Thesis (MPA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this research is to describe how the reform of public finance undertaken in South Africa since 1999 has furthered the principles of new public management (NPM). The first part of the research outlines the history of public sector reform in South Africa in general, with particular emphasis on public finance. It also discusses how reform was initiated and supplemented by the principles of new public management with the adoption of the Public Finance Management Act, No. 1 of 1999 (PFMA, 1999). This is followed by a deep analysis and detailed discussion of key indicators and the mode of their collection. The final phase consists of a description of how new public management principles have impacted public finance management since 1999. The study concludes with recommendations for further research and for practice and policy. The results tend to show how some principles of NPM have furthered public finance reform in some areas while others are still lacking. However the lack of sufficient data results in gaps in the findings: this lack of data makes it difficult to portray a clear picture of the extent to which principles of NPM have been fully implemented. Thus one of the recommendations is that certain indicators should be investigated further to understand the phenomenon better; it is probable that in a few years sufficient data will be available to allow for trend assessments. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie navorsing is om te beskryf hoe hervorming van openbare finansies sedert 1999 in Suid Afrika onderneem is ten einde die beginsels van ‘nuwe openbare bestuur’ te bevorder. Die eerste gedeelte van die navorsing fokus op die Suid-Afrikaanse openbare sektor hervorming geskiedenis in die algemeen, met spesifieke fokus op openbare finansies. Dit beskryf hoe die Openbare Finansiële Bestuurswet, No 1 van 1999 (PMFA, 1999) hervorming en die beginsels van ‘nuwe openbare bestuur’ bevorder het. Dit word gevolg deur ‘n diep en deeglike bespreking van kern indikatore en die wyse waarop data versamel is. Die finale fase behels ‘n beskrywing van die bedra van openbare finansiële bestuur hervorming sedert 1999 tot die bevordering van ‘nuwe openbare bestuur’ beginsels. Die studie sluit af met aanbevelings vir praktyk en beleid asook verdere navorsing. Die resultate toon dat sommige van die beginsels van ‘nuwe openbare bestuur’ bevorder is deur openbare finansiële hervorming, terwyl ander steeds agterweë bly. ‘n Tekort aan genoemsame data lei egter tot leemtes in die bevindinge: die tekort aan data maak dit moeilik om ‘n duidelike prentjie te vorm oor die mate waartoe die beginsels van ‘nuwe openbare bestuur’ ten volle geïmplementeer is. Een van die kern aanbevelings is dus dat spesifieke indikatore verder ondersoek moet word om die verskynsel beter te verstaan; dit is waarskynlik dat genoegsame data in die toekoms koers berekenings moontlik sal maak wat verdere begrip sal bevorder.

Thesis (LLM (Public Law))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / In order to test whether South African public service fulfills democratic aims and objectives, this study establishes the limits to and extent of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000 (the PAJA) in promoting the right to administrative justice as a human right (the RAJAH) and thereby transforming public service delivery. To achieve above aim the background to the entrenched right to administrative justice is analysed through a study of principles underlying administrative justice. Both South African common law and Constitutional systems are analysed against the principles underlying administrative justice. Batho Pele principles contained in the White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service (WPTPS) are also analysed to find out how the South African Public Administration interprets its constitutional duties and to establish the relevance of these principles to administrative justice principles ensconced in the PAJA. The PAJA is then analysed in order to measure the extent to which it affirms the transformation principles ensconced in the Constitution and coinciding with Batho Pele principles. As the public service is a reflection of democracy in action, the public expects it to be professional, representative and proficient. If it does not fulfil these expectations, this may be interpreted as a fundamental failure of democracy. South African democracy in particular is development oriented because it is based on the Constitution that entrenches among others the right to administrative justice. The right to administrative justice as a development tool urges the public sector to recognise and apply constitutionally recognised procedures and processes in every delivery so that the social status of citizens may be enhanced. Such steps, if effectively followed, signify that the public sector has transformed from bad governance practices of the pre constitutional era where there was no requirement for the observance of individual rights in public service delivery. Failures to the adoption of good governance principles by the public sector show the opposite of the expected standards and signify that the public sector is not yet transformed. In the light of the problems caused by the lack of protection of human rights from abuse by the executive under the common law system of parliamentary supremacy, the constitutional era was expected to have changed the position of South African administrative law drastically through its adoption of the principles underlying administrative justice. To develop insight into the extent of the transformation towards administrative justice that is expected to have occurred in South Africa since the advent of constitutionalism the implementation of the PAJA is evaluated through an examination of a selection of cases that deals with public administration decisions in the area of social assistance as a context in which members of the public are most dependent on effective state administration. As the scope of the study limits the number of cases that can be examined, only the most informative cases on social assistance that relates to the KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape provinces are analysed. The research finds that public service is not yet transformed and identifies the causal factors. It recommends steps to be followed so that the expected culture from the public sector is attained.

