Local Sphere Of Government Research Articles

Exploring Ethics in South African Municipal Procurement: Professionalism, Compliance, and Ethical Dimensions Interface

Abstract The local government is close to the people who thus, heavily rely on it for basic needs, a legislative imperative enshrined in the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa, the Constitution of 1996. Its purpose is to supply goods and services and encourage the participation of citizens in the realisation of policy objectives. This paper is one-third of a three-series composition sought through a conceptual and theoretical perspective to interrogate the ethical dimensions in which the public service exists within the interface of professionalism and compliance with municipal procurement processes and procedures. While the local sphere of government is crucial in the democratization and intensification of mass participation, there has been a rise in incidents of corruption and fraud, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, and the misuse and misdirection of funds, which gradually erode public trust. This paper employed an interpretivism paradigm and a qualitative approach, and it relied on secondary data The paper found that the erosion of public trust leads to citizens violently protesting, demanding better service delivery and that service delivery is likely to decline when funds are misappropriated since municipalities rely on the procurement of goods and services to initiate public service delivery. Furthermore, the paper found while South Africa has sound, comprehensive and clear legislative policy frameworks that regulate public procurement; implementation remains a challenge.

Interventions at the Local Spheres of Government in South Africa: An Assessment of Monitoring and Evaluation

The post-1994 landscape in South Africa presented millions of individuals—especially the majority Black population who had been subjected to many apartheid policies—with renewed hope for better and improved development opportunities. This stemmed from the fact that the first democratically elected administration of the African National Congress (ANC) promised immense socioeconomic change when they assumed office. These promises became evident from the many socioeconomic policies and Chapter 9 institutions that came to the fore over the last two decades, as well as the mapping of new legislation and policies for local government as enshrined in the Constitution of 1996. These actions were viewed to further the envisioned development trajectories of government, especially as the local government is the government closest to the people. However, post-1994, some municipalities in South Africa have endured massive challenges that have needed numerous involvements from the government through various interventions. This has been a continuous phenomenon, irrespective of the many policies at play to oversee the smooth operation of municipalities. This article delves into the failure of some municipalities in South Africa and interventions of local government in post-apartheid South Africa by scrutinising what drives this phenomenon. Furthermore, it dwells on the impact and challenges of effective monitoring and evaluation (M&E) policies at the local government level.

The Role of Employee Empowerment in Mediating the Effect of Leader-Member Exchange on Employee Performance in Dekranasda Riau Islands Province 2021-2024

The decline in the performance of employees at Dekranasda in the eight districts/cities of the Riau Archipelago province is the background of this research. This study aims to uncover and analyze the effect of empowerment, which mediated the effect of Leader Member Exchange (LMX) on employee performance in Dekranasda, which is dispersed toward eight regencies/the city of Riau Islands Province. The study contributes to the development of the LMX concept, which fosters its relation toward employee performance mediated by engagement. Furthermore, the study uses survey methods for gaining the data by questionnaire. The total respondents involved in this study are 303 persons in the Dekranasda Office Riau. The analysis data used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). This study shows that LMX directly and significantly affects employee performance. Furthermore, empowerment affects employee performance positively but does not mediate the effect of LMX on employee performance. This study merely involves the employees of Dekranasda, who are dispersed in the eight districts/cities of the Riau Archipelago province. This study shows the importance of direct interpersonal relationships between managers and employees in the realm of public service. As suggested by the LMX theory, managers delegate responsibility and provide more support and appreciation to subordinates in the group, which is considered as empowerment. The results of this study are consistent with the LMX theory, which emphasizes the importance of interpersonal factors in the workplace, especially in the local government sphere. The results of this study can be used as a basis or input for stakeholders in Dekranasda in designing an ideal relationship between superiors and subordinates so that subordinates are able to produce good performance to achieve organizational goals.

Evaluating the effectiveness of local economic development strategies within UMhlathuze Local Municipality

Local Economic Development strategies were formulated in response to the stipulations made by the national government of South Africa. The national mandate placed the responsibility on the local sphere of government to promote economic progression from a grassroots level and to contribute to developmental activities within the state. The National Framework LED has been created as a basis for the effective practice of LED in terms of implementation. This paper focused mainly on evaluating the effectiveness of Local Economic Development strategies in uMhlathuze Local Municipality within Empangeni town. This paper and its problem were developed by the researcher due to the growing unemployment rate in South Africa which mostly affects young people, more especially at the municipal level. The researcher was convinced to evaluate how the economic development strategies or initiatives addressing the issue of unemployment and assisting economic development within the uMhlathuze Local Municipality, intending to come up with mechanisms that may be put at hand to ensure the effectiveness of these strategies provided to address economic issues with the municipality. This paper employed qualitative methods to collect and analyze data. Qualitative data were collected from community members and staff of the municipality within the Department of Economic Development through the use of questionnaires. The analysis of qualitative data was done through thematic analysis. The findings of the research revealed that there is a communication breakdown between the community and the municipality to enable the community to use the opportunities for economic development. This paper recommends that the municipality needs to develop/advance communication methods to ensure that the community is informed and aware of the development opportunities that are provided by the community.

