Understanding the policy-planning-implementation disjuncture: a case study of the Amathole District Municipality, Eastern Cape Province
- Authors: Mhlahlo, Andile
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Political planning -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Amathole District Municipality (South Africa) -- Planning
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/168521 , vital:41591
- Description: The aim of this study is to investigate why well planned policies are not getting implemented as intended. The study was conducted in the offices of Amathole District Municipality (ADM) in the Eastern Cape Province, including the cooperative project in Alice as one of the projects that was coordinated by the ADM. Concerning the research design and methodology, a qualitative research design was used. The data collection process involved conducting unstructured interviews with the officers from the Amathole District Municipality office (the ADM officers / the municipality officers) and the members of cooperative projects (cooperatives/projects). Mainly, an ethnographic approach was used; it involved embracing participant observation in the ADM offices for approximately 6 months. As the researcher, I participated as one of the ADM’s officers in different activities, namely: attending meetings and one workshop, and accompanying the development officer while conducting an observation of various projects in Butterworth. The findings in the study disclose that the disjuncture between policy planning and implementation may be attributed to 4 factors, which are associated with the ADM office as the development agency for the Amathole region. These are: the incapability to respond to policy implementation complexities, failure to exploit policy implementation complexities as learning opportunities, the insufficient understanding of ‘process monitoring’ as a tool that could be integrated in projects management, as well as the execution of policy implementation in the absence of policy documents as a guide in implementation processes. Moreover, these factors are examined as being related to each other, and they will be discussed in detail in the course of the thesis.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Understanding the policy-planning-implementation disjuncture: a case study of the Amathole District Municipality, Eastern Cape Province
- Authors: Mhlahlo, Andile
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Political planning -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Amathole District Municipality (South Africa) -- Planning
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/4422 , vital:20668
- Description: The aim of this study is to investigate why well planned policies are not getting implemented as intended. The study was conducted in the offices of Amathole District Municipality (ADM) in the Eastern Cape Province, including the cooperative project in Alice as one of the projects that was coordinated by the ADM. Concerning the research design and methodology, a qualitative research design was used. The data collection process involved conducting unstructured interviews with the officers from the Amathole District Municipality office (the ADM officers / the municipality officers) and the members of cooperative projects (cooperatives/projects). Mainly, an ethnographic approach was used; it involved embracing participant observation in the ADM offices for approximately 6 months. As the researcher, I participated as one of the ADM’s officers in different activities, namely: attending meetings and one workshop, and accompanying the development officer while conducting an observation of various projects in Butterworth. The findings in the study disclose that the disjuncture between policy planning and implementation may be attributed to 4 factors, which are associated with the ADM office as the development agency for the Amathole region. These are: the incapability to respond to policy implementation complexities, failure to exploit policy implementation complexities as learning opportunities, the insufficient understanding of ‘process monitoring’ as a tool that could be integrated in projects management, as well as the execution of policy implementation in the absence of policy documents as a guide in implementation processes. Moreover, these factors are examined as being related to each other, and they will be discussed in detail in the course of the thesis.
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- Date Issued: 2017
A case study of public service delivery in Cookhouse, Eastern Cape
- Authors: Makrwalana, Nomlindo Lillian
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal services -- Management -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Sustainable development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/6986 , vital:21188
- Description: In South Africa the economic gaps imposed by the previous apartheid government aggravated economic inequalities and caused considerable disparities, which has resulted in high unemployment rates. Inequalities were also manifest in the neglect of infrastructural and service provision as well in the effective absence of independent governance among some race groups. This led to a call for pro-active initiatives by the post-1994 democratic government to remedy the living condition of the previously disadvantage people. As part of this poverty relief drive the South African government has embarked on a series of developmental initiatives in bringing infrastructure related service to the poor and to reduce the enormous prevailing backlog, with the aim of increasing community participation, improving service delivery and promoting the upliftment of the lives of poor people through the medium of local governance. This study investigated the integrated Development Planning, which has been undertaken in Cookhouse in Blue Crane Route Municipality in the Eastern Cape to respond to the prevailing poverty and underdevelopment among the poor communities.
