The study will account for the local state conflicts between several political parties governing the city of Cape Town in South Africa’s Western Cape Province, and the resulting effect on service delivery. These conflicts take the form of shifting political alliances (e.g., political floor crossing) and differing agendas about governing the city. The research statement is that the emerging conflicts between these political parties, particularly the African National Congress (ANC), the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Independent Democrats (ID) and the recent local regime changes in the city have impacted on service delivery. Using urban regime theory, it seeks to explain how the two communities of Parkwood Estate and Ottery are governed and how these governing arrangements have operated with respect to ANC and DA control over the areas. In South Africa, while the politics of opposition between political parties has received much attention, especially at the national level, the role of these parties in service delivery at the local level has not received such consideration. With this in mind, this study attempts to contribute to an understanding of the association between local state politics and service delivery in Cape Town.

This study focused on the evaluation of the impact of the devolution of functions from head office to the districts in the Department of Sports , Recreation, Arts and Culture within Umzimvubu municipality since the department implemented the devolution of functions there have been a lot of mixed feelings on the result of the process.The study included intensive analysison the scholarly writings done on devolution delegation delocelization and decentralization.The study is underpinned by the Maslow,s theory of the hierarchy of needsQuantitative and qualitative approaches were employed in the study.The sampling composed on the departmental officials, labour unions councils and recipients of departmental services.Findings of the study pointed out that the devolution of functions was a neccesity in spite of its shortfalls and challenges which could be overcome by the submitted recommendations.

M.A. (Public Management and Governance) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Magister Administrationis - MAdmin / This study focused on municipal service delivery campaigns before the advent of the integrated development planning framework. In particular, the focus was on the role played by the Masakhane campaign in improving service delivery and contributing to a better life for the community of the greater Middelburg in Mpumalanga Province. The municipality of the greater Middelburg won several awards in recognition of its achievements in the Masakhane campaign and serves as a model example for other municipalities. / South Africa

Thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Management (in the field of Public Sector Monitoring and Evaluation) to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand September 2017 / While the literature shows that local government is the closest tier of government to the citizens of South Africa, the communities are denied some benefits of its existence, resulting in service delivery protests that are largely attributed to the lack of public accountability. It is therefore the aim of the study to understand how South African ward councillors understand, perceive and use Monitoring & Evaluation mechanisms to instil public accountability. A structured interview guide in the form of an online self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 201 ward councillors. From the study questions, the following alternative hypotheses were tested using regression analysis and T-test: i. There is a positive relationship between the knowledge of public accountability of M&E mechanisms. ii. There is a positive relationship between perceptions of public accountability and usage of M&E mechanisms. iii. There is a difference in the use of M&E mechanisms betweengender (males and females) to foster public accountability within local government. Contrary to expectations, the study findings revealed that there was no relationship (0.431<0.05) between the knowledge of public accountability and usage of M&E mechanisms. Similarly, only 02.60% of the variation of the usage of M&E mechanisms (dependent variable) could be explained by perceptions of M&E mechanisms (independent variable). Lastly, the findings revealed that the observed difference between the samples means (4.0-4.34) was close and not convincing enough to suggest that the usage of M&E mechanisms between female and male ward councillors differed significantly. In all the findings alternative hypotheses were rejected and null hypotheses accepted. In conclusion, it is evident that ward councillors understand the concepts relating to public accountability; however, the knowledge has not been comprehended fully and utilised to instil public accountability within local government. An in-depth analysis on public accountability practices within local government in South Africa will strengthen scientific knowledge on public accountability. / MT 2018

The Local Government: Transition Act (LGTA) (Act No. 209 of 1993) provided an overarching framework for the transformation of local government to usher in the new democratic dispensation for South Africa. According to the then named Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG, 2005:22), Local Government should deliver services effectively and efficiently without bias to all individuals in society. The White Paper on Local Government proposes that municipalities must develop mechanisms to ensure citizen participation in public policy initiation, formulation, monitoring and evaluating decision-making and implementation. The White Paper further introduced the notion of integrated development planning which was described as strategic frameworks to assist municipalities to fulfil developmental mandates and engage with stakeholder groups and local communities. This study focused on Umzumbe Local Municipality to comprehend its viability of the Integrated Development Plan (IDP), recommend mechanisms to promote community participation, enhance municipal service delivery, and structure a plan to address the emanating development needs. Furthermore, the aim was to establish the roles played by community members, and effort to participate in the IDP proceedings and evaluate the integrated development planning process through establishing community public participation methods. The data collected from both the communities and Municipal officials revealed a sharp contrast in what the Umzumbe Local Municipality believes to be effective community participation, including its understanding of the place and role of an IDP. Several recommendations were made to the Umzumbe Local Municipality which could assist both the Municipality and its communities to achieve a sound IDP planning and implementation. / Public Administration and Management / M. P. A.