The Political Economy of Coalitions in the South African Local Sphere of Government

The Political Economy of Coalitions in the South African Local Sphere of Government

Problems of legal regulation of electronic petitions in the sphere of local government

Problems of legal regulation of electronic petitions in the sphere of local government

PROFESSIONALISATION AS A TOOL TO STABILISE PUBLIC FINANCES: SOUTH AFRICAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT PERSPECTIVE

Local government is closer to the citizens and serves as a vehicle for democracy and service delivery in South Africa. Municipalities in South Africa face a significant challenge when it comes to managing public finances to provide effective and efficient services. Corruption, financial mismanagement, wasteful and fruitless expenditure, irregular expenditures, governance failure, lack of consequence, management, insufficient skills, and capacity are among the challenges. These factors have delivered an enormous setback to service delivery, and citizens are bearing the brunt of the burden. The most difficult situation in local government is that municipalities' finances are deteriorating year after year. According to the Auditor General of South Africa (AGSA), "the audit outcomes were in a poor state at the end of the previous administration's term, and this state did not improve in 2021-22." It is critical for the local government sphere to promote financial sustainability because most South African citizens rely on government services because the economy no longer provides favourable economic benefits such as employment that citizens can leverage. The goal of this paper is to investigate how professionalising South African municipal public finances can help to stabilise public funds. The qualitative method was used, which included a review of secondary sources on the topic at hand.

Constitutional and Legislative Frameworks for the Local Sphere of Government in South Africa: Analytical and Interpretive Perspective

After many years of apartheid rule, South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994. As evident in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996, a commitment to establish developmental and human rights became an imperative doctrine. Three government spheres were established here: national, provincial and local. The latter is the sphere closest to the public and is constitutionally mandated to render and deliver sustainable essential services. Since 1994, significant strides have been made by the local sphere of government with both successes and failures. South Africa’s legal and policy framework transformation took place between 1993 and 2000 through changes in legislation, proclamations, white papers and by-laws. However, the elements of bad governance since 1994 have created a loss of confidence and service delivery hindrances in South African local government. Much of the population, especially the previously marginalised, face inadequate health services, unclean water and poorly maintained infrastructure and housing because some state institutions have become paralysed due to corruption and maladministration. This article aims to delve into the constitutional and legislative framework of local government in South Africa. The premise from which this article moves is that the quality of governance at the local government level directly impacts service delivery and is, therefore, critical to understanding some of the constitutional and legislative underpinnings driving local government. Municipalities should ensure that all actions and conducts comply with the statutes (acts of parliament, legislations and laws) and regulatory documents (white papers, official rules and regulations and by-laws) to local government.

Public Sector Human Resources Capacity Development in Equivalent Administrative Positions into Functional Positions in the City of Makassar

The study aimed to examine the capacity building of public sector human resources in the context of the equalization of administrative positions into functional positions in Makassar. This bureaucratic reform was triggered by the issuance of Regulation of the Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Number 17 of 2021, which aimed to restructure the government apparatus and had significant implications for bureaucratic work systems and mechanisms, particularly in the local government sphere. To conduct the research, qualitative research methods were employed. Data collection methods included observations, in-depth interviews, and documentation, with primary and secondary data sources contributing to the study. An interactive data analysis model was used for data analysis. The study revealed that efforts to develop the capacity of employees in implementing the equalization of administrative positions into functional positions in Makassar City were relatively effective. Capacity-building initiatives were focused on civil servants who were impacted by the changes resulting from the equalization of positions. Despite these efforts, the study identified that the impact of capacity building on civil servants affected by the equalization of positions was not fully realized. There were still some challenges or limitations hindering the complete integration of the changes and the optimal utilization of human resources in their new functional roles. As a result, the study suggests that additional measures may be required to enhance the capacity-building process and ensure that civil servants are fully equipped to perform effectively in their new functional positions. These measures may include further training and support to help civil servants adapt to the changes and fulfill the responsibilities of their new roles.
 Keywords: capacity building, human resources for public organizations, equal positions

