Thesis (MPA.) --University of Limpopo, 2006 / Refer to document

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2002 / Refer to document

Lack of trust between nonprofit organizations and the communities in which they are located is a well-documented problem in the academic literature. The nature of this mistrust is far less understood, and little is known how community-nonprofit collaborations can overcome these gaps in trust. Guided by Simmel's theory of trust, this study examined the role of collaborative trust between public and non-profit organizations with a focus on better understanding how trust evolves. The research questions focused on how trust was defined and the factors that enhanced and inhibited trust evolution within the context of collaborations between nonprofit organizations and communities. Data were gathered through structured, in-depth interviews with 14 staff and stakeholders, a focus group of 4 management committee members, and the examination of partnership documents.Data from the interviews and documents were inductively coded and then organized around key themes. The themes from the content analysis indicated that the 3 chief executive officers in the partnership embraced the concept of collaboration, invested time at trust building activities, and obtained stakeholder support. This study contributes to positive social change by providing information for policy makers and administrators of public and nonprofit organizations facing similar contexts about how the development of trust can remove the barriers and sustain collaboration to deliver social program services efficiently and equitably.

This study explores the relationship between social workers’ perceptions of the HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) /AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) population and the effects on their service delivery. This study used a quantitative online survey with a self-administered questionnaire. Data was collected for 60 social worker participants for this study. Participants were provided a postcard to a link of the questionnaire that surveyed participants’ regarding demographics, general knowledge, knowledge about contracting HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS risk, and service delivery. Implications from the correlation coefficients identify a significant negative relationship between stigma and HIV/AIDS knowledge, suggesting that higher levels of stigma were present based on lower levels of HIV/AIDS knowledge. This study found that social workers were comfortable with PLWHA (people living with HIV/AIDS) and that social workers did not have strong levels of stigma towards PLWHA. A significant negative relationship between stigma and service delivery was found indicating that service delivery decreases based on the levels of stigma on behalf of the social worker. The findings of this study suggest further research and examination of social workers’ perception of PLWHA due to underrepresentation of social workers perceived stigma. The study also suggests that social workers need to increase their knowledge about PLWHA and the need for additional cultural competency trainings.

Thesis (MPA) --University of Limpopo, 2010

Thesis (M.Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2012 / The study has been prompted by the initiative of the Local Government of South Africa in introducing the Integrated Development Plan in local municipalities in 1998 as an interim integrated plan. Local Municipalities in South Africa have to use “integrated development planning” as a method of planning for future developments in their areas. Apartheid planning left South Africa with cities and towns that have racially divided business and residential areas; are badly planned to cater for the poor; have long travelling distances to work and poor access to business and other services; have great differences in levels of service delivery between rich and poor areas; have sprawling informal settlements and spread-out residential areas that make cheap service delivery difficult. Rural areas were left underdeveloped and largely unserviced. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of the IDP on service delivery in Emfuleni Local Municipality. The objectives of this study were: to evaluate the effectiveness of the IDP on service delivery and its implementation; to assess the capacity of the municipality to meet the IDP objectives and targets; to investigate the perceptions of the Emfuleni Local Municipality ward and Proportional Representative (PR) Councillors on their mandate and service delivery; and to identify and recommend strategies to enhance the effectiveness of the IDP on service delivery. The study was qualitative in design and collected data using interviews. The study found out that the public participation process, the Integrated Development Plan, service delivery protests and state of service delivery in Emfuleni has clearly shown that the Emfuleni Integrated Development Plan does not have significant impact on service delivery. Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations are made: that there should an alignment of projects with community needs, establishment of a monitoring and evaluation unit, strengthen the intergovernmental relations system and regular feedback, communication and interaction with communities. These systems and structures will ensure that there is regular and coherent participation and involvement of the community as far as possible.

