Conference Agenda

Problem Statement and Purpose

South Africa (SA) post-Apartheid remains tight in the grip of its triple challenge of unemployment, poverty, and inequality, whilst policy implementation and service delivery remain fiercely debated in the country three decades into its democracy. The intricate issues of policy implementation and service delivery leading to poor performance remain most severe at local government (LG) level which remains plagued with severe problems. This together with challenged community participation which continues to weaken the country’s participatory system as state-led participatory processes ought to enable citizen and community voices in policymaking and decision-making. This is one of many service delivery mechanisms which remain weak which can be strategically utilized to achieve government’s service delivery objectives at LG level, this paper argues. The SA Government endeavours to deliver on its service delivery objectives, which involves decreasing the public sector’s inefficiencies and wastage, providing quality services that are better tailored to public needs, and eventually changing the socio-economic profile of the country. Recently two models have been explored and considered to reform and thereby realise Governments service delivery objectives, the piloted District Development Model (DDM) and Shared Services (SS) respectively. This paper aims to offer a critique and direction of LG policy implementation and service delivery performance three decades into democracy and beyond, under the proviso of the DMM & SS in S.A.

Methodology

To realise its purpose, the study adopted an interpretivist paradigm, a qualitative design and utilized secondary data that is archived, documented in edited books, peer reviewed journal articles, official government reports and theses related to the topic under investigation making this a non-empirical, desktop study that ensured data quality control through trustworthiness of the qualitative data and qualitative content analysis.

Findings

The DDM was received positively and seen as that which would capacitate district municipalities, it increased effective and cohesive stakeholder engagement, however led by implementers lacking a conceptual understanding of the model with also limited community involvement in the planning and implementation process and this has been the main success and challenge of the DMM respectively. The DDM is not seen as central in addressing the problems of LG in SA. Concerning the SS at LG level - because there are many mutually interrelated factors in the choice and design of a SS such as processes, people, and policies - in SA.

Proposals

This paper argues that the current alternative service delivery models speak to key intricate factors that constitute an ideal participatory system and are core to a successful Whole-of-Government approach - joined-up government movement and performance. Thus, this study makes a recommendation and contribution in its assertion of a participatory system built on a bipartisan approach to service delivery to enable co-creation and co-production in state-led participatory processes, leading to ideal performance and societal responsiveness that is also sustainable.

References

Christensen, T. and Lægreid, P., 2007. The whole‐of‐government approach to public sector reform. Public administration review, 67(6), pp.1059-1066.

Janssen, M., Joha, A. and Weerakkody, V., 2007. Exploring relationships of shared service arrangements in local government. Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, 1(3), pp.271-284.

Mthuli, S.A., Singh, N. and Reddy, P.S., 2023. Political leadership and Ubuntu for public sector performance in South Africa. In African Leadership: Powerful Paradigms for the 21st Century (pp. 27-43). Emerald Publishing Limited.

Nel, V. and Minnie, S., 2022. Can the district development model deliver development in South African local governments?. Rozwój Regionalny i Polityka Regionalna, (60), pp.39-53.

Niehaves, B. and Krause, A., 2010. Shared service strategies in local government–a multiple case study exploration. Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, 4(3), pp.266-279.

Paagman, A., Tate, M., Furtmueller, E. and De Bloom, J., 2015. An integrative literature review and empirical validation of motives for introducing shared services in government organizations. International journal of information management, 35(1), pp.110-123.

Problem Statement and Purpose

The concept of Shared Services Centres (SSCs) has emerged internationally as an alternative service delivery mechanism through which local governments can optimise service delivery systems for the citizenry. From the South African context, the knowledge of the application of SSCs is limited and based on theoretical arguments. Therefore, against this background, this study aims to present empirical findings demonstrating the progress towards implementing the Shared Services approach as an alternative service delivery system in the South African local government sphere. The study will also analyse various transformational initiatives and policy developments, including National Development Plan: Vision 2030 and District Development Model, which have been prioritised to boost the local government sphere.

Methodology

The study's findings are generated through qualitative interviews in which online surveys were conducted with a sample of 30 municipal functionaries attached to different municipalities targeted for this study.

Findings

The findings revealed South African municipalities' progress in implementing a shared service approach in rendering community services. It is evident through the study’s findings that SSCs are increasingly becoming an alternative service delivery improvement strategy.

Proposals

The findings revealed that the SSCs must be guided by the Integrated Plans (IDPs), which make provisions for sharing certain municipal services.

References

Hattingh, J.J. 1998. Governmental Relations. A South African Perspective. Pretoria: University of South Africa.

Hendricks, C.J and Senago, M. 2017. Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations and Local Government Service Delivery. Administratio Publica. 25(3):33-45.

Kahn, S., Maude, S.M, and Kalema, R. 2016. Intergovernmental Relations in South Africa. Pretoria: Van Schaik.

Republic of South Africa. 2000. Local Government: Municipal Structures Act 32 of 2000. Pretoria: Government Printer.

Republic of South Africa. 1996. Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996. Pretoria: Government Printer.

Republic of South Africa. 1998. White Paper on Local Government. Pretoria: Government Printer.

Problem Statement and Purpose

Since the advent of democracy in 1994, South Africa has been through major political and socio – economic changes and many of these have had a major impact of the citizenry. Living in and transitioning into a post apartheid society has meant that citizens have had to play an active role in defining and shaping their everyday lived reality. Very often this active role has included either protesting against government policies or actions that have negatively impacted on them in some way or engaging in public participation initiatives that required citizen input such as elections. In the era of newly emerging challenges such as state capture, loadshedding, water shortages and food insecurity, citizens have been forced to undertake various initiatives in order to respond to these challenges. They have effectively also had to enter the arena of service delivery in order to ensure that they receive the services they are entitled to. This paper endeavors to interrogate the initiatives that a sector of citizens and residents of South Africa (with a focus on eThekwini) have undertaken to respond to these multiple challenges through active participation in a range of activities. This includes sourcing the provision of basic services such as access to water and electricity and refuse collection, which is a function of municipalities not individual citizens.

Methodology

The key research question that this paper poses is, What key socio economic and political issues are South African citizens responding to in a contemporary context (focusing on at least two in the region of eThekwini), and in what ways are they engaging ? The research methodology will entail compiling a brief scholarship review of the debates on citizenship in South Africa in a post apartheid context, examining published (and unpublished) interviews with key informants who are actively involved in various forms of active citizenship and thematically analyzing the approaches that they have undertaken in responding to the various issues.

Findings

The research findings point to the reality that citizens have had to take on the role of service delivery providers in various respects, given the failures of elected officials in municipalities to do the jobs they have been elected to do. This trend has become particularly more evident in eThekwini.

Proposals

Part of active citizenship includes holding those who are failing to do their jobs accountable and demanding that they deliver on their responsibilities. So even while many residents have sought to find innovative interim solutions to their service delivery problems, they have to ensure that the broader challenge of a huge gap in the delivery of services is addressed through the various public administration mechanisms that exist to do so, as well as through being an active citizen.

References

Ballard, R. Habib, A and Valodia, I (eds), 2006. Voices of Protest: Social Movements in Post-Apartheid South Africa, Pietermaritzburg : UKZN Press

Nadvi, L and Piper, L, 2010, “Popular Mobilization, Party Dominance and Participatory Governance in South Africa” in Thompson, L and Tapscott C, (eds). Citizenship and Social Movements : Perspectives from the Global South, London : Zed Books

Reddy, P.S., 2016, “The politics of service delivery in South Africa: The local government sphere in context”, The Journal for Transdiciplinary Research in Southern Africa 12(1), a337.

http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/td.v12i1.337