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Since the dawn of democracy in South Africa one of the challenges that has remained elusive to policy-makers has been the issue of how to redistribute the same democratic advances made at national level to more ordinary citizens at grassroots level. The concern has been how to include voices of previously marginalized communities. The immediate policy plan at local government level is entitled “participatory governance” and has been adopted by the post-apartheid national government of the ANC to limit this participatory-democratic gap. The laws and policies that constitute the body of this policy are the White Paper on Local Government adopted in 1998 and the Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000 and the Municipal Structures Act 117 of 1998. The Msunduzi municipality has formally adopted this policy and it is called “community participation policy”, which has yielded rather unsatisfactory results to date. Setting aside the issue of implementation for now, the present study explores the institutional design of this policy of participatory governance in Msunduzi by applying the design principles of the theory of “empowered participatory governance”. This theory attempts to understand how to build a deep democratic culture via government-community partnerships through the concept of citizens who are empowered to play such a role. The major finding of this thesis is that there are design flaws in these institutions in this municipality which require a reform of the policy itself. However, this may not be enough, as more empowered citizens are also required. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

This is a case study undertaken in White Rock, a postindustrial, oceanside town of 16,000 on Canada's southwest border. The participant-observation research was undertaken between 1989 and 1993 when the author was politically active in the community. Noting a challenge to an encrusted city council from a loosely affiliated group who soon became members or supporters of the "White Rock Residents' Association", the participant intervened to explore theories about the instability of post-industria1 society and the emancipatory power of new social movements. Believing that the environmentalist social movement could attract broad public appeal and was conducive to grassroots progressive politics, the participant utilized the power of environmental ideology by publically prioritizing environmental issues while seeking a council seat as a political newcomer in a town where local elections were often uncontested. Although unsuccessful and subject to countervailing gender politics, the author placed seventh on a ballot of 11 for six council positions, outperforming several long-term and influential residents of the community. Chapter One provides a brief, overview of the research project, with further methodological discussion in Appendix A. Chapter Two gives a comparative discussion of environmentalist and localist ideologies, suggesting how they pertain to the White Rock community. Chapter Three offers a profile of the community of White Rock as it undergoes certain changes while facing environmental problems. The final chapter considers changing political and power relations between local and senior governments as they respond to environmental regional problems. During the period of intervention, new political party provincial and federal governments were elected, and in White Rock a member of the White Rock Residents' Association became the city's provincial member of the legislative assembly, while an active Reform Party member became federal member of Parliament. As well, the Boundary Board of Health won a power battle with city council to eliminate swimming at White Rock's polluted west beach, demonstrating the newly won influence of the provincial government. In exploring and comparing environmentalist and localist politics, both the research and literature review indicate that environmentalist ideology and political practice can lead to a reformation of traditional localist politics, resulting in greater influence and prestige for environmental organizations.

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No description available.

The study was designed to generate data and information necessary for designing an appropriate sustainable solid waste management system, and examining the socio-economic benefits of urban municipal so lid waste management through job creation opportunities (albeit mainly informal) in Lesotho. The review of literature on the integrated solid waste management systems at international, regional and local levels in relation to job creation was carried out with a view to establish the necessity of carrying out this research. In addition, specific solid waste management experiences and practices in other countries have been cited. In Lesotho, investors and donors have, for long expressed the need for formulation of solid waste management policy and guidelines formulated in the country in order to create an enabling environment for investment. However, the process of preparing policy and guidelines requires substantial data and information. This study supplemented this effort by gathering data and information. The data and information gathered were on the existing policies and regulatory framework concerning waste management; waste generation rates, types and quantity from domestic, industrial and commercial establishments; recycling activities; and the waste harvesting (scavenging) activities. The study was undertaken in Maseru and Maputsoe, being the hub of commercial and industrial activities in the country. The data and information may also be useful to other SADC countries From the results of the study, it has been concluded that in Lesotho, paper was the most commonly generated waste in all the categories: domestic, industrial and commercial establishments. Plastic was the second category of the most commonly generated waste, which was followed by organic waste, and then, beverage cans. The study established that the weighted average household generation rate for the surveyed areas was: 0.13 Kg per capita day-I. In the same findings, it occurred that overall, households contribution to waste generation in the surveyed areas ranked second to commercial establishments despite their low per capita, in comparison with industrial establishments. The study has further concluded that out of an estimated total quantity of 157552 tonnes per annum of waste generated in Maseru, commercial establishments contributed 82%, while households contribute 15% and industrial establishments 3%. Households generated more waste than industries because they were in large numbers and hence contributed more than fewer industries. It has also been established that the household waste generation is dependent on incomes ofthese households, but had poor relationship with regard to the number of persons per household. To this effect, it was seen that high-income households generated more waste than low-income. The study further showed that where the municipal council offered waste collection service, not all recipients paid for this service. However, there was a general willingness- to- pay for the waste collection service by all sectors, on condition that there was an improvement in the offering of this service; and if made available where currently not offered. Furthermore, there was a general indication of affordability for these services up to a certain amount (albeit minimal) per different sectors. On the other hand, the information collected strongly indicated the need to invest more in solid waste management if this would be a means of employment creation and improvement of the environment. On the overall, the study revealed that there was a low level of awareness on waste related policy and regulatory instruments, and fragmented legal framework on waste management in Lesotho. The study also established that currently, solid waste as an informal sector generated an estimated profit of MO.7rnillion per annum from waste recycling related activities and that this informal sector generated about 282 jobs. In addition to these benefits, the question of solid waste as a source of biomass energy was another beneficial route in Lesotho. It has been established that the combustible organic waste was highly sought after as a source of energy for cooking and heating. However, besides the benefits, these activities also gave rise to some adverse impacts. The waste harvesters expressed that their health had been negatively impacted upon by the waste scavenging activities. Needless to suggest that there would be a need by the government to intervene in this problem by formalising these waste harvesting activities. It is hoped that this study would serve as a reservoiur for the source of data and information and for Lesotho and that other countries in the SADC Region shall fmd this document a useful tool. / Theses (Ph.D.)-University of Westville, 2002.