Local government project risk management maturity measurement model for leveraging effectiveness of local government project risk management

Project risk measurement is a critical driver of local government project implementation. It aids identification of the level of the effectiveness and maturity of project risk management to bolster the seamless process of local government project implementation. Unfortunately, empirical facts imply local government project risk measurement is not yet well developed to the extent of leveraging successful local government project implementation. As these explain why some local government projects are often marred by risks to only fail as others fail to get completed, this research evaluates the level of local government project risk measurement maturity in the South African local government. To accomplish that, the study used interpretivist research paradigm, exploratory research design and qualitative research method entailing the usage of content analysis. Content analysis was used to evaluate the existing information and data in the local government repositories about the process used for measuring and mitigating local government project risks as well as their associated limitations. Findings that were thematically analysed revealed the effectiveness of the process of risk identification and mitigation is often still marred by poor risk management culture, poor governance and lack of proactive initiatives to identify and mitigate all forms of risks. Failure to proactively identify and mitigate all risks was found to have caused late interventions that affect identification and mitigation of all risks in their early stages. Such risks were found to include poor governance, corruption and fraud that affect optimisation of the limited financial resources as well as supply chain risks, ecological and health and occupational risks. Given the fact that a model for measuring project risk measurement was also found to be a challenge, the study extracted and suggested the local government project risk management maturity measurement model (LoG-PRiMMM-Model) as one of the new insights and contribution of the study that can be replicated for leveraging project risk measurement and mitigation in the contemporary local government sphere

The political economy of destructing essential Services in the Quest for basic services: the case of violent protest in Cato Manor

Abstract Protesting in post-apartheid South Africa is perceived as one of the significant democratic methods of participation and engagement with the government and its executive. As a result, since the early 2000s, community-led participation has been preferred over government-led forms of participatory methods, including mayoral forums and izimbizo (interactive dialogues between government officials and the people). However, the community-invented spaces of participation in the form of protests have been accompanied by violent tactics that have severely impacted infrastructure. The violent tactics used during protests related to service delivery have been more conspicuous in the local sphere of government, especially in places composed of informal settlements. Hence, Cato Manor has not been immune to this but continues to experience violence during service delivery protests, which causes damage to assets. This article explores the destruction of infrastructure in the quest for basic services in Cato Manor. A qualitative research design was adopted to guide the study, together with the displaced-aggression theory, as a theoretical lens to interpret the findings. The study used a purposive and snowball sampling method to recruit thirty-three participants. Thematic analysis facilitated by NVivo was adopted for data analysis purposes. Thus, the study’s findings illustrate that the damage to essential services in the quest for basic services emanates from the frustration of the local people due to the government’s inability to address the prevailing socioeconomic issues. The destruction of key infrastructure occurs when the primary cause of the frustration is not within the reach of the people.

Accountability, Estoppel and Bypassing of the Municipal Finance Management Act: A Note on Merifon (Pty) Ltd v Greater Letaba Municipality Trilogy

Accountability and transparency reinforce the constitutional principles of governance, which constitute equality before the law, separation of powers, legality and the rule of law, which are central to the conception of modern constitutional order. The trilogy of Merifon (Pty) Ltd v Greater Letaba Municipality Limpopo Division, Case No 01/2014 (18 July 2019), Merifon (Pty) Ltd v Greater Letaba Municipality [2021] ZASCA 50 and Merifon (Pty) Ltd v Greater Letaba Municipality [2022] ZACC 25 poses fundamental questions regarding the failure of a municipal manager and incompetent council to comply with statutory prescripts. Although the narrow issue for determination concerned the seller’s reliance on estoppel and the Turquand Rule to hold a municipality to the unlawful and inflated sale of land agreement, the Merifon litigation invites consideration of the practical reality of malfeasance in the local government sphere. In this note the litigation history and the analytical framework as well as the Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003 (MFMA) are examined. The critical aspects of the three judgments regarding the problematic reliance on estoppel and the Turquand Rule in the face of peremptory prescripts of MFMA are subsequently examined.