A research report submitted to the faculty of Management, University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management (in the field of Public and Development Management) / The democratisation of local governmsnt requires effective communication structures. The current methods of communicating changes and developments to employees of the Sebokeng Town Council are: top management discussions, notice-boards and informing those affected. Their ineffectiveness is shown by the poor knowledge of local government issues revealed in a council characterised by adversarial union-management relations. Management appears to play a minimal role whilst shopstewards dominate the process of communicatlng changes to employees and the grapevine is said to provide information most timeously. The quest for change and for a two-way cornmunlcatlon process were endorsed strongly. Consultative meetings, discussions involving union representatives and informal worker discussions are the preferred methods of communication. It is recommended that a change management process be triggered by the researcher facilitating a more inclusive management-employee workshop to discuss the findings, establish an internal communications structure and explain how to disseminate information through briefing groups. / Andrew Chakane 2018

Thesis submitted for fifty percent completion of the degree of Master of Management in the field of Public Policy at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. 28 March 2017 / In South Africa, sex work is illegal, and sex workers have operated in the shadows for decades, although the profession has been around for centuries. Sex workers are marginalised and vulnerable which affects their power and authority to participate in public policy deliberations. Their ability to participate in community forums and public discussions about issues that affect them is limited mainly due to their lack of agency, social exclusion and stigma. Ultimately, their equality in the democracy they live is compromised due to social norms, cultural values and religion. This study investigated the barriers that sex workers face to participate in public policy making. This research was a basic interpretive qualitative study which was conducted in Johannesburg, South Africa. Data was collected using structured and semi structured tools through focus group discussions with active sex workers and key informant interviews with policy makers, academics and legal experts. The data was collected and analysed through an exploratory lens that allowed a story to unfold and used people’s experiences to shed light on what these barriers were. The results from the study concluded that sex workers are in fact socially excluded within the communities they live and this exclusion fuels internal and external stigma. This structurally decreases their human and social agency and systematically excludes their voices, human rights, legitimate policy needs and opinions from public policy making processes within their communities. In order to address this structural disadvantage, an advanced form of behaviour change of communities, policy makers and public service personnel is recommended. / MT2017

Thesis (MPA (School of Public Management and Planning))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / LED is the encouragement of a greater degree of local economic governance as an integral component of the pursuits of local community goals. It is about a systemic approach that manages community governance in such a way to achieve shared community goals and objectives. The intent to promote LED has become an established feature in the Frances Baard district, but certain constraints such as resource and skills constraints, lack of communication and lack of guidance from the other spheres of government, hinder the delivery of LED at Local Government level. LED is immersed in a line function environment that institutionally cannot support or sustain it, unless broader institutional reform takes place to bring the LED Approach into the mainstream of municipal and community decision making in terms of locating LED higher up in the municipal hierarchy. There is confusion between the roles and responsibilities of the Frances Baard District and local municipalities in terms of who should facilitate and guide the economic development in the municipal area. The assessment of these difficulties and confusions in terms of the institutional operations in the Frances Baard Local Government will identify and develop important operational guidelines for the district and local municipalities to overcome these shortcomings that occur within their organisations.

The Ward Committee System was introduced in South Africa in 2001 as a tool to bring government closer to the people and to enhance participatory democracy. The Makana Municipality adopted the system in 2002. Previous research on local government indicates that these structures have not been effective due to the lack of resources to sustain them. This study was interested in furthering such research, using the Makana Municipality as a case study during which unstructured, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with Ward Councillors, Ward Committee Members and Grade 12 learners. The aim of the research was to investigate whether the ward committees did indeed promote the notion of participatory democracy and to what extent grass roots development has been enhanced by this structure of local government. The findings from both the respondents and the observations indicate that, in addition to the lack of resources, the underutilization of the Ward Committee System is a result of the effect of opposing political affiliations within the ward committee system, affiliations that undermine the goal of collaborative decision-making. Whereas the ward committee system is a positive idea, the findings suggest that the government is not supporting these structures by failing to equip the ward committee members with necessary capacities and skills. Therefore, if municipalities are committed to bridging the gap between local government and the community, and are keen to enhance participatory democracy, then capacity building of the ward committees and respect for their role during the decision-making process need to be taken seriously. At present, ward committee members are not influential and active in the decision-making process. In addition, the youth as prospective future ward committee members seemed disillusioned with the notion of participatory democracy, and instead have adopted the mentality that nepotism and corruption, as displayed by those in power, is the only way of governance. This research suggests that the ward committee system, intended to bring government closer to the people, may in fact not only alienate government from the people, but also the people from each other.