service delivery. •There is no frequent monitoring and evaluation of service delivery by Provincial Government. •There is little, if not none, financial, human and technical support from the Free State Legislature to Local Municipalities. •There is no regular communication between the Free State Legislature and Municipalities during the processes of public consultation. •There is no sharing of resources between the Provincial Legislature and Municipalities during the process of public consultation. / M. Development and Management, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

The lack of service delivery by South African municipalities has received much attention in recent years. In South Africa, service quality within local government is perceived as being generally poor. According to the South African Constitution, the mandate of a municipality is to ensure service deliveries through satisfying citizens‟ basic needs. Therefore, an understanding of customers‟ expectations and perceptions is vital for any service organisation’s success. The research undertaken in this study was deemed necessary, given that service delivery by South African municipalities is widely considered to be lacking in various areas. The research was conducted against the backdrop of the White Paper on Local Government that calls for the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner. The primary objective of the study was to provide a view on the community’s expectations and perceptions of the service quality delivery by the Emfuleni Local Municipality in order to identify any potential service quality gaps. The study follows a descriptive research design approach. The literature review comprised published research relating to service quality and service quality models. The literature review provides information on service quality from the perspective of general service industries, as well as an overview of the current South African local spheres of government. The outcomes of the literature review served to provide the theoretical framework for the empirical study. A questionnaire survey was utilised to gather the required data for the empirical portion of this study. Residents of the Emfuleni Local Municipality formed the sampling frame of this study. The questionnaire included the SERVQUAL measuring scale. Self-administered questionnaires using the mall-intercept survey method were employed as the data collection method. In accordance with the delineated scope of the study, this study was confined to the Vereeniging and Vanderbijlpark pay points of the Emfuleni Local Municipality. The study is cross-sectional in nature (data were collected in December 2010) and, as such, the results are representative of that point in time. The findings indicate that customers of the Emfuleni Local Municipality have negative perceptions of the quality of services delivered by the municipality. A statistical and practical significant difference was computed between expectations and perceptions on all of the service quality dimensions concerning service-quality delivery by the Emfuleni Local Municipality, thereby indicating service quality gaps that need to be addressed. The recommendations provided in this study focus on suggesting possible ways in which municipalities in South Africa in general, and in the Emfuleni Local Municipality in particular, may improve their service-quality delivery in order to decrease the gaps between expectations and perceptions, and doing so, increase customer satisfaction. Recommendations for closing these gaps include increasing marketing research, upgrading and maintaining the physical facilities, improving collaboration, co-ordination and co-operation between departments, keeping up-dated records, improving communication programmes, and implementing management and leadership training for management team. In addition, it is recommended that municipalities recruit qualified personnel who are willing to help, and that they engage in on-going staff training and motivation initiatives. / MCom, Business Management, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012

Waste reprocessing is a growing trend in different communities around South Africa which has become influential to the socio-economic liberalism of the people that are recycling at source in their respective areas. The focus of the research study is on the contributions of community-based organisations involved in recycling towards the social and environmental sustainability. The study explores (i) work done by community-based organisations in recycling, (ii) how the organisations turn unwanted products in to something usable and manage to sustain themselves and provide for their families, and (iii) how unpleasant municipality policies on the management of waste are to the organisations involved in recycling. As a result a comprehensive and consistent information set comprising significant contributions from the responsible stakeholders that contribute to the national waste stream will be expressed; regarding the development of relevant statutory frameworks to address and clarify issues facing reprocessing at large. South Africa is signatory to a number of international accords, hence a comprehensive international perspective on waste re-utilisation is incorporated. The notion of partnership is emphasized as it ought to be accompanied by other measures that can unleash a practical validity and influence; hence the public-private partnership strategy towards recycling is recommended as a requisite to try and tackle the challenges facing community-based organisations and the system of managing waste especially in the Emfuleni Local Municipality. The partnerships should be determined as the principle framework between the people, the private sector and the entire administration. The more serious the community-based organisations towards the system of managing waste around an area, the better it will turn out to be for the communities concerned. Unemployment is also the biggest issue thus far and strategies have long been implemented to tackle the crisis, and yet the public is still faced and halted by means that are expensive in nature. Advanced educational facilities for instance, which are still major challenges to the people around Emfuleni. The logic of responsibility now is therefore to develop, implement and enforce recently formulated legislation to encourage the masses to be involved in the process of recycling. Indeed, the lack of co-ordination by private sector, the people and local authorities has resulted in the involvement of community-based organisations being regarded as non-existing and not being intensified in South Africa. The contributions made by waste pickers in making sure that the green environment concept is maintained in societies they live in, is in fact the actual concern in undertaking these research study. The negative stigma associated with the communities involved in recycling is endured as individuals are able to support their families and themselves through recycling ingenuities. The Emfuleni Local Municipality has some of the best strategies and plans to address the involvement of community-based organisations in their disposal, and the full implementation of this category has to prioritised in order to achieve a hospitable and sustainable environment for the area. / M Development and Management (Public Management and Governance), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

