Various allegations have been levelled against certain local authorities in South Africa. These allegations include poor governance, maladministration, corruption and poor service delivery. Some of the South African municipalities are unable to deliver sufficient services to the people due to financial instability. On the other side the fact that the municipalities have to generate their own revenue is no longer sufficient. However, government, both national and provincial has to support the municipalities in terms of their capacity to provide services. While government has to provide services to the people to ensure their welfare, people from local communities should also support the continuous provision of `these services by paying for municipal rates and services. These may include services such as water, refuse removal and electricity as well as property taxes. The main issue is that these services are not readily available, for instance water has to be purified. The situation at Mnquma Local Municipality as indicated in the financial and other reports is such that there is a very slow payment of rates and services, which leads to the municipality relying mostly on government grants, and this puts a heavy strain on service delivery by the municipality. Seemingly, it has been long that rates and services have not been paid in Butterworth-even before the restructuring of the municipality (i.e. before the Mnquma Municipality came into being). However, if alternatives could be found to enhance regular payment of rates and services the municipality might improve in terms of its capacity to deliver services.

Research report submitted to partially fulfill the Master of Management in Finance and Investments to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management at the University of Witwatersrand March 2017 / This study empirically examines whether the capital structure for natural monopolies (parastatals) dynamically responds to macroeconomic conditions. It further examines whether the balance sheet channel theory holds for this industry sample. The study adopts a double sampling approach from the population of water boards in South Africa (SA), which raise their capital in open financial markets. A quantitative research approach is adopted with a descriptive design to achieve relevant deductions. Panel techniques are used in the descriptive design for the regressions. The study finds that leverage partly dynamically responds to macroeconomic conditions. Furthermore, the evidence shows that inflation is an exception that has no significant relationship with leverage. The balance sheet channel theory is found to hold for water boards that access capital in open financial markets. Specifically, empirical evidence shows that changes in the interest rate have a delayed impact on the companies’ characteristics, including capital structure. Overall, our evidence suggests that water boards in SA need to consider the benefits of linking financial policies to the business cycle and that their policies should consider the delayed effect of interest rate changes. / MT2017

Many parts of the world, but South Africa specifically, are facing a water crisis, not only because of the scarcity of water, but also the quality of the water that is available. Companies are the primary users of water and can therefore have the most significant impact on saving water. It is thus imperative to determine how companies are measuring, managing, engaging with their stakeholders and disclosing water-related risks in their businesses. This study was conducted on the premise that South African companies have not as yet grasped the seriousness of the water crisis. Thirty JSE-listed companies classified as being water intensive were selected for the study. Their sustainability/integrated/annual reports for 2011 and 2013 were downloaded from the internet and analysed to determine if and how they were mitigating their water-related risks. The Ceres Aqua Gauge™ was used as the framework for this study. It was established during the analysis of the selected companies’ reports that, with the exception of food producers and food retailers, the companies had grasped the seriousness of the water crisis. One area of particular concern that was evident in all the companies was the lack of attention directed towards supply chain water management. Companies need to address water risks in their supply chain, and to also turn the water crisis from a threat into an opportunity. Investors need to engage with and put pressure on companies to improve their water management practices. / Business Management / M. Ph. Accounting Sciences (Management Accounting)

Many parts of the world, but South Africa specifically, are facing a water crisis, not only because of the scarcity of water, but also the quality of the water that is available. Companies are the primary users of water and can therefore have the most significant impact on saving water. It is thus imperative to determine how companies are measuring, managing, engaging with their stakeholders and disclosing water-related risks in their businesses. This study was conducted on the premise that South African companies have not as yet grasped the seriousness of the water crisis. Thirty JSE-listed companies classified as being water intensive were selected for the study. Their sustainability/integrated/annual reports for 2011 and 2013 were downloaded from the internet and analysed to determine if and how they were mitigating their water-related risks. The Ceres Aqua Gauge™ was used as the framework for this study. It was established during the analysis of the selected companies’ reports that, with the exception of food producers and food retailers, the companies had grasped the seriousness of the water crisis. One area of particular concern that was evident in all the companies was the lack of attention directed towards supply chain water management. Companies need to address water risks in their supply chain, and to also turn the water crisis from a threat into an opportunity. Investors need to engage with and put pressure on companies to improve their water management practices. / Business Management / M. Ph. Accounting Sciences (Management Accounting)

This study analyses the effectiveness of community participation in service delivery. The area of study, the Chris Ham District Municipality (CHDM), is a Water Services Authority, responsible for ensuring access to water services (water and sanitation) by all communities within its jurisdiction. There are eight local municipalities within the CHDM. The objective of this study is to determine whether systems are in place in local government to promote participation by communities in service delivery projects and whether these systems are being utilised efficiently by the role-players concerned. The role-players in this research are people who are involved in community development programmes of the municipality (municipal staff in the relevant departments of the municipalities under study, the social facilitators, civil society organisations, ward committees, ward councillors, traditional authorities as well as the representatives of communities (Project Steering Committees) who are beneficiaries of the projects under study). The projects that are under study were selected from a readily available list of CHDM capital projects that appear in the 2003/2004 financial year funding plan and are running. The findings of the study at both levels (local and district) show that the municipal environment is not conducive to promoting community participation. This is linked to factors such as the structural arrangements, whereby the offices relevant for promoting community participation are not fully occupied, which provided evidence that community participation is not prioritised. There is lack of coordination of programmes within the local government spheres as well within departments of the DM and strategies for community participation have been found to be non-effective. At project level lack of community participation is linked to the utilisation of ward committees as the only mechanism for community participation regardless of its un-equal and party biased representation. This study therefore concludes that although the systems to promote community participation are in place, they are not effective.