Diss. Stockholm : Stockholms universitet, 2006.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of financial management, governance and service delivery levels on the effectiveness of municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) for the financial Year, July 2008 to June 2009. The study is descriptive in nature, using a quantitative technique of surveys via questionnaires to collect data from chief financial officers (CFOs) from low and medium capacity municipalities in KZN. Regarding the level of financial management, corporate governance and service delivery and the impact on effectiveness of municipalities, the results indicate there are areas of low and high levels of financial management, corporate governance and service delivery in the municipalities. There are some areas in which the municipalities are effective and other areas that need attention. This implies that there is not a 100% state of efficiency with respect to policies and procedures. The difficulty in carrying out research of this scope to investigate the impact of financial management, governance and service delivery levels on the effectiveness of municipalities is that it cannot be measured with absolute certainty. In addition, municipalities may be influenced by political powers and this is also difficult, perhaps impossible, to measure. The study is an important contribution to developing what should be done by municipalities in KZN to be effective i.e. in developing a framework for success in terms of financial management, governance and service delivery. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / (M.B.A.)

Should Eskom and municipalities be held liable for loss resulting from load shedding? In essence, this is the question this dissertation answers or at least sheds some light on. This dissertation looks at the possibility of holding Eskom and municipalities delictually or contractually liable for loss resulting from load shedding. It does this by first discussing the delictual elements and thereafter determining whether these elements are present in the current circumstances in which Eskom and municipalities find themselves. It also looks at the relevant forms of breach of contract which may be present under the circumstances. It discusses their applicability to Eskom’s Standard Conditions of Supply for Small Supplies with Conventional Metering. It also discusses the applicability of these forms of breach to the relevant electricity supply by-laws which, in essence, provide the terms and conditions relating to the agreement for the supply of electricity between municipalities and consumers. The nature of electricity supply contracts are discussed throughout the dissertation in brief. It is found that electricity in itself is a very unique thing where the supply and sale thereof cannot be separated. The dissertation also deals with some interesting legislation which has the effect of municipalities and Eskom having to prove that they were not negligent in causing loss to consumers. Furthermore, the dissertation looks at related topics, briefly discussing class actions, pure economic loss, the “once and for all” rule, mitigation of loss, prescription, concurrent actions and possible infringement of constitutional rights. It considers the types of loss which might be claimed for as well as alternatives to instituting claims for damages. In the end, the conclusion is reached that all claims must be assessed with due regard to the circumstances surrounding each claim. It also comes to the conclusion that, in general, Eskom can be held delictually and contractually liable for load shedding. The assessed contract contains provisions which are contrary to national legislation and thus inoperative. It is, however, doubtful if such liability would succeed since courts would in all probability deny such claims for fear of opening the flood gates. It might be harder and even impossible to hold municipalities delictually liable. However, municipalities might be contractually liable as it is clear that by-laws, which regulate the supply of electricity to the consumer by the municipality, are often inoperative since these are in conflict with national legislation. This dissertation does not proclaim to provide all the answers relating to claims resulting from load shedding. It is, however, hoped that it will provide some insight into the considerations that need to be taken into account whilst raising some thought provoking questions. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Private Law / unrestricted

The diploma work is divided into two parts: the theoretical and the practical. The theoretical part describes especially municipalities and the budget. The practical part analyses the budget management of the City District Prague 11 between years 2009-2011.

Doctor Legum - LLD / South Africa continues to experience one of the highest crime rates in the world. Crime is unevenly distributed, and the police are not trusted by the majority of citizens. The power and responsibility for policing lies with the national government, through South Africa’s negotiated constitutional framework. Only a limited form of policing under local government, severely constrained by onerous requirements, is permitted in the legislative framework. Such centralisation of policing in federal states is theorised to be necessary to avoid partisan policing and armed separatism; to prevent local capture of police by local politicians; to ensure uniformity, equity and democratic change, and to ensure equitable outcomes; and to bring efficiencies of scale to policing.

This study presents an investigation of ethnic discrimination in municipalities, by conducting a corresponding test, asking for information about available housing plots, and further examines if the municipalities are contributing to the ethnic discrimination in the housing market. The experiment was conducted by creating two fictitious couples, one Arabic and one Swedish, which was used in the emails, which then was sent out to all municipalities in Sweden. The corresponding test measured the callback rate, the time to receive a reply from the municipality and excluded auto generated replies from the municipalities. We present evidence of ethnic discrimination in the treatment of non natives, using the variable Reply, we found that the Arabic couple were being discriminated against on a 5 percent significance level, with them getting 8,62 percent less answers, Thus, the study's findings indicate that the Arabic couple is being disfavored, relative to the Swedish couple, when emailing municipalities. We conclude that municipalities, could be a contributing factor to the existing ethnic discrimination of non natives in the housing market.

