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Theses and dissertations (Management Sciences)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/14

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Municipal services

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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Ethical leadership and service delivery : a case of Mangaung Metropolitan area
    (2024-05) Kganyape, Obakeng; Lekhanya, Lawrence Mpele
    The study assessed the ethical leadership impact and service delivery challenges in Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality (MMM), in the Free State province of South Africa. An interview and open-ended questionnaire were used to gather in-depth information from individuals, allowing participants to voice their own opinions and ideas. The study provided inductive reasoning; as a result, holistic results can be interpreted. The sampling size was drawn from five ward committees consisting of 10 members, with two members from each ward selected as participants. Ten randomly selected residents from Mangaung and two senior managers from MMM were also considered for interviews. Therefore, a total of 10 ward committee members, two senior managers and 10 selected residents were used as a means of gathering data through interviews and a semi-structured questionnaire. The findings of the study reveal poor compliance with legislation, ineffective policy implementation, and shortage of skills required for Local Economic Development (LED), as well as poor ethical leadership, resulted in slow service delivery provision. The study also showed financial constraints are a significant problem in MMM. It was, furthermore, revealed that MMM is currently placed under national administration, and the researcher noted the unhappiness of the Mangaung community with the poor service delivery and unfair job appointments in MMM, which resulted in service delivery protests around Mangaung. The findings highlight that certain ward committees believe residents are deprived of services in Mangaung due to political (dys) functionality and failure of employees to execute their duties efficiently. The study results will be highly beneficial to researchers, scholars, policy makers, and MMM officials, as well as CoGTA, SALGA and other relevant stakeholders. Generalisation of the research findings ought to be undertaken with care; however, further research is encouraged and could focus on other municipalities and Metropolitan municipalities in the country.
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    Monitoring and evaluation on the performance of local government in South Africa: insight from selected district municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal
    (2023) Mabizela, Hlengiwe Nomzamo; Zwane, Zwelithini Mangethe
    The poor quality of service delivery in South African municipalities has been documented in numerous studies. The lack of appropriate monitoring and evaluation and complete disregard of adherence to processes and procedures in terms the provisions of legislations such as the Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000 are two of the main causes of poor service delivery. Poor performance as a result, has been noted in municipalities across South Africa. UThukela, Amajuba, and uMgungundlovu district municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal were used as case studies in this research to examine the effect of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) on the performance of municipalities in South Africa. Municipal employees within Performance Management Systems unit (PMS) and Corporate Services unit made up the target population of the research study. The sample consisted of 20 participants, with 10 from the uThukela district municipality, 2 from the Amajuba district municipality, and 8 from the uMgungundlovu district municipality. The research adopted a qualitative approach and followed a purposive sampling method to identify key respondents based on their expertise and understanding of the research issue. Data collection involved conducting focus group discussions with the selected participants. The collected data were analysed using the NVivo software programme, wherein data was categorised into themes and coded for the presentation of findings and discussion of the results. Consent was obtained from participants through the gatekeeper letters and the signing of consent forms. The main goal of the research was to contribute to the body of knowledge while identifying alternate M&E methods that the municipalities can adopt in their key functions to improve performance and service delivery. The study analysed the effects of M&E on the performance of local government, and the models and systems utilised by municipalities to conduct M&E. It further interrogated challenges associated with M&E within the identified municipalities and the contributions of M&E towards improving performance and effective service delivery. According to the findings, M&E in local government have been challenging as a result of the absence of comprehensive M&E systems, capacity and resources. This is one of the factors that contribute to lack of service delivery and poor performance. Weak M&E systems and practices add to municipal failure to achieve their constitutional mandate of service delivery and enhanced performance. Thus, the research reveals that M&E is essential to ensure that local government responds to the needs and demands of the people and enhances municipal performance. Admittedly, there is no single approach to resolve these challenges contronting municipalities, however, M&E can provide the conditions for increased and sustained performance. To realise the goal of improving M&E within local government, the research suggests that municipalities should institutionalise M&E through prioritising and embracing M&E as a crucial instrument for facilitating results-based progressive local government. Municipalities should encourage mandatory compliance with the systems and procedures, adopt information technology systems to advance and strengthen the application of M&E, and adopt approaches such as participatory M&E to evaluate the impact of its functions and development initiatives.
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    The effectiveness of ward committees and community participation in influencing service delivery in eThekwini Municipality
    (2019) Duma, Sikhumbuzo Sikhosiphi; Mabusela, Maria Sewela
    The study focused on evaluating the role of Ward Committees relative to encouraging community participation in the eThekwini Municipality. It must be noted that the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa highlights the importance of public participation as an essential element of successful good governance. The wave of service delivery protests in the country prompted the desire to explore this study. The Municipal Structures Act (Act No. 117 of 1998) provides for the establishment of Ward Committees. The Act provides clear guidelines for Ward Committees hence, Section 72 states that the objective of a Ward Committee is to enhance participatory democracy in local government. The main objective of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of Ward Committees and Community Participation in influencing service delivery in eThekwini Municipality. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Ward Committees and community participation in influencing service delivery in eThekwini Municipality. The study used both the qualitative and quantitative research approaches for this research. The interview participants of the study were the Ward Councillors in Wards 95, 96 and 105 and the respondents were from the above wards. The study revealed that the Ward Committee members did not entirely understand their roles. Furthermore, the study revealed that the Ward Councillors tend to overshadow the Ward Committee members to the extent that the general community members end up dealing directly with the Ward Councillor even on issues that otherwise would have been handled by the respective portfolios of the ward committee. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended, amongst other things, that training and development of the residents on when, how and why they should participate in municipal affairs must be provided on a regular basis. Furthermore, the qualitative interviews with participants revealed the need for a review of the system of Ward Committees because the Structures Act contradicts itself at times. For example, the Act requires that, in addition to a fair representation of genders, the Ward Committee must represent a diversity of interests within the ward and limits the number of the Ward Committee to ten. In real life, interests may exceed the limit of ten as prescribed by the Act.
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    Ethical leadership and service delivery : a case of Msunduzi Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal Province
    (2021-03) Mbandlwa, Zamokuhle; Dorasamy, Nirmala; Fagbadebo, Omololu M.
    Leadership ethics in the South African government has been a challenge, especially in a democratic government. South African government leaders have paid less attention to leadership ethics but mainly focused on reducing corruption, which is the result of poor leadership ethics. Poor public service delivery by various government institutions shows that there is a lack of leadership ethics by those entrusted with a responsibility to lead government institutions. Good leadership ethics are important for all spheres of government. The overall aim of the study was to explore and examine the challenges of ethics in leadership at a local government level and the impact of ethics on public service delivery using the case study of Msunduzi local government. The study examined the extent to which ethical leadership affected public service delivery at Msunduzi Municipality. It also investigated the perceptions of employees and executive managers of the Municipality regarding the disposition of the leadership towards ethical behaviours. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection and analysis. The study obtained its data from interviews, questionnaires, public documents, and existing literature. The study found that a lack of leadership ethics affected the public service delivery in the Municipality, and its attendant effects on the economic and social services. Leaders who do not have regard for ethical conduct have no passion for public service delivery. Lack of leadership ethics in government institutions affected the operation. The study discovered further that the lack of leadership ethics at the local government institutions disrupted national and provincial government plans to provide effective public services. Msunduzi municipality has experienced several challenges, which include the mismanagement of public funds, corruption, and poor administration. This municipality had qualified audits for more than three consecutive years, and it was placed under administration. The researcher developed an ethical behavior model that can be used to improve leadership ethics in government institutions.