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- Date Issued: 2016
Assessing the local government turnaround strategy: the case of Ngqushwa Local Municipality
- Authors: Bokwe, Nosiphiwo Gloria
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal corporations -- South Africa , Regional planning -- Citizen participation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8312 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020084
- Description: The thrust of the study is to investigate the Local Government Turnaround Strategy as introduced by Cabinet in the year 2009. In this treatise a critical evaluation of the Local Government Turnaround Strategy that was passed by cabinet as a panacea that seeks to address the challenges that are being faced by municipalities today will be embarked upon. A case study of the Ngqushwa Local Municipality in the Amathole District Municipal area will be undertaken with the view to understand whether the Local Government Turnaround Strategy will indeed assist ailing local municipalities like Ngqushwa. As can be seen in our country, apartheid has left many problems both in the social, economic and political realms of our society. When local government was first established it was for the perpetuation of separate development as enshrined in the policy of apartheid. Apartheid was not the beginning of geographic, institutional and social separation at the local level. Segregation was already a policy by the time apartheid was introduced in 1948. However, the Group Areas Act, the key piece of legislation, instituted strict residential segregation and compulsory removal of black people to own group areas. Through spatial separation, influx control, and a policy of own management for own areas, apartheid aimed to limit the extent to which affluent white municipalities would bear the financial burden of servicing disadvantaged black areas. These separate developments led to the collapse of the former Black Local Authorities. When the democratic government took over the same challenges reared their heads again. Many intervention programmes were introduced to assist ailing municipalities to be viable. The study thus has tried to indicate how the Turnaround has assisted municipalities like the Ngqushwa Local Municipality.
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- Date Issued: 2014
The contribution of local economic development funded projects in job creation and poverty eradication in Alfred Nzo district municipality
- Authors: Walaza, Kanyiso
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Economic development projects -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Economic development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Poverty -- Government policy -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Job creation -- Government policy -- South Africa , Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9180 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020146
- Description: Job creation and poverty eradication have been the top priority of the South African government over the past few years and continues to be on the agenda. The government is making numerous efforts to aggressively address poverty levels and create jobs. In 1994 the African National Congress (ANC) led government inherited an economy that had glaring disparities. Most of the important economic resources of the country are concentrated in urban areas, while very few economic activities and resources are found in the rural areas. While about 70% of the country’s poorest people live in rural areas, the abundance of economic resources in towns and cities has led to minimal growth taking place in rural areas. High poverty levels continue to manifest itself in various forms and shapes in communities. The negative effects of unemployment continue to threaten our societal well-being and stability. It is evident that in poverty stricken communities there are limited economic development opportunities and have thus become trapped in a poverty cycle, and economic growth is the only sustainable approach of addressing poverty and unemployment. Local economic development (LED) is but one intervention that could be used to create jobs and eradicate poverty at a given locality. LED has been regarded as an approach towards economic development and growth whereby local people are encouraged to work in collaboration in order to achieve sustainable economic growth, bringing economic benefits and improved quality of life for all community members in a municipal area. LED is an intervention solely based at a local level being driven by local people to realise economic benefits that would improve their quality of life. A qualitative study was conducted at Alfred Nzo District Municipality to assess the contribution of LED on job creation and poverty eradication. The target population included LED managers, Project Practitioners, LED Project Beneficiaries, LED Portfolio Councillors in the Alfred Nzo District Municipality and its Local Municipalities as well as relevant sector departments and Public Entities. The study examined the contribution of LED funded projects in job creation and poverty eradication. The project also assessed the problems, issues and challenges in LED and how they are being addressed. The study found that the implementation of LED in Alfred Nzo continues to be ineffective and confronted with numerous challenges. LED has been viewed as one of the tools for job creation targeted at unskilled and unemployed members of the community. Municipalities seem to be under utilising the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) and Equitable Share for funding the LED programme. In most municipalities LED is still regarded as an unfunded mandate. Most municipalities rely heavily on grant funding from sector departments and state owned enterprises for LED. A point of concern is the lack of regular and structured discussions on LED issues within municipalities which continue to re-enforce uncoordinated planning, insufficient budgeting and poor implementation of programmes within the municipality. The study noted serious skills shortages within the project beneficiaries which hamper effective implementation of LED projects. These skills include financial management, project management, conflict resolution and business management. These are core skills for the sound and viability of management of LED projects. Access to markets has been raised as an on-going concern for LED practitioners. It is recommended that a change is made from project-based LED to a business-based approach in LED. This would require all LED projects to be registered business entities, be liable for tax and require them to produce sound business plans before receiving grant funding.