The formation of a settler elite and its role in colonial Durban's urban development between 1854 and 1910 have been studied. In this instance of early colonial capitalism, local business leaders readily established an intimate connection between economic and political power. Many of them used their position on the Durban Town Council, formed in 1854, to wield preponderant civic influence and become the driving force in the development of the town. The nature of this settler elite has been investigated in terms of the theories of social stratification, formulated along Weberian lines. Following the institutionalization of power arrangements these leading settlers were legally acknowledged as a governing elite. Durban provided the setting in which metropolitan institutions, activity patterns and environments could be introduced and maintained, as dictated by the underlying value-system of the British settlers. The colonial city of Durban hereby not only demonstrated the appearance of a civilization, but also the mutual interaction between man's behaviour and his culturally modified environment. The ruling elite regarded the beautification of the urban environment as part of their civic responsibilities in this city-building process. Such a civic pride was especially applied in Durban to the building of impressive Town Halls and public buildings. These leaders also played a decisive role with regard to harbour improvements, railways, tramways, electricity supply, telephone services and sanitary improvements. Following a historical pattern of colonial urban development, Durban became another British city in Africa. Yet it possessed local features which made it atypical, if not unique, in a South African context. The driving force and way of life of the town during the colonial period was clearly British. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1994.

This thesis probes the extent and consequences of the new local government reforms in four municipalities, namely, Msunduzi, (Pietermaritzburg) Buffalo City, (East London) eThekwini (Durban) and Nelson Mandela (Port Elizabeth). These reforms call for a shift from a representative type of local government to a participative form of local governance and require municipalities to conduct their activities in a more democratic way than they did before. Of particular concern to this thesis is the effect of these democratic requirements on the efficiency of the decision-making process. The research has yielded sufficient evidence to support the claim that greater democracy in the decision-making structures and processes will result in a cost to efficiency. This, therefore, confirms the tension between democracy and efficiency in municipal decision-making. A distinction is made between efficiency and efficacy, in that whereas efficiency is measured in terms of "minimum effort", efficacy includes normative evaluation as to whether the decision-making outcomes really address the needs and preferences they are intended to. This thesis examines the impact of these new democratic requirements on the municipal decision-making process in terms of both theories of democracy and systems theory. Through applying Robert Dahl to the new democratic requirements the thesis identifies four criteria in terms of which democratic operation of municipal decision-making is measured: inclusivity, transparency, accountability and participation. Through reviewing systems theory, the thesis identifies the importance of reviewing the structural, organizational culture and development aspects of the decision-making process to develop the fullest picture of what is going on. The thesis then proceeds on the basis of a qualitative evaluation of the case studies to yield several significant sub-findings including that there are no efficiency reasons for preferring the executive mayoral system over the executive committee system, and good democracy reasons to prefer the latter over the former. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

This study aimed at investigating perceptions of different stakeholders, which were the community, administration (staff) and councillors on service delivery by Mpofana Municipality. This research provided recommendations that would assist in terms of accelerating service delivery, which is noted as the most fundamental responsibility of all municipalities in South Africa as the fulfillment of the constitutional mandate. The study provided recommendations that will assist in terms of accelerating service delivery, not only in urban areas but in rural areas as well. The study focused on Mpofana Municipality using the Servqual model to measure perceptions in terms of service delivery, i.e. what is expected compared with perceptions of service experienced. The overall SERVQUAL score of the councillors and the staff revealed that the perceptions were equal to the expectations. The results showed that the SERVQUAL calculated from the responses of the staff and councillors were very similar and the gap between their perceptions and expectations was minimal. These results confirmed that staff and councillors hold similar expectations and perceptions in relation to customers. The results of the staff and the councillors were very similar because they were internal respondents associating themselves with the Mpofana municipality. The results showed that the community's expectations about the service which they received from Mpofana Municipality did not match their perceptions. This presents a great challenge to the councillors, as well as to the management of the municipality. The Mpofana Municipality is expected to provide excellent service to its customers all the time. What customers/clienUcommunity wanted and what they got from an institution did not match. This was not a satisfactory indication of the quality of service that the Mpofana municipality was displaying. These SERVQUAL scores also indicated that there were definite areas needing attention e.g. reliability, responsiveness and assurance. Service delivery could be improved if both councillors and staff were to align their expectations to those of the community and design services to the specifications and expectations of the customers. / Thesis (M.B.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.