Magister Administrationis - MAdmin / Local government is a key point of service delivery and is the sphere where most people
interface with government. A good relationship with communities at local government
level is therefore critical. Ward committees were designed to improve the relationship
between citizens and municipalities and to give effect to the constitutional obligations of
municipalities, to provide democratic government and to involve citizens in the affairs of
local government.
The establishment of ward committees has been met with great enthusiasm by local
communities, as a platform to engage with municipalities. National government and
provincial governments were key drivers in this project , with support to municipalities in
the establishment of ward committee. This endeavour was intended to facilitate better
relationships and cooperation between council and its communities.
This objective of this research study was to explore whether participatory democracy can
be enhanced through a participatory monitoring and evaluation approach within the
current ward committee system. The main research question was whether ward
committees could be utilised as effective instruments for participatory monitoring and
evaluation of municipal service? The sub-questions were: what is the theoretical and legal
framework for ward committees; what was the status of ward committee in Knysna
Municipality; what were the challenges of the ward committee system; is there a role for
ward committees in participatory monitoring and evaluation; and were there
recommendations for the involvement of ward committees in participatory, monitoring
and evaluation and improvement of the efficacy of ward committees?
The study arose out of continuous service delivery protests by communities because of the
dissatisfaction with the state of municipal services. Secondly, various research studies
have found that, despite national, provincial and local government support programmes
for ward committees, the majority remain ineffective and inefficient, and the social
distance between communities and municipalities is growing. The lack of communication
and the non-responsiveness of municipalities were found to be some of the main causes
for the ineffectiveness of ward committees. Key theorists suggest that some of these
protests would not occur if effective monitoring and evaluation are institutionalised and
communities are involved in monitoring and evaluation. A participatory approach for
monitoring and evaluation was therefore examined within the local government legislative
framework of South Africa.
A qualitative research method was chosen, using a case study design. The case study
design was chosen because such studies do not attempt to make any generalisations in
term of the results or that it will be similar in another case study. This study was focussed
on exploring and understanding the issue. Primary data was collected through interviews
and focus groups with ward committee members, ward councillors and municipal
officials.
Key findings gave emphasis to challenges of lack of communication, non-responsiveness
of municipalities and contestation from other community-based organisations that had a
negative impact on the credibility and authority of ward committees. The effectiveness of
the municipal performance management system as a monitoring and evaluation tool was
also questioned in the findings.
The significance or value of the study lies in the finding that willingness for participatory
monitoring and evaluation exists as does the insight into the status of municipal
performance management systems. Recommendations are made for delegating monitoring
and evaluation functions to ward committees. Further investigations into modalities for
participatory or result-based monitoring and evaluation, as well as the impact of financial
and audit driven performance management system are recommended.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uwc/oai:etd.uwc.ac.za:11394/6522 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | de Vries, Stephen |
| Contributors | Ile, Isioma |
| Publisher | University of the Western Cape |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | University of the Western Cape |
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