Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/37945

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    Framework For Introducing E- Procurement in South African Municipalities
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Khoza, Vusi Duncan; Horvey, Sylvester
    South Africa faces challenges such as mismanagement of public finances, governance issues, and economic competitiveness, leading to disarray in local government and poor service delivery. This situation often results in violent strikes that damage public infrastructure. The study focuses on financial accountability, ICT solutions, and e-procurement in South African municipalities, exploring perceptions and identifying critical success factors. Qualitative methodology was employed, with 14 participants from various stakeholder groups providing insights through semi-structured interviews and self-completed questionnaires. Data analysis was conducted using Atlas.ti and triangulated with literature to enhance trustworthiness. Thematic analysis guided pattern extraction, creating a systematic framework to understand financial accountability, ICT's role, e-procurement framework design, and critical success factors. The research findings shed light on challenges in balancing economic development and service delivery through e-procurement. Participants highlight challenges in engaging emerging service providers while ensuring quality. Differing opinions on the importance of experience, transformative e-procurement shifts, and competitive factors are explored. Strategies for reducing prices, emphasizing online platforms, ensuring fair evaluation, transparent negotiations, and comprehensive security are discussed. A multi-faceted approach is recommended for addressing challenges in e- procurement platform availability and accessibility. Overall, participants view e- procurement as transformative for transparency, accountability, and efficiency in municipal processes. Insights from the findings help to make some practical contributions and culminate in the development of a framework that integrates key principles of Financial Accountability Theory into the design and implementation of E-Procurement in South African Municipalities. By aligning theoretical underpinnings with practical considerations, this framework aims to enhance fiscal responsibility, ethical governance, and service delivery efficacy within the evolving landscape of municipal governance in the digital age
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    The sustainability of cooperatives in KwaZulu-Natal
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Mthembu, Richard Themba; Pillay, Pundy
    The current study focused on the sustainability of black owned cooperatives in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The study setting was constitutive of both rural and peri-urban Durban. It uses a qualitative research design and an interpretivist paradigm to elicit and make sense of participants’ views regarding the challenges and opportunities inherent in cooperative enterprises located within KwaZulu-Natal. The study adopted a multi-method data collection approach and uses in-depth interviews and document analysis to illuminate the topic. Using the two qualitative methods constitutes data triangulation. In terms of the in-depth interviews, participants were purposively selected and snowball sampling techniques were used to lead the researcher to the next participant. A total of 16 interviews were conducted with both male and female participants involved in agricultural cooperatives such as vegetable production, poultry and piggery. Interview data were complimented with that extracted of relevant literature through document analysis of government policies and white papers drawn from government archival materials particularly from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Agriculture (DOA). Overall, data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings from the study bring to the fore three broad themes which are Black Economic Empowerment, contributing factors to the failure of cooperatives, and factors hindering co-operative sustainability
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    Perceptions of performance appraisals amongst civilian employees of the Department of Defence
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Gopane, Onkemetse Macphonia; Van Nieuwkerk, Anthoni
    The purpose of this study was to explore civilian employees’ perceptions of the management of the performance appraisal process in the Department of Defence. To achieve this objective, a qualitative case