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- Date Issued: 2013
The role of Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in the upkeep and management of open spaces in Zwide Township
- Authors: Zonke, Gcobani
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Refuse and refuse disposal -- Law and legislation -- South Africa , Waste minimization -- Law and legislation -- South Africa -- Nelson Mandela Bay , Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9135 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018657
- Description: This paper is an investigation into the role of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality (NMBMM) in the up-keep and management of open spaces, in Zwide Township. The study examines the manner in which the legislative framework for waste management is being implemented as prescribed in legislative directives. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996), envisions the transformation of the local government system. Subsequently, policy frameworks and principles have been developed to support the new vision of local government. The Batho Pele Principles and the white paper were passed in March 1998. Both documents spelt out the implementation of the principle and the framework in which the local government system should operate as set out in the developmental local government concept. The developmental local government system’s core ethos lies in working with local citizenry to find ways of meeting their needs, thereby improving their quality of life. It also makes provision for public participation. Ward councillors and ward committees are an indispensable backbone of community participation. It is assumed in this study that a number of environmental, social, economic and health challenges are associated with waste disposal in open spaces. Such hazards range from health risks to the abuse of open spaces by antisocial individuals and groups. The situation is exacerbated by poor implementation of constitutional and legislative directives regarding waste management and disposal to ensure a humane and environmentally friendly atmosphere. The research assumes that the problem cannot be overcome by the NMBMM alone. Well-orchestrated community awareness education programmes such as projects like “trash is cash “and innovative ways of managing waste, including waste recycling, need to be drawn upon. The strategic placement of waste stations and the timeous collection of waste could improve the situation. The observation is that the level of service delivery varies within residential areas and in socioeconomic strata. The previously disadvantaged areas seem to have borne the brunt in terms of poor waste management services until now. The municipality has been accustomed to a situation whereby it removes the waste on an ad hoc basis in selected areas in the townships. The situation is exacerbated by little foresight into the ever growing population, specifically amongst the lower socioeconomic sector of the population. As a result, the ecology and environment is impacted in a negative way. Amidst the challenges of dumping in open spaces, a sense of determination appears within the community to want to prevent the situation; to illustrate: There is an organized group of youths who have cleaned up open spaces at along Qeqe Street in Zwide. They developed a car wash bay as a venture to generate an income. The Green Township Movement is another scheme which is mobilising the community, street by street, to keep their neighbourhood environmentally clean and green. Potentially, the Waste Management Directorate could collaborate with these groupings to halt waste dumping in open spaces. In so doing they could contribute to establishing an environmentally friendly neighbourhood. The NMBMM needs therefore to take advantage of the situation and reengineer its waste management strategy, policies and directives and augment the initiatives that the community have taken upon themselves. The study will endeavour to ultimately advise on viable strategies in an attempt to unravel barriers that have been identified, while simultaneously addressing the challenges to improving the quality of life in the township. This will be done by analysing a legislative framework and thereafter replicating the best practice used locally, nationally and internationally.. It also seeks to associate with individuals within local government in addition to groups that are like minded in combating the concern. The existing environmental regulations and the present economic situation are sound starting points. Together they present an opportunity to change the prevailing attitudes towards recycling. Finally, a number of conclusions that were arrived at during the study will be followed by recommendations. These will be based on the literature review and observations.
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- Date Issued: 2013
The role of traditional leaders in enhancing service delivery in Mbhashe Local Municipality
- Authors: Bokwe, Abel Zingisa
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Tribal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Local government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Chiefdoms -- Africa, Southern , Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8262 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1013104
- Description: This study investigates the role of traditional leaders in enhancing service delivery in Mbhashe Local Municipality. The aim is to examine the involvement of traditional leaders in the provision of services to traditional communities. To achieve this goal, it was necessary to review literature on traditional leadership to advance an argument that by utilising the existing channels of communication such as traditional councils, government programmes could be more efficiently advertised. A secondary objective was to examine the relationship between traditional leaders and democratically elected councillors in the delivery of services. The problem in Mbhashe Local Municipality is that traditional leaders and the democratically elected leaders do not work together for service delivery. In order to address this problem, face-to-face interviews were conducted with the identified sample and conclusions drawn from their responses. The research revealed that if properly utilised and capacitated traditional leaders can indeed play a pivotal role in the enhancement of service delivery in Mbhashe Local Municipal area and in South Africa as whole.