Challenges and best practices for e-municipalities

Background: Electronic-municipality (e-municipality) is a reflection of e-government service in the local sphere of government, described as a way of producing useful information for citizens. Electronic-municipalities play a significant role in delivering effective and efficient services to citizens.Aim: To analyse the role of electronic municipal systems in improving the general welfare of citizens by means of service delivery. This article clarified the concepts of e-municipality by reviewing relevant literatures and further outlined critical factors that are affecting the implementation and adoption e-municipality intensively.Setting: The article focused on both international and South African local government best practices of electronic municipal systems. International best practices from developed countries, outline lessons that the South African local government can learn.Methods: The article used mainly the secondary data analysis, gathered from various sources such as articles, document analysis, government documents, amongst others. The analysis is based on various secondary sources linked to the aim of this article.Results: Key findings of the study showed that most municipalities particularly in developing countries experience challenges in adopting and implementing e-municipality. The concept of e-municipality has been derived from both global and local contexts.Conclusion: It concludes that just like any innovation, there are challenges related to the successful implementation of e-municipality, such as the digital divide issue, trust issues and technical, economical and social issues. Recommendations include that the local government should invest more in Information Communication Technologies infrastructure for e-municipality development.Contribution: The results of this research provides best practices for local government in transitioning to e-municipality, the best practice guidelines provide inputs for decision-making in local government.

Contending for the designs and features of integrated development planning in South Africa? An empirical analysis of the Limpopo Province

Background: The Sphere of Local Government in South Africa serves a pertinent role of realising the provision of basic municipal services. In this case, the legislative interventions consider it mandatory for every municipality to develop integrated development plans (IDPs) to facilitate their developmental agendas. These municipalities are required to undertake approval process of IDPs to eventually generate measurable municipal agenda as the basis for basic municipal service delivery.Aim: This empirical study sought to analyse contentious issues regarding the structural design and operational features of the IDP process.Setting: Some municipalities in the Limpopo Province were selected for case study purpose where data were collected. This was in two district municipalities.Methods: Semi-structured interviews with adept municipal officials and councillors as well as surveys with some members of the community were conducted to gather relevant data so that informed analysis could be generated.Results: The findings highlight that the fundamental challenges of designs and features manifest on both the development and the implementation parts of the IDP process.Conclusion: It is therefore proposed, on the one hand, that there is a need to strengthen municipal capacity building for officials to facilitate an effective IDP process. On the other hand, municipal councils are considered necessary to have the capacity to undertake their oversight role over the municipal executive and functions in driving the IDP process agenda. In this way, a remedial consideration suitable for various categories of municipalities should be introduced.Contribution: No contentious issues regarding the structural design and operational features of the integrated development planning process was discovered and also demonstrates that there is no one-size-fits-all regarding municipal planning and implementation.

The Challenge of Democratic Governance - Awareness of the Municipal Population about the Essence and Functions of Local Self-Government

There are various mechanisms to ensure the involvement of citizens in the implementation process of local self-government, although it is obvious that initially the awareness of citizens about the essence, goals and functions of local self-government should be studied, and also it should be clarified how they see their own role in the implementation of self-governance. This article is based on the analysis of empirical sociological research data of 2018.The aim of the sociological research was to study the awareness of regional population about processes taking place in the sphere of local government. The article higlited that indicator of awareness about local government hasn’t significantly improved.

The Imperial Power and Russian Society in the First Quarter of the XVIII Century: The Problem of Gaining Trust

The article analyzes the process of changes in the sphere of state and local government during the first quarter of the XVIII century. Considering the features of the city government reform, the introduction of new institutions and procedures in the field of management, the author concludes that during this period the boundaries of trust between the tsarist/imperial authorities and persons involved in process of management were changed. As a result of a deliberate rejection of the aristocratic model of public service, a significant number of representatives of the urban and noble classes were involved in the process of management. The author used problem-chronological, historical-typological, historical-critical methods, as well as the method of content analysis. It is concluded that although many innovations of the first quarter of the XVIII century were not of a long-term nature, they served as the basis for subsequent transformations of the second half of the XVIII century.

