Attitudes and Perceptions Towards Local Government Service Delivery Efforts in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

There is an on-going debate with regard to the effectiveness of local governments in terms of service provision in South Africa. It is evident that the country has been experiencing several violent service delivery protests in different localities. Hence, this study aims to explore the attitude and perceptions of officers and community representatives regarding the current status of service delivery in Polokwane, Lepelle-Nkumpi and Aganang local municipalities in Limpopo Province. Techniques such as interviews, group discussions and questionnaire were used to collect data. The findings from interviews and discussions show that respondents have discomfort and frustration with the current level of services in their local municipalities. Furthermore, the analysis of the overall attitude indicated that the majority of the respondents uphold the view that service delivery is largely inadequate in the local municipalities under study. Likewise, the analysis on the degree of response revealed the key factors that affect the local service delivery, inter alia: limited administrative capacity to function and manage finances; huge service delivery backlogs; and insufficient incentives for performance. Therefore, it is recommended that the local municipalities should continuously assess the satisfaction level of their beneficiary community with regard to the various types of services provided by municipalities. The local municipalities should also focus on key strategic interventions such as: building their institutional capacity; improving financial management and administration; and improving incentives and stipends to the key role players of service delivery. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n20p224