In South Africa, certain areas are well developed with infrastructures that compare with first world standards, while in others, people live in abject poverty without basic services being rendered Poverty is the single greatest burden of South Africa's people. It is defined as the inability to meet a specified set of basic needs. This means that apart from low income levels, malnutrition and hunger, poverty manifests itself in poor people's lives in many other ways, including lack of access to basic social services. Poverty is characterized by the inability of individuals, households or communities to command sufficient resources to satisfy a socially acceptable minimum standard of living. It is perceived by poor South Africans themselves to include alienation from the community, food insecurity, crowded homes, usage of unsafe and inefficient forms of energy and lack of jobs that are adequately paid and I or secure. Because the government doesn't want to alienate those it is trying to serve, public services are being brought closer to people, so as to improve the quality of community life. The underlying reason for the implementation of Multi-purpose Community Centres (MPCCs) is to bring government services closer to people and to provide the community with the opportunity to communicate with government. Multi-Purpose Community Centres have been identified as the primary approach for the implementation of development communication and information programmes. MPCCs also serve as a base from which a wide range of services and products can reach communities. The aim is for communities to access such services and engage in government programmes for their own empowerment. As a result, MPPCs are a necessary poverty alleviation strategy that needs to be promoted for the improvement of the quality of community life. / Thesis (M. Development and Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

The research focuses on the effectiveness of the integrated development planning (IDP) as a tool to accelerated service delivery: A case study of Aganang Local Municipality. The main problem investigated in the research is that the community of Aganang Local municipality does not have adequate services. The objective of the research is to investigate the integrated development planning process's impact on service delivery, to investigate if the budget is aligned to the IDP and to make possible recommendations on how the IDP could accelerate and improve service delivery. The hypothesis of the research centres on the acceleration of service delivery by implementing the IDP. Change in integration and cooperation in municipalities can be met if the management, process, systems, culture and innovation are improved. Qualitative and quantitative data was used in this research; the primary sources include questionnaires and interviews while the secondary sources include books, journals and reports. The findings revealed that Aganang local municipality has limited capacity in terms of human and financial resources; the municipality should have a retention and succession policy to ensure that the skills in the municipality are retained. The research also revealed that most people in the municipal area are illiterate and have insufficient skills. The study also revealed that the sector departments do not ensure that municipal strategies take cognisance of provincial strategies during the strategic sessions. The study also revealed that the budgets are only done per financial year and not on a Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTERF) basis (3-year plan) and are not properly aligned to the IDP. The research recommends that municipalities should strengthen the inter-governmental relations to ensure alignment and integration both horizontally and vertically. The research also recommends that the municipality should build capacity and develop skills in the community. The study also recommends adopt the cluster planning and implementation including forward planning to ensure that there is maximum resource allocation and shared functions. The study also recommends that the budget should be on a three-year basis to allow for proper project planning. / Thesis (M.Art. et Scien. (Town and Regional Planning))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

The government has taken constructive steps to address the issue of poverty in South Africa. The principal strategy on the government, and for that matter municipalities for poverty alleviation is to promote sustainable development (better quality of life for all) through the process of integrated development planning (IDP). Municipalities are, by virtue of legislation, required by the Government to use Integrated Development Planning as the vehicle to improve and fast-track service delivery and development. One of the main objectives of the IDP is to promote sustainable development. The objective of this study is to determine the extent to which the IDP is used to promote sustainable development at Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM). For the purpose of the study, the hypothesis was formulated that the implementation of IDP as a tool for promoting sustainable development within ELM is significant for improving service delivery and the living standard of local communities. To test the validity or otherwise of the hypothesis use was made of theoretical review of literature in promoting sustainable development at ELM. Further there was an empirical research method of open-ended questionnaires that was used to test attitudes and perceptions of municipal officials, IDP representatives and the community of ELM on the effectiveness of IDP. It was found among others that:The council and management of ELM consider the IDP as effective management tool in promoting sustainable development; ELM has elaborate plans and mechanisms for initiating programmes on the IDP; Public participation in the process needs to be intensified. While the municipality has achieved much success with the use of the IDP, the rural residents of ELM are largely ignorant of the process and its benefits. The study ends with recommendations for improvement of the IDP process. / Thesis (M.A. (Public Management and Administration))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2008.