Thesis (MPA (School of Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / As an attempt to usher in a paradigm shift in the way public services are rendered in the new dispensation, Section 195 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act No. 108 0f 1996, envisages a Public Administration governed by specific values and principles intended to act as a guide in government‟s endeavours of seeking to provide services impartially, fairly and without bias. According to the supreme law of the country, this could be achieved among other things by responding adequately to the needs of the people and further entrenching the participation of the citizenry in the policy processes of government; thus deepening good governance. Part of the challenge that faces the realization of what the Constitution envisages centres largely around the transformation of public servants sothat they begin to deliver services in a way that puts the citizen first. To this extent government has already responded with a very ambitious Batho Pele program, the implementation of which is intended to effect a turn around in the Public Administration status quo bequeathed by the past, so that it is deliberately focused on the needs of the client. The current section of the thesis is an introduction to the entire work aimed at assessing the levels of implementation of the Service Delivery Improvement Policy of Provincial Government within the Department of Arts Culture and Tourism in KZN.

M.A. / The effective management of resources is of cardinal importance to ensure the continued existence of an organisation. Within the context of the South African Police Service police officials render a service to their clients on a daily basis, which entails working with people and being in constant contact with people. Their work relates to trauma and problems and involves extensive exposure. As a result of the intense and dynamic nature of the service providers' contact with the community, they expend a lot of energy and suffer emotional exhaustion. Excessive exposure to trauma, a considerable workload regarding dossiers, a poorly functioning judicial system, official red tape in the organisation, frustration at the administrative system and severe staff shortages lead to individual burnout. Burnout in the work environment is a dynamic phenomenon and is assessed as a syndrome. The occupational fatigue syndrome is a distinctly defined reaction which occurs in the human science professions. It is a multidimensional syndrome on account of complex interactions in the work environment. Occupational fatigue is of a progressive nature and manifests itself in various degrees of severity. Police personnel are furthermore subjected to an ongoing process of transformation as a result of political and constitutional changes in the country. Continuous adjustment and constant exposure to trauma and contact with clients lead to exhaustion and decline in productivity.

M.A. / This study aims to determine the role of technology-enhanced learning within the South African Police Service as a medium to bring about effective communication, training and education, and subsequently transformation and realignment of corporate culture. Accordingly, it explores the influence of technology in the modern organisation as well indications of how organisations can conform to the information age. The relation of technology to the South African Police Service is consequently examined with due consideration of the communication and training methods in use. The functioning and compilation of technology-enhanced learning present an understanding of how it relates to the study. Furthermore, based on the evidence of persisting cultures and behaviours, and a perception of ineffectiveness and insufficient training of police personnel, the study determines how such a medium would facilitate transformation in the South African Police Service. The transformation process concentrates mainly on the technical, political and cultural systems of transformation in organisations. The process of awakening, present and future states in the South African Police Service and the setting and attainment of a vision through re-architecturing are discussed. The study argues that related technology-enhanced learning abilities, such as boundarylessness, feedback, participation and networking are essential aspects for transformation. The study also provides the basis for determining the use of technology-enhanced learning as an effective medium in promoting a learning organisation in terms of learning cycles. Related barriers to organisation learning included the aspect of attitudes. The relevance of collectivity as a building block to organisation learning is emphasised. In order to support the effective implementation of such a medium an exposition is given of the management of technology-enhanced learning, including aspects such as innovative-decision processes, implementation, risk assessment and theoretical and technical applications. Mass media theories are studied as part of the teacher/communicator applications for the effective and efficient utilisation of such a medium by both the sender and receiver. Among the concepts covered in the study are needs gratification and the formulation of the content of messages. No communications medium can continue to exist in an organisation without the viewer, client or personnel having a need for it. This led the researcher to undertake a quantitative study of the internal environment of the organisation regarding the use of the current television network POL TV, which serves as a measuring instrument to the adoption and application of technologyenhanced learning, and the levels of training. The conclusion to the study is that the amalgamation and transition processes of the South African Police Service has not yet managed to transform the inherent behaviours of groups of individuals in the organisation. In addition, there is a dire need for the development of personnel skills. The study finds technology-enhanced learning to be a dynamic communications, training and education technology that would facilitate the resolution of many uncertainties amongst personnel and redefine attitudes, beliefs and behaviour. Most importantly, the study concludes that, by means of its interactive, integrated, collective, connective, and boundaryless capability, technology-enhanced learning would bring all structures and people of the organisation together in the collective attainment of organisational vision, mission, goals and objectives. Ultimately, it is argued, the resulting impact of technology-enhanced learning would facilitate the transformation of the South African Police Service and its inherent corporate culture, and enhance service delivery to the community through democratic policing.

Public Administration / M. Admin. (Public Administration)

The dissertation examines the effect of changes since 1994 on the role of the South African Public Service Commission (hereafter referred to as the Commission). Its contention is that the changes since 1994 re-focused the role of the Commission on development and modernisation of public administration practices. The role of the Commission is now confined to monitoring, evaluation, investigation and research. The dissertation finds that the Commission does not have a formal transversal monitoring and evaluation system. The co-operation between the Commission and other oversight bodies (such as the Public Protector and the Auditor-General) involved in monitoring and evaluation of public service delivery is minimal. There is no "national consensus" yet on what the constitutional value and principle that public administration must be development-orientated means. The Commission has not set out research as its key performance area whereas its role in labor relations is superfluous. Recommendations in respect of the foregoing shortcomings are made in the dissertation. / Public Administration / M.A. (Public Administration)

D. Admin. (Public Administration)

The study investigated the possibility of developing a monitoring and evaluation tool to capacitate the South African Department of Home Affairs towards the sustainability of its mobile unit project. As South Africa has a history of gross discrepancies in the appropriation of services by the citizenry, a fleet of 117 mobile trucks was deployed as part of the 2004 Turnaround Strategy. The chosen structural-functionalist theoretical vantage point informed a quantitative baseline survey in which the views of thirty eight respondents in six provinces and across various ranks were gauged. The majority expressed positive views about the sustainability of the mobile units beyond project phase. They expressed confidence in the goals, relevance and realistic nature of the mobile units. In the SWOT analysis, the respondents expressed more strengths and opportunities than weaknesses and threats. These findings form the baseline for the development of the intended M&E framework. / M.A. (Sociology)

Thesis (MPA (School of Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Public sector reform has been around since the 1980s and was a result of criticism against traditional public administration for being too slow and inefficient to address public needs. Although Public sector reform is common in developed countries, evidence of public sector reform has rarely been seen in developing countries. The purpose of this investigation is to determine whether there is any evidence of public sector reform in a developing country such as South Africa. The author divides public sector reform into three categories, namely: new governance, regulatory governance and new public management (NPM). Based on the theoretical information analysed, a list of qualifying criteria for public sector reform is compiled. The author then focuses on the Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB), a statutory organisation acting as a service provider for the perishable products export industry and a regulator on behalf of the South African government. The author analyses the model on which South African perishable exports are based and studies the organisation‟s history, strategies, operational structure and its relationship with government. The information gathered is then compared to the list of qualifying criteria compiled for public sector reform. It was found that the model, and specifically service delivery strategies by the PPECB, provides conclusive evidence of new governance, regulatory governance and NPM. It was also found the model is a hybrid between traditional public administration and public sector reform, as it contains characteristics of both. The study takes the form of a literature review. Research was conducted through studying various literatures pertaining to new governance, regulatory governance and new public management. In addition, the author gathered relevant information from within the PPECB, the South African Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) and the export industry. Further information was also collected by means of unstructured interviews with senior individuals employed by the PPECB. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Openbare hervorming bestaan sedert die jare tagtig en het basies ontstaan as gevolg van kritiek omdat tradisionele openbare administrasie te traag en onbevoeg was om openbare behoeftes aan te spreek. Hoewel openbare hervorming in ontwikkelde lande stewig gevestig is, is daar ook bewys daarvan in ontwikkelende lande. Die doel van hierdie ondersoek was om vas te stel of daar enige bewys van openbare hervorming in ‟n ontwikkelende land soos Suid-Afrika bestaan. Die outeur het openbare hervorming in drie kategorieë verdeel, te wete nuwe regeringsbestuur, regulatoriese regeringsbestuur en nuwe openbare bestuur. Op grond van ‟n analise van die teoretiese inligting, is ‟n lys van kwalifiserende kriteria – gerig op openbare hervorming – saamgestel. Die outeur het vervolgens op die Bederfbare Produkte Uitvoerbeheerraad (PPECB) gefokus – dit is ‟n statutêre liggaam wat as diensverskaffer vir die bederfbare produkte uitvoernywerheid en as ‟n reguleerder namens die Suid-Afrikaanse regering optree. Die outeur het ‟n analise gedoen van die model waarop Suid-Afrikaanse bederfbare uitvoere gebaseer is en voorts die organisasie se geskiedenis, strategie, operasionele struktuur en sy verhouding met die regering bestudeer. Die inligting wat ingewin is, is vervolgens met die lys van kwalifiserende kriteria – gerig op openbare hervorming – vergelyk. Daar is bevind dat die model – en spesifiek diensleweringstrategie by die PPECB – voldoende bewys lewer van nuwe regeringsbestuur, regulatoriese regeringsbestuur en nuwe openbare bestuur. Daar is ook bevind dat die model ‟n hibridisering is tussen tradisionele openbare administrasie en openbare hervorming aangesien dit karaktereienskappe van albei bevat. Die studie is in die vorm van ‟n literêre oorsig gedoen. Navorsing is uitgevoer deur die bestudering van verskeie geskrifte oor nuwe regeringsbestuur, regulatoriese regeringsbestuur en nuwe openbare bestuur. Daarbenewens het die outeur relevante inligting binne die PPECB, die Suid-Afrikaanse Departement van Landbou, Bosbou en Visserye en die uitvoernywerheid, ingesamel. Nog inligting is ook bekom deur ongestruktureerde onderhoude met senior werknemers van die PPECB te voer.