The continuous failure of South African municipal administration, governance and oversight, renders the effectiveness of the municipal audit committee, questionable. The purpose of this study is to propose a framework for improving audit committee effectiveness in South African municipalities. The purpose was achieved by obtaining an understanding of the factors influencing the effectiveness of the municipal audit committees from municipal stakeholders and audit committee members; further exploring the factors identified from the stakeholders and audit committee members through a literature study and review of best practices; and acquiring input from stakeholders regarding the relevance and completeness of the framework developed, leading to refining of the framework. A constructivist ontology and interpretivist epistemologies were employed to achieve the research objective and a qualitative research methodology was embraced, comprising of focus groups, a literature study and an interview survey. The agency theory was adopted as the grand theory for this study and the resource-based view of the firm theory was applied to the literature, to extend and complement the existing literature on the effectiveness of audit committees. During the first phase of the study, the Interactive Qualitative Analysis method was harnessed for conducting the focus groups and analyses of the data. Purposive sampling was applied to select 15 participants who were stakeholders and audit committee chairpersons of municipalities, to conduct two focus groups. Twenty-five affinities (factors) and 139 sub-affinities (sub-factors) that influence the effectiveness of audit committees were identified, consolidated into five themes. The second phase was to explore the factors identified by the focus groups through a literature study. The findings of the literature study and focus groups were employed to develop the draft framework consisting of a Framework for audit committees and a Framework for municipalities. The development of these two guides led to a third guide for National Treasury, provincial treasuries and SALGA. In the third phase, purposive and snowball sampling methods were used to select participants to semi-structured interviews, followed by the refinement of the framework. Based on the findings, a framework is proposed, comprising factors that can improve the effectiveness of audit committees in South African municipalities. Furthermore, activities that can be centralised to enhance the effectiveness of municipal audit committees are identified, and an improved framework for agency theory is introduced. / College of Accounting Sciences / D. Phil. (Accounting Sciences)

A thesis submitted in the faculty of Arts at the University of Zululand, 2008. / The major constitutional drive of municipalities in South Africa is the responsibility to promote an improved quality of life of residents. Municipal areas, however, have different capacities, resources and development potentials. The ability to enjoy basic needs and better livelihoods is dependent on how the local economy is functioning and how the existing resources in the area are used to full potential. This study uses Ulundi as a point of reference to provide relevant and meaningful alternatives to problems of development faced by some of the municipal areas in the country and beyond. The study is a situational and land-use analysis of local economic development of the Ulundi Local Municipality (ULM). In the context of the South African space economy, Zululand's two well established towns, Vryheid and Ulundi may be regarded as major country towns, below the level of neighbouring coastal centres such as Richards Bay/Empangeni. Currently, the economic base of Ulundi is a dwindling regional government with little commerce and some informal trading. The theoretical framework of the study is based on theories of local economic development (LED) that are established within the framework of communal participation in integrated development plan (IDP). The aim of the study is to determine the landscape and cultural attributes and their developmental relevance to the economy of Ulundi. The research design involved data collection from the development planning section of the Ulundi Local Municipality, Zululand District Municipality, development planning unit of the department of local government, the political leadership of the municipality and a randomly selected 276 households in the area. The 5 established sections, that is. A, B north, B south, C and D are spatial units by which the data collected are aggregated. As part of the analysis of data, the research design incorporates statistical frequencies, cross tabulation and analysis of associations among attributes using Pearson's chi square tests. The tourism potentials of the environmental features have not been utilised to the fullest. This study proposes and advocates an environment-based strategic option and it justifies this strategic path for purposes of adding value to the Ulundi municipal area with a view to building a sustainable competitive advantage. The proposed conceptual model dwells on the possibility of launching new products and moving into new markets. The Ulundi Local Municipality in collaboration with ZDM and the relevant stakeholders develops and exploits its First World economic assets of tourism, that is, landscape and cultural assets to the fullest within the carrying capacity of its natural resources base.

This diploma thesis focuses on the research of education of representatives of small municipalities. This education is very important, because it influences the level of community management and the quality of life for its inhabitants. Education is currently not obligatory, however the introduction of a wide spectrum of educational programs contributes to professionalization of the government and especially of the local government. The theoretical part of this thesis monitors approaches to the study of the legal status of the municipalities and their legal competences and decision-making autonomy. The practical part deals with the issue of the importance of education for representatives of small municipalities. This issue is analyzed in a particular area of the region Podřipsko, which is the region with a relatively high number of small municipalities. The thesis puts great stress on the result of the questionnaire-research which was done in small municipalities and on the result of the interviews, which were arranged with the representatives of the educational institutions. These results have contributed to the better understanding of the problem and to meeting the goal of the thesis.

The thesis focuses on the role of municipalities in the air protection, particularly on the legal instruments of municipalities within their individual and delegated jurisdiction. The thesis consists of six chapters. The first chapter is introductory and is aimed at the air as the subject of legislation. The second chapter focuses on legislation of municipalities and other chapters describe the role of municipalities in land use, placement and approval of stationary sources of pollution. Further chapter points out specific legal instruments used in transport and the last chapter deals with the possibilities of the municipalities in relation to air pollution by individuals. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)