The objective of this thesis is to explore the design of operational processes in information-intensive service delivery systems. Empirical data is presented which builds upon existing literature within the Business Process Management (BPM) and Service Operations Management (SOM) disciplines. Adopting a theory building mode, the thesis concludes with the formulation of several research propositions which specify the design characteristics of the processes that provide the service concept to the customer. The research addresses a number of gaps in the literature. First, there is little empirical evidence concerning the relationship between the service concept, customer inputs, and process design. Second, service classification schemes promote homogeneous thinking in the design of service systems delivering diverse service concepts. Third, the BPM literature provides generic process design principles which offer limited theoretical insights into the design requirements of operational processes. Finally, there is a need for process design research in information-intensive service organisations. A research framework that integrates theoretical models addressing service process design is investigated using a single case study approach. Fieldwork was carried out over a sixteen-month period in a large electricity supplier in the UK. In contrast to the macro-orientation found within the literature, this study employs a more granular level of analysis to address the unique requirements of ‘service concept – processes’ pairs. This approach results in a number of important findings which, in several instances, are in contradiction to current thinking. First, the results empirically validate the theoretical relationship between service concept, customer inputs, and process design. Different service concepts lead to different process designs, and the more customised the service concept, the more the process is uniquely designed. Significant differences in the design of the individual processes that collectively provide the service concept to the customer are highlighted. The results also provide some new insights into the design of front office – back office activities as well as into the design characteristics of processes characterised by low customer contact. In addition, the study refutes the view that generic process design principles are universally applicable irrespective of the context in which the processes operate. Finally, the research findings show that a process-based view of service systems allows for heterogeneity; that is differences in the design of service delivery processes within the same organisation.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Since the advent of South Africa‘s democracy in 1994 there have been several changes in the policy and legislative arena specifically promoting public-private-partnerships in the health sector. These initiatives have given rise to opportunities for inter-sectoral policy transfer under the rubric of ―best practices‖. This exploratory study examines the character, obstacles and contested nature of a selection of policy transfers between private and public health institutions in a single province of South Africa. The study looks at the dynamics at play around envisaged, current and past transfers of policies and organisational practices in relation to administrative systems and technologies used in four different hospital settings – two public and two private hospitals in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. This thesis explores the views of managers and labour organisations about policy transfer focusing on local contexts, and how various parties construct policy transfer, hence providing a perspective of policy at the ―plant‖ level. In this research, special focus is placed on different agents‘ role and understandings of their contexts and how and why policies move and contradictions of these developments. In-depth interviews were conducted at four major Eastern Cape hospitals. The thesis argues that in practice, policy transfer is messy, politicized and traversed by power and vested interests and that organised labour plays a key role in policy transfer process. The thesis focuses on the different philosophical/ideological underpinnings, socio-political values and operational environments in each sector. This study is designed to contribute to existing knowledge on practices particularly between the public and private sectors in order to widen the understanding of the complexity of transferability.

This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2016 / This study assesses agonism's practical possibilities for constructive, rather than destructive, outcomes arising from state-society strife, by drawing on the case of the Johannesburg city administration. / GR2017

ABSTRACT The primary purpose of the study was to explore how funding affected service delivery among Nonprofit Organizations (NPOs) in Johannesburg, given the important role these organizations play in contributing to social development in South Africa. The study was undertaken among 15 NPO organizations based in Johannesburg and located in various service fields. A semi-structured interview schedule comprising open-ended and close-ended questions was utilized to collect information. Descriptive statistics were employed to analyze closed-ended questions whilst thematic content analysis was used to analyze open-ended items. The main finding that emerged from the study was that NPOs that were surveyed suffered from a diversity of challenges emanating from insufficient and at times delayed funding, particularly by state departments such as the Department of Social Development. The problems faced by these NPOs were found to be predominantly human resources related. These organizations were unable to attract skilled professional staff because their funds did not permit them to offer market-related packages. In addition, these NPOs suffered from high labour turnover because employees tended to leave these organizations in pursuit of greener pastures in government departments and the private sector. The sector also experienced inadequately funded programmes and an inability to expand their services to the wider populations due to inadequate funding. The NPOs that were surveyed had not engaged in entrepreneurial activities on a scale sufficiently extensive to wean them off donor funding or over-reliance on such funding. Self-sustainability was found to be still in the embryonic stage. Moreover, the relationship between the sector and the state was found to be characterized by a lack of faith and confidence on the part of the NPOs surveyed, suggesting a ‘troubled’ partnership between the two. The findings of the study suggest the need for the research project to be replicated on a wider sample in different provinces. Since the study focused on formally registered NPOs in terms of the Nonprofit Organizations Act of 1997, future research needs to investigate the funding challenges faced by smaller mainly informal/ unregistered community-based organizations that form an integral part of the nonprofit sector in South Africa and offer an array of services to their communities. Furthermore, the findings of this study could potentially be used as a basis for policy formulation and analysis by policy makers as they appear to have implications for re-assessing funding policies in respect of NPOs.