A conceptual model for marine oil spills management in South Africa

PurposeTraditionally, management of disasters, particularly those emanating from environmental hazards, have been reactive with efforts focussed on technical response issues. Drawing from incident command system (ICS) theory, this paper proposes a conceptual model for managing marine oil spills in South Africa.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative biased sequential mixed-based research method was applied for this study. The technical processes undertaken in instituting a incident management system (IMS) for marine oil spills through Operation Phakisa Oil and Gas initiative were observed from November 2016 to November 2019. Preliminary findings were subsequently explored quantitatively in 54 semi-structured questionnaires conducted with experts in the marine pollution environment.FindingsFindings presented in this paper demonstrate an integrative coordination continuum with a stringent focus on coherent multi-stakeholders' incident management collaborations. Qualitative findings stipulated limitations to the efficient application of oil spill risk minimisation policies, especially in the provincial and local spheres of government. Quantitative findings established that some local municipalities have mainstreamed and have budgets for inter-organisational planning and preparedness. Regardless, several informants continue to perceive disaster risk management and offshore-related activities as “unfunded mandates”, especially where response operation and sustainable rehabilitation programmes are concerned.Originality/valueIn integrating the organisational theory and the incident command tools, the value of this study dwells in recommending a conceptual model that mainstreams inter- and intra-organisational planning, preparedness and response to the marine oil spill risk. The model is valuable because it focusses beyond the traditional emergency response tool but is fundamental in effecting adherence to reporting lines, performance standards and information integration.

The contemporary challenges municipalities face in effectively implementing municipal service partnerships

In South Africa, Municipal Service Partnerships (MSPs) have been in existence afore the global breakout of COVID-19 Pandemic as an essential mechanism to expand and accelerate municipal service delivery in the local government sphere. However, once the National Lockdown (NL) was put in place by the state president Cyril Ramaphosa on the 26 of March 2020, many South African municipalities were and still are pushed to look for assistance from their partners in the private sector in order to help with addressing the challenges, imposed by the pandemic, especially, service delivery backlogs. Municipalities are entering into service contracts with the private sector for the provision of basic services that are deemed essential in terms of the National Lockdown Regulations (NLRs). In curbing the spread of the virus in the communities, municipalities extended their effort by commonly cooperating with private partners. For instance, most municipalities went to an extend of collaborating with private partners and other government agencies like Rand Water for the provision of water and water tanks at different schools and communities across the provinces and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), namely masks and hand sanitisers. Methodologically, this is a conceptual paper that is embedded from secondary data. The secondary data was analysed through the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach. The article argues that South African municipalities and their MSPs are faced with huge challenges more than ever. It also argues that private partners have been long-standing with a commitment to serve communities on behalf of the government and that now includes partnering with the government in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The call by President Ramaphosa has been noted for increased partnerships, solidarity, collaboration and the sharing of knowledge and experience to fight the pandemic, poverty, service delivery backlogs and social injustice. The paper concludes by offering feasible solutions to curb the challenges, faced by MSPs and service delivery backlogs.

An exploration of public accountability and service delivery at the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa

Background: The South African public sector still faces numerous challenges of public accountability and corruption 26 years post the establishment of a democratic government and a free society. These challenges are mainly found in the local sphere of government which is the heart of where service delivery takes place.Aim: This article aimed to examine the public accountability strategies and mechanisms being used at the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality in the Eastern Cape province whilst giving a conceptual view of how corruption and maladministration adversely affected the municipality and province.Setting: This study was conducted at the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa.Method: The study adopted an explanatory sequential design based on a mixed-methods approach where data was collected through questionnaires and secondary documents. Data was analysed through a comparative lens and thematic analysis. A total sample of 47 participants was chosen through a purposive sampling technique.Results: The key findings of the study revealed that there is a lack of communication between local government and the residents. As well as poor implementation of accountability mechanisms and capacity issues, that is, lack of training and resources amongst others contributed to the ailing public accountability and service delivery issues.Conclusions: Conclusions drawn reflect a municipality that is struggling with huge backlogs on service delivery. Furthermore, public accountability mechanisms exist but implementation is a challenge. Recommendations included enhanced community engagement and participation, capacity building and skills development, the promotion of individual independence of the community, enhancement of resources and infrastructure and the enhancement of the Public Participation Unit.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and its Effects on Public Service Delivery in South Africa

In recent decades, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) has added a new dimension to change and has been exponential in its development. It is important to understand its effects in various environments, particularly the opportunities and challenges it bringsto public sector functioning, where there needs to be a greater drive towards innovative service delivery. This article explores 4IR within the context of public sector service delivery, focusing on South Africa as a developmental nation. It examines technologicaladvancements of 4IR in line with some of the aims of local government, particularly in its mandate to be more responsive and effective in its service delivery. It also establishes how 4IR platforms are being adopted for effective citizen engagement, which is an essentialgoal of service delivery within the sphere of local government. It examines some of the gaps that need to be addressed around the essential practicalities required to integrate 4IR effectively and explores the readiness of the general public sector environment torespond to the demands of 4IR. Key factors regarding what is needed to create a more enabling environment for local government service delivery and its prevalent developmental constraints are also discussed.