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- Date Issued: 2013
The role of traditional leadership in service delivery in the Ngqushwa Municipality
- Authors: Noyila, Mxolisi Amos
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Tribal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal government -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8340 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020635
- Description: The study examines challenges that exist in local government in relation to cooperation or working together between traditional leaders and elected councillors. This challenge can be seen mainly in municipalities that include rural areas. The country constantly faces protests by people expressing dissatisfaction with service delivery. This is a cause of concern and raises several questions. Councillors and traditional leaders point fingers at each other. More often than not, councillors as elected leaders exclude traditional leaders in matters of governance. Traditional leaders on the other hand see councillors as people encroaching into their territory. South Africa is characterised by rural areas that operate under Kings and Chiefs who are natural leaders and enjoy authority over the people, their subjects. Historically, traditional leadership was exercised in rural areas. Tribal authorities used to play a role in defining the lives of the people. Their role was very clear. They presided over the majority of cases in their jurisdiction. With changing times, especially during the apartheid era, communities started to mistrust the traditional leaders. There was a stigma attached to traditional leaders; they were seen as puppets of the government. They were used to perpetuate the apartheid government laws and this created a wedge between them and the community at large. When the new dispensation was ushered in, in 1994, hatred and non-acceptance was at a high level. The election and introduction of councillors to some extent undermined the legitimacy of the rule of traditional leaders. They were not recognised, Councillors do not create space for traditional leaders; there is no consultation and therefore no cooperation between councillors and traditional leaders. Some members of traditional leadership became uncomfortable with this situation and started to forge relations with the African National Congress in exile. In 1987, they formed the Congress of Traditional Leaders (CONTRALESA).
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- Date Issued: 2013
Water service delivery for improved quality of life in the Mbizana Local Municipal
- Authors: Mpange, Zolisa Bavuyise
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Public administration -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Water-supply -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:9146 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018891
- Description: This study deals with water service delivery for improved quality of life in the Mbizana Local Municipality. The study sets out to determine how the inner workings of water service delivery work in the Mbizana Local Municipality, situated in the Eastern Cape, and how this should function in terms of South African legislation. The objectives of the study are to understand the current state of water service delivery in the Mbizana Local Municipality, finding out information about South African legislation regarding the ideal state of water service delivery, and recommending development programmes to improve water service delivery. This study is about understanding trends in the body of scientific knowledge or literature, and studying (as objects) the ideas and writings of other scholars. No empirical study was conducted. The research methodology for this study is descriptive, with data sourced from available literature. The findings in this study indicate that backlogs for water service delivery remain high in the Mbizana Local Municipality. Regrettably, the situation has worsened since 2004; backlogs have shifted from 45 percent to 94 percent of households with no access to tap water. A number of normative criteria to deal with the research problem were extracted from available literature, from which conclusions were drawn and recommendations made.
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- Date Issued: 2012
An analysis of the factors influencing the provision of water in the Buffalo City Municipality, province of the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Zwelibanzi, Mantombi Elizabeth
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Water-supply -- South Africa -- Buffalo City , Municipal services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:8260 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1013011
- Description: Factors affecting the provision of water constitute a great challenge to water officials not only in Buffalo City Municipality but also globally. Interviews form the basic data collection instrument used to provide empirical evidence to the objectives of the study. The objectives of the study are: To evaluate the underlying challenges encountered by water sector Engineers; To evaluate the role of municipal water sector officials in the provision of clean water; To analyse the factors influencing the provision of water in Buffllo City Municipality. Recommendations are provided which could assist Buffalo City Municipality in addressing the challenges affecting the provision of water as follows: The involvement of national and provincial governments in order to improve the Buffalo City Municipal infrastructure and capacity building is highly recommended. Power failure and water interruptions caused by mechanical problems and natural disasters, are further municipal challenges that need to be addressed irrespective of financial constraints. Public and private sector sponsors can be approached to join the initiative. Informal settlements should be formalised and limited to a certain number of people per site or household, depending on the infrastructure. If the infrastructure is not conducive they should be relocated elsewhere. Public and private sector sponsors should offer assistance to Buffalo City Municipality to develop the required water skills, by financing water officials who are interested in furthering their education at tertiary level. Public consultation, through meetings and public forums, and public participation, by the street committees and police forums, are recommended. Coupon systems for basic services like water and electricity for all residents is highly recommended. A generator for the municipal water sector is needed. This will overcome the power failure problem. The provision of water is affected by power outages as water equipment needs electricity to be able to operate. Installation of a water plant in Buffalo City Municipality‟s main dam, the Maden dam, that is supposed to supply King Williams town and the surrounding areas directly.
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- Date Issued: 2011