Conference Agenda

Problem Statement and Purpose

Nowadays, South-South migration has become a major part of international migration, contributing significantly to the solidarity and development of the global South. However, in terms of barriers, South-South migrants move with more precarious connectivity and infrastructure constraints than North-South migrants. At this point, alternative services provided by the unofficial sector, private networks, business organizations, etc., have become the main gateway for south-south migrants to access resources, opportunities and space for autonomous action in the face of limited public sector inputs.As a result, the south-south migrants integrated to received soiety through the informal and even illegal forms exacerbating their segregation and antagonisms with the local community. These challenges have become key issues for public service leaders in achieving inclusive globalization and global justice.

As the acceleration of global mobility and the complexity of migratory movements place greater demands on public service leadership, this paper aims to explore how to construct more inclusive migration governance institutions in the Global South and suggest ways to ensure that governments work better with the social and economic sectors to respond to major societal changes.

Methodology

This paper is based on five years’ fieldwork since 2018, and followed up many short time visits in YIWU. The data collected through intervewing dozens of resident foreign businesspeople in China and representatives of Chinese businesspeople or organizations, as well as random interviews with about a large number of Chinese and foreign reporters on various occasions

Findings

The case of Yiwu explores that the remarkable success of this small Chinese city in migrant governance stems from the fact that its various systems, institutions, various groups and facilities. All of these are guided by local government to recept international migrants. However, in actual operation, there is a process of "people's initiative - government involvement - cooperation and joint construction", and many civil forces play an important role in the social integration of foreign businesspeople. . Under the combined effect of the system, capital and "grassroots" forces, a "Yiwu model" of transnational immigration governance has been formed.

Proposals

Governments are better to reposition themselves in migration governance, focusing less on the provision of goods and services and more on defining their role in terms of networking. Institutionalized cooperation between government and civil society in the reception of migrants will build the critical infrastructure for the rapid integration of international migrants into local societies.

References

Short, P., Hossain, M. and Khan, M.A. eds., 2017. South-south migration: Emerging patterns, opportunities and risks. Taylor & Francis.

Marsden, M. and Skvirskaja, V., 2018. Merchant identities, trading nodes, and globalization: Introduction to the Special Issue. History and Anthropology, 29(sup1), pp.S1-S13.

Miellet, S., 2019. Arrival Infrastructures: Migration and Urban Social Mobilities. Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie, 110(5), pp.622-624.

Problem Statement and Purpose

Local government in South Africa is fraught with complexities and in a perilous state of collapse that has led to dwindling organisational trust held by citizens in its ability to meet its service delivery mandate. Strife in the political-administrative dichotomy, corruption, and poor internal strategic and operational leadership compound the challenges encountered at this sphere of government. A lack of community leadership at the ward councillor level and a commitment to administrative and managerial acumen have led to heightened dissatisfaction amongst citizens, who have seen diminished respect for the rule of law and an erosion of political and organisational trust. This paper focuses on identifying factors and strategies for restoring organisational trust. The focus of the paper is citizen inclusion for the identification of novel co-creation of solutions that plague governments. The paper places emphasis on citizen-centric governance, thus requiring citizens to be knowledgeable of their participatory engagement and their role in the social contract entered into during an election.

Methodology

Local government in South Africa is fraught with complexities and in a perilous state of collapse that has led to dwindling organisational trust held by citizens in its ability to meet its service delivery mandate. Strife in the political-administrative dichotomy, corruption, and poor internal strategic and operational leadership compound the challenges encountered at this sphere of government. A lack of community leadership at the ward councillor level and a commitment to administrative and managerial acumen have led to heightened dissatisfaction amongst citizens, who have seen diminished respect for the rule of law and an erosion of political and organisational trust. This paper focuses on identifying factors and strategies for restoring organisational trust. The focus of the paper is citizen inclusion for the identification of novel co-creation of solutions that plague governments.

Findings

The paper places emphasis on citizen-centric governance thus requiring citizens to be knowledgeable of their participatory engagement and their role in the social contract entered into during an election.

Proposals

. Citizens should be at the centre of discussions and engagement. Citizen inclusion will allow for the identification of novel co-creation of solutions that plague local government. The street-level bureaucrat at the local sphere of government is at the coalface of service delivery and should be consistently empowered to co-create service delivery solutions with citizens. This sphere should thus hold the requisite competence, and capacity enhancement should be continuous to address new challenges that emerge

References

Auditor General report. 2022. Consolidated general report on local government audit outcomes 2020-212. [Online] https://www.agsa.co.za/Reporting/MFMAReports/MFMA2020-2021.aspx (Accessed: September 2022).

