An assessment of community consultation and participation: a case study of the Umhlontlo Local Municipality
- Authors: Sondaba, Nomakhaya Princess
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Citizen participation Political participation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/14389 , vital:27580
- Description: South African municipalities have often been labelled as failing in the provision of services to local communities. These allegations include poor governance, mal administration, corruption and poor delivery of services to where they are needed most. Certain municipalities, however, are unable to deliver sufficient services to the communities of their geographic areas due to mal administration, political interference and corruption. This study is about the analysis of Community Participation and Consultation in Local Government, using the Umhlontlo Local Municipality as a case study. The focus of the study was on the participation of communities in the decision making processes of their local municipalities. The issue of community participation in decision making has been receiving attention in South Africa, from both government and civil society sectors. Only 50% of the areas are receiving running water, enjoying electricity and living in RDP houses. Government in many parts of the world has begun to take a fresh look at the need for public participation in the decision making process. The main problem that will be addressed in this study, is the extent to which communities can be involved in the decision making process in the Umhlontlo Local Municipality. To address this research problem and to achieve the aim of this study, an in-depth review of the literature on decision making was conducted. The empirical research was done by distributing self-administered questionnaires to the participants in Umhlontlo Local Municipality. The research findings will reveal that there is poor community consultation. This report presents the findings of a study conducted to identify the strategies and consultation structures used in the participation of communities in the decision making processes. Measures of effectiveness of these strategies are also indicated in the report. A key indicator of the need for this study was triggered by the non-attendance of the communities in the IDP (Define IDP – Integrated Development Plan) road shows and also by the complaints of a serious lack in service delivery. It was also noted that there was little understanding of the IDP concept & documentation. The results of this study also show that the communities do not fully participate in the development planning processes. The researcher hopes that this study will sensitize the communities to participate in the affairs of their development so as to accelerate progress in communities, which will further improve the quality of their lives.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Investigating the implementation of the employment equity plan at Amatola Water Board in the province of the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Gotyi, Zamikhaya Gladwell
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: South Africa -- Amatola Water Board , Discrimination in employment -- South Africa , Affirmative action programs -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8280 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1016268
- Description: With the advent of democracy in South Africa in the early 1990s, the new government had to introduce major social, economic and political changes in order to undo the damages inflicted by many years of both colonialism and apartheid. These changes included the scrapping of discriminatory legislations and drafting of new laws to regulate employment practices. Amongst the pieces of legislation that the new South African government put in place, the Employment Equity Act, (Act 55 of 1998) was a major turning point in the elimination of discrimination at the workplace and redressing the injustices of the previous regimes. The Act is aimed at regulating the employment practices in an attempt to make the workplace a true reflection of the South African demographics. As a result, the promulgation of the Act had a major impact on the organisations in South Africa and has affected the way they now do business. Although the Act has been in existence for 14 years, progress in the implementation of employment equity and affirmative action in organisations in South Africa has been far less significant, particularly in the representation of women in managerial positions. In South Africa, an overwhelming majority of managerial positions are still occupied by men, with marginal women occupying management positions. Thus, women are still experiencing discrimination and under-representation at the workplace. Noting this trend at Amatola Water Board, the researcher decided to investigate the extent of progress the organisation has achieved in the implementation of its Employment Equity Plan 2009-2014. The objectives of the study were to identify factors that could assist the organisation to effectively implement the Plan, identify the impediments that pose challenges to effective implementation of the Plan in the organisation, and establish the perceptions of employees on the implementation of the Plan in the organisation. To collect data for the study, the researcher used a qualitative research approach. In this regard, the researcher used questionnaires and interviews to collect qualitative data. A sample of fifty employees was selected for the administration of questionnaires and four additional employees were selected for interviews. Both samples were selected by purposive sampling. The study has established that employment equity is still a challenge that South African organisations are struggling to implement. The study has revealed that, at Amatola Water Board, there are indeed various factors that contribute to the low representation of women in managerial positions. These factors include the lack of management support for the implementation of the Employment Equity Plan, recruitment processes that fail to recruit sufficient numbers of qualified applicants, training and development practices that fail to produce the required number of qualified employees, unconducive organisational culture, veiled racial and gender stereotypes, and inadequate communication. Suggestions and recommendations to address these challenges have been espoused.
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- Date Issued: 2012