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2013 / The research study attempts to understand levels of service delivery facing Lenyenye Township falling under the jurisdiction of Greater Tzaneen Local Municipal Council. The main focal point of the study is to ascertain the effectiveness of the provision of basic services such as electricity, water and roads by the Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality. This study takes into account that there are other townships such as Nkowankowa, Khutjwana and Tickeyline that are also under the jurisdiction of Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality, and therefore, the research made no attempts to compare levels of service in these towns as its main focus is Lenyenye Township. The findings of this case study are by no means a representation of the state of service delivery in the entire Greater Tzaneen Local Municipal area. The study is qualitative in nature as it attempts to understand how residents of Lenyenye Township perceive service delivery in their area. To get to the bottom of this investigation, interviews were conducted to supplement the data that is needed to make a case. The central elements of this study are community participation and financial management. According to White Paper on Local Government (1998), the above elements are the cornerstone of democracy, and that democracy should be visible and practical at grassroots. The study argued that provision of municipal services is also influenced by a high number of legislative frameworks some of which are still at a grappling stage by municipalities, for example; the implementation of White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery (1997). The study also discovered that a local sphere of government interacts with other organs of state, private sectors and non-governmental institutions in programmes and projects meant to advance the provision of municipal service. Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality like any other municipality is experiencing its fair share of the challenges such as financial management, community participation, and skills shortage. The study revealed that Lenyenye Township is experiencing poor service delivery from the municipality.

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2013 / The study has focused on the evaluation of effectiveness of public participation programmes towards service delivery within the Capricorn District Municipality. Public participation is supported by various pieces of legislation, such as the Constitution (1996) and the Municipal Systems Act (2000), which has placed the community at the centre of development in the local government sphere. It also occupies a key position for development within local government, as it is important in assessing successes and failures of programmes. In this study, the researcher used interview schedules as an instrument to assess the effectiveness of public participation programmes towards service delivery within the Capricorn District Municipality. The researcher used this instrument to get the views of the respondents - in this case ward committees - about effectiveness of public participation programmes in the Aganang and Blouberg Local Municipalities as the area of the study. The findings of the research revealed that there is lack of effective participation in municipal programmes by the community due to a lack of confidence in the local authority, in terms of providing regular feedback on commitments made about service delivery. The findings also revealed that a lack of education plays a significant role for the effective participation of communities within the municipal programmes. Based on the findings of the research, recommendations were made that mechanisms should be implemented to monitor the impact of public participation programmes, building community capacity to engage with municipalities as well as strengthening current public participation mechanisms (such as the IDP consultation process, public hearings and outreach programmes).

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2012 / Service Delivery in South Africa has been one of the critical concerns of the government lately. The departments have been unable to meet the targets as set in the major policies and strategies such as AsGISA, Millenium Goals of SA and other documents. The provision of basic services such as water, sanitation, housing, health and poverty as a whole were key to those service deliver plans. In spite of many attempts by different spheres of government, to deal with the problem, this proved to be failure. Issues such as poor interpretation of policies, corruption, maladministration of resources, lack of coordination and aligned programmes as well as lack of skills and monitoring by officials were to be dealt with in length in order to curb the problems of service delivery. The department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs came up with measures to speed up the process of delivering quality services to the communities of South Africa. This Turnaround Strategy was introduced in December 2009 and will hopefully deal with such problems. This is testimony to many protests by different residents in South Africa who are frustrated and in need of response by the government promises. This study attempts to outline the problems facing the development of human settlements in South Africa. This reveals that such service delivery problems are not unique and specific to individual settlement but are similar in all respects. Recommendations thereof may be specific and assist in the rapid finalisation of service delivery in Protea South. The contribution to be made by study will ensure that there will be no more protests and that each sector will have a better understanding of the other sectors.

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / This study undertook to look into the management of service delivery by the Limpopo Department of Public Works. Over the past four years the researcher, through his interaction and work with departmental officials, identified various weaknesses with management. The study examines various literature relating to management and service delivery issues. A comprehensive review was made by the researcher of the available departmental documentation. The study method used was qualitative. A semi-structured questionnaire was developed and provided to management. This study found that indeed there are issues with management in the Limpopo Department of Public Works. Key findings were that the maturity and experience of management is critical to the functionality of an institution and that institutions need to embrace change, particularly within a technical environment.