Banda, M. 2022. Eastern Cape’s ailing municipalities rack up R3.1bn in irregular expenditure. [Online]. https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-08-23-eastern-capes-ailing-municipalities-rack-up-r3-1bn-in-irregular-expenditure/ (Accessed: 12 September 2022).

Koko K 2021. The smelly and corrupt side of dysfunctional Nelson Mandela Bay. https://mg.co.za/news/2021-10-05-the-smelly-and-corrupt-side-of-dysfunctional-nelson-mandela-bay/ (Accessed 31 July 2023.

Sithomola T 2022. Constitutionalism and Public Administration, Administratio Publica 3(4) (3):4: 21-42.

Problem Statement and Purpose

The need for a transparent, responsible, and accountable government is critical in the implementation of sustainable development programs. At the heart of the implementation process is the notion of delivering 'services' to the community within the context of good governance (GGLN, 2015). There is an assumed link between efficient and effective service delivery and good governance, with the premise that new forms of governance such as 'participatory' or 'decentralized' are more likely to improve service delivery to the poor, both in terms of access and quality (Eboreime et al., 2017).

The purpose of this research study is to assess a range of past experiences in the reform of service delivery and to learn from successes and failures. This is being done to inform an approach towards the provision of services that is feasible, will improve the quality of governance, and is focused more tightly on the poor. The expected trend towards decentralization of responsibilities for service provision and the increased involvement of private and civil society providers analyses alternative forms of service delivery not only timely but underscored by what is likely to be a sustained reform effort. A key premise of this work is that opportunities for improving the governance and the pro-poor nature of service delivery depend less on the specific choice of public, private, or civil society sector providers - what we define here as modes of delivery - than on the types of rules and incentives that guide provider and consumer behavior.

Methodology

This paper aims to assess and understand the level of implementation of national initiatives at the sub-national level and identify patterns of compliance with national guidelines as well as identifying best practices and lessons from implementation. In the South African context, the sub-national level could also refer to provincial government and local government. The study also explores the contextual factors influencing the performance of service schemes in different countries. By analyzing the data collected through case studies, the research will contribute to a deeper understanding of the complexities involved in enhancing service delivery at the sub-national level for sustainable societal responsiveness. A comparative analysis will be conducted by examining case studies from different regions or countries that have implemented alternative service delivery models in sub-national governance.

Findings

The findings underscore the complex nature of implementing alternative service delivery models in sub-national governance. Addressing challenges such as limited human and financial resources and capacity, promoting all-inclusive citizen participation engagement, and mitigating regulatory barriers, are crucial for enhancing sustainable societal responsiveness through innovative service delivery models. Furthermore, by leveraging the opportunities with private sector stakeholders, governments can enhance sustainable societal responsiveness and improve the quality of public services for their citizens.

Proposals

The current and rapidly evolving sustainable development agenda has brought society, public governance, and the delivery of public services into the spotlight. A commitment to value-based governance in which public administration is redirected to contribute to the pursuit of broad societal goals and the public interest. The quest for alternatives has led policymakers and public managers to seek new models of governance and public administration. One sort of alternative includes a movement of governance forms such as public-private partnerships and collaborative governance between state and society seeking to enhance the public voice in decision-making

References

Coultas, M.C., Chanza, M., Iyer, R., Karangwa, L., Kariuki, J.E., Kosugi, H., Meeuwissen, T.T., Mwende, M., Myers, J., Son, P., and Ssemwanga, D.K. 2022. Galvanising and fostering sub-national government leadership for area-wide sanitation programming. H2open Journal, 5(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.2166/h2oj.2022.022

Eboreime, E., Abimbola, S., Abrahams, F., Ebirim, O., Olubajo, O., Eyles, J. and Mambulu, F. 2017. Evaluating the sub-national fidelity of national initiatives in decentralized health systems: Integrated primary health care governance in Nigeria. BMC Health Services Research, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-017-2179-2

Okpani, A. and Abimbola, S. 2016. The midwives service scheme: a qualitative comparison of contextual determinants of the performance of two states in central Nigeria. Global Health Research and Policy, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41256-016-0017-4