Exploring the complexities of the relationship between political and administrative interface in Uthukela District Municipality : a systems’ thinking perspective

Abstract

Systems theory leverages effective diagnosis and management of the complexities of politicaladministrative interface in the contemporary polycentric local governance systems. It is in that context that this research uses systems theory to evaluate the nature of the complexities of politicaladministrative interface in uThukela District Municipality and its Alfred Duma, Inkosi Langalibalele and Okhahlamba Local Municipalities. Such analysis is aimed to extract a systems model that can be adopted for diagnosing and managing such complexities not only in uThukela District Municipality, but also in the entire South African local governance system. The study is motivated by both practical deficiencies in uThukela District Municipality and its local Municipalities as well as theoretical deficiencies that characterise most of the existing studies on managing complex local governance systems. To therefore, address such practical and theoretical deficiencies, this study uses systems theory to evaluate the nature of the complexities of political-administrative interface vis-a-vis other actors in uThukela District Municipality and its local Municipalities. Through such analysis, the study aimed to identify a comprehensive systems model that can be extracted and suggested to uThukela for diagnosing and managing such complexities. The entire research process is guided by certain six critical research objectives and questions. First research objective and question evaluate and identify the critical political actors and their interactive activities in uThukela District Municipalities. Second research objective and question examine and identify the critical administrative and management actors and their interactive activities in uThukela District Municipalities. Third research objective and question assess and identify the complex networks of the other critical actors that integrate with politicaladministrative interface in uThukela District Municipalities. Fourth research objective and question analyse the complexities that arise from politicaladministrative interface vis-à-vis other actors and their impacts in uThukela District Municipalities. Fifth research objective and question examine the effectiveness of the approaches that are used for managing such complexities in uThukela District Municipalities. Sixth research objective and question sought to identify and extract a systems model that can be adopted for diagnosing and managing such complexities not only in uThukela District Municipalities, but also in the entire South African local governance system. Basing on these six critical research objectives and questions, theories revealed local governance organisations to be analogous to systems that constitute of different internal interactive subsystems and actors that also influence or are instead influenced by certain external actors. Certainly, such theoretical articulations echoed fundamental argument in this research that the use of systems approach would aid effective diagnosis and management of the complexities of politicaladministrative interface vis-à-vis other actors in uThukela District Municipality and its local Municipalities. Primary research was undertaken to analyse, compare and triangulate such theoretical articulations with empirical findings reflecting actual experiences of actual political, administrative and other actors in such complexities. Primary research was based on phenomenological ontology as the research philosophy to elicit practical views from the actual actors or participants in the political-administrative interface vis-à-vis other actors’ complexities in uThukela District Municipalities. Phenomenological ontology dictated the use of case study and exploratory research designs as well as qualitative research method. Qualitative research method entailed the use of interviews as the principal technique to elicit facts in their real natural settings and context. This aided thorough diagnosis and identifications of the points of conflicts and antagonisms in such complexities. Such research ontology, designs and methods were used to elicit views from a sample of thirty participants consisting of mayors, speakers, members executive council committees, oversight committees and all Section 54 and 56 in uThukela District Municipality and its local Municipalities. Primary data was collected through semi-structured interviews to permit eliciting of new insights from the participants. Obtained qualitative data from each of the thirty participants was thematically analysed. Thematic analysis was used to extract coherent common set of themes, subthemes and their associated narratives that logically and chronologically explain the critical political actors, administrative actors, other actors, such actors’ interactive activities, points of conflicts and antagonisms that induce complexities from such interactive activities. It also extracted themes and narratives on the impacts of such complexities on service delivery and the effectiveness of the approach so far used for managing such complexities. Findings imply that besides political-administrative interface, uThukela District Municipality as a “system” also constitutes of other subsystems that are reflected in the form of Alfred Duma, Inkosi Langalibalele and Okhahlamba Local Municipalities. However, as actors in such political and administrative subsystems interact with each other, they were also found to interact with certain other critical actors like certain community activists as well as business actors. To mitigate and manage these complexities of political-administrative, uThukela District Municipality was found to emphasise prohibiting political office-holders from holding municipal administrative offices and enforcement of councillors’ Code of Conduct to prevent their interference in municipal administration. Other measures were reiterated to include suggestion for abolition of speaker’s office, streamlining relationship between the mayor and municipal manager and use of relevant laws to manage collusions leading to corruption. To deal with such complexities, this study triangulated findings with theories to extract and suggest a systems model that can be adopted to comprehensively diagnose and manage the complexities of political-administrative interface vis-à-vis other actors in uThukela District and its local Municipalities. It is argued in that systems model that effective diagnosis and management of the complexities of political-administrative interface would require the application of certain six critical steps. In otherwords, the study not only suggested a systems model that can be emulated by uThukela District Municipality and its local Municipalities, but also by the entire South African local governance system. Even though through such systems model, this research enriched the existing theories on public administration and management, future studies must still assess how such a model can be scientifically tested using confirmatory factor analysis.