The role of service delivery for local economic development : a case study of Mamelodi township, 1999-2008
- Authors: Ramafamba, Elvis
- Date: 2011-08-31T06:47:31Z
- Subjects: Economic development , Municipal services , Local government , Community development , Mamelodi (South Africa)
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:7176 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3787
- Description: M.Comm. , The study aims to give a better understanding of the relationship between service delivery and local economic development through the examination of local economic development theories and by evaluating their historical development and evolution in the world, Africa and South Africa. The study also determines, through assessment of available information, whether or not some of the areas in Mamelodi are receiving services from the municipality or local government to sustain local economic development. The theories underpinning LED were examined in this study, and all indicate that there exists a strong relationship between LED and service delivery. From the early stages of LED, areas with inadequate service delivery failed to attract businesses that are instrumental to LED. Central place theory maintains different growth prospects of central and peripheral regions. Attraction theory indicates that communities initiate policies and strategies that will make their areas more attractive. There is a need for the adequate provision of infrastructure to sustain LED, as indicated by the growth and regional theory. Economic base theory maintains that the success of the local economy is determined by the demand of its produced goods, services and products by areas outside its local economic boundaries. Location theory emphasises the importance of minimum cost due to the state of the industrial site in the local area. LED has been developed in different countries to address various economic problems. After the great depression, there was a high rate of unemployment and LED was used as an instrument to create jobs for the local communities in some countries. The study indicates that in some countries like Latin America where LED was implemented, economic problems such as unemployment in the municipal level were addressed. South Africa also had the objective of addressing unemployment in the municipal areas when LED was introduced. However, municipalities have to draft the integrated development plans to indicate how they can tackle such problems. Mamelodi has a number of projects implemented as a way of promoting LED. Jobs were created and areas improved economically. The CTMM has also provided some funding to ensure that the infrastructure in Mamelodi is adequate to support LED. However, much still needs to be done as the area has a number of challenges in terms of housing, water supply, and other related infrastructure for LED. Service delivery has an important role to play in the sustainability of LED. The history of LED has shown that countries that did not provide services in their municipalities failed to succeed in LED as compared to those with adequate service delivery. Financial incentives are other factors that play a major role in the sustainability of LED. Businesses need to be supported financially to create jobs and retain existing jobs.
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Transparent and open governance : web content analysis of metropolitan infrastructure development and investments information at local level – a comparative study of four metropolitan cities of South Africa and India
- Authors: Ogra, Aurobindo , Thwala, Wellington Didibhuku
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: e-Governance , Municipal services , Transparency in government , Web content analysis
- Type: Article
- Identifier: http://ujcontent.uj.ac.za8080/10210/378116 , uj:6056 , ISBN 978-0-620-54069-8 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/10469
- Description: The efficient municipal service delivery, expectations and perceptions of citizens are one of the important issues which are central to any municipality across various parts of the world. Among these issues, the transparency and accountability, management of funds for local development attracts special interest among citizens, organization, NGOs, and other stakeholders involved in the development process. The vicious cycle of financial constraints and poor service delivery often results into diversion of funds from earmarked development areas to the areas demanding priority attention. These issues still remain unaddressed and hidden in the absence of appropriate transparent and open government accessibility at internal as well as external levels within the municipal context. The paper highlights key findings from selected metropolitan cities of South Africa and India by doing exploratory comparative analysis about to what extent are the municipal websites addressing the issues of transparent and open governance. The assessment of municipal websites is focused on the issues of access to information on development funds and projects at local level to citizens and other stakeholders. The web content analysis on selected cities provide a background for discussion on the areas of concern to address the key gaps and initiatives for enabling transparent and open governance through municipal websites.
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Barriers and opportunities for implementation of Clean Development Mechanism in South Africa: a case study of Gauteng Municipalities
- Authors: Ntuli, Princess Ntombifuthi
- Date: 2012-11-05
- Subjects: Clean Development Mechanism , Emission reduction , Greenhouse gas emissions , Clean energy and industries , Municipal services
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:7332 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/8081
- Description: M.Phil. , Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) can be defined as one of the project-based mechanisms established under the Kyoto protocol mechanism as a supplementary measure to assist Annex 1 parties meet their emission reduction targets through investing in project activities that reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and contribute to sustainable development in Non–Annex 1 countries. These projects reduce GHG emissions and generate credits called Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) that the Annex 1 party can use to meet their emission reduction obligations under the Kyoto Protocol [Curnow & Hodes, 2009]. While countries such as China and India have benefited remarkably from the CDM, African countries (including South Africa (SA)) have failed to maximise the financial benefits offered by this mechanism. Even though South Africa is leading, in terms of the number of registered CDM projects in Africa, it is still lagging far behind other developing regions in this regard. The South African leaders in CDM project development are in the private sector. This research aims to identify the constraints that inhibit large scale implementation of CDM projects by Gauteng Municipalities and to investigate the reasons why South African municipalities are lagging behind the private sector in CDM project development, and identify opportunities for further development of CDM projects. This identification was achieved by compiling a list of known barriers (then investigating these barriers together with a number of other factors that may impact negatively on the CDM market in South Africa) The study was conducted using qualitative research techniques, which utilises methods such as participant observation, in-depth interviews and/or focus groups. Three different groups of respondents were identified: (i) the European CER buyers; (ii) the project developers/ CDM consultants in South Africa; and (iii) the Gauteng municipal officials responsible for CDM project development. A separate questionnaire was compiled for each of the three target groups, with purpose of drawing conclusions about the prevailing status of the South African CDM market from the perspectives of these three different groups. Three previous studies have been conducted to investigate the barriers of implementing CDM in South Africa, examining the problem from various perspectives. Little et al. [2007] conducted a study that focused on the inhibiting and facilitating factors affecting the implementation of CDM by South African industries. Wilson [2007] focused on the barriers against and drivers for the implementation of CDM within the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality - this study drew conclusions about CDM implementation in municipalities based on the experiences of this single municipality. Winkler and van Es [2007] dealt with the opportunities and constraints of the CDM implementation in energy efficiency projects throughout South Africa.
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Evaluating implementation of the integrated development plan towards service delivery in a local municipality
- Authors: Mokalane, Boitumelo Justice
- Date: 2014-06-20
- Subjects: Local government - South Africa , Shared services (Management) , Municipal services
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:11559 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/11266
- Description: M.Com. (Business Management) , It has been evidenced through the strategic management theory and literature perused in this study, that transformation of strategies and plans into actual results could only happen through efficient and effective implementation. Any efforts to translate strategy into action that are not guided by the principles of strategy implementation theory have often proven futile or insufficient, thus failure to achieve strategic objectives became the default result for many organisations. Continuous evaluation of this critical implementation phase of the strategic management process enables identification of challenges that cause inefficiency and ineffectiveness and lays a foundation to resolve and improve these identified hiccups. Because of the ever-changing environments within which organisations operate, new challenges are confronted, hence the need for continuous study to identify these challenges and seek solutions to improve the process of implementation of plans and strategies. This study therefore evaluates the implementation process of the Integrated Development Plan as a strategy towards attainment of goals in a local municipality. Recommendations based on strategy implementation theory and literature, are made to deal with identified challenges.
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Municipal consumer debt in South African Municipalities : contexts, causes, and realities
- Authors: Enwereji, Prince Chukwuneme , Uwizeyimana, Dominique
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Municipal services , Payment for services , Residents
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/426312 , uj:36562 , Enwereji, P.C., Uwizeyimana, D.: Municipal Consumer Debt in South African Municipalities : contexts, causes, and realities. DOI: doi.org/10.5430/rwe.v11n3p
- Description: Abstract: The payment for municipal services by the residents in South Africa has been a much-deliberated issue as consumer debts in many municipalities continue to intensify due to payment default or non-payment. The main aim of this study was to investigate the development of non-payment culture for municipal services, the main causes of non-payment for municipal services, and the measures to improve the payment culture for municipal services. This study adopted a mixed-methods research approach incorporating both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. A convergent mixed methods design was adopted which enhanced the richness of data by triangulating the findings from quantitative and qualitative datasets. Data was collected from the residents using questionnaires and online interviews with executive municipal employees. Findings obtained from the study indicate that the non-payment culture for municipal services has its origin from the anti-apartheid struggle. Furthermore, it was disclosed that the reasons for non-payment for municipal services are compounded as poverty, unemployment, the culture of entitlement, dissatisfaction with service provision, corruption of municipal workers, rise in the cost of municipal services, communication gap issues, and problems associated with municipal decision-making. The study recommends that the municipalities should provide adequate services to the residents and adequately engage in a wide outreach to residents through various electronic media or IDP programmes to educate them on the advantages of paying for the services consumed.
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The role of leadership attributes in basic service delivery at local municipalities
- Authors: Kotze, Cindy Jasmin
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Leadership - South Africa , Local government - Customer services - South Africa - Evaluation , Municipal services
- Language: English
- Type: Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/474672 , uj:42793
- Description: Abstract: Service delivery plays an essential role in society, where local government is responsible for providing basic services that meet basic human rights. Municipal leaders are, therefore, expected to align people, procedures and systems with government’s vison and objective. This phenomenological study was to gain a better understanding about how leadership in South Africa’s public sector is currently perceived and what leadership attributes would be needed to improve basic service delivery. This may be of importance considering the influences of colonisation, apartheid and the difficulties in establishing a leadership theory that would represent the respective cultures in SA. , M.Phil. (Industrial Psychology)
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Municipal consumer debt in South African municipalities : contexts, causes, and realities
- Authors: Enwereji, P. C. , Uwizeyimana, D. E.
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Municipal services , Payment for services , Residents
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/438852 , uj:38159 , Citation: Enwereji, P.C. & Uwizeyimana, D.E. 2020. Municipal consumer debt in South African municipalities : contexts, causes, and realities.
- Description: Abstract: The payment for municipal services by the residents in South Africa has been a much-deliberated issue as consumer debts in many municipalities continue to intensify due to payment default or non-payment. The main aim of this study was to investigate the development of non-payment culture for municipal services, the main causes of non-payment for municipal services, and the measures to improve the payment culture for municipal services. This study adopted a mixed-methods research approach incorporating both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. A convergent mixed methods design was adopted which enhanced the richness of data by triangulating the findings from quantitative and qualitative datasets. Data was collected from the residents using questionnaires and online interviews with executive municipal employees. Findings obtained from the study indicate that the non-payment culture for municipal services has its origin from the anti-apartheid struggle. Furthermore, it was disclosed that the reasons for non-payment for municipal services are compounded as poverty, unemployment, the culture of entitlement, dissatisfaction with service provision, corruption of municipal workers, rise in the cost of municipal services, communication gap issues, and problems associated with municipal decision-making. The study recommends that the municipalities should provide adequate services to the residents and adequately engage in a wide outreach to residents through various electronic media or IDP programmes to educate them on the advantages of paying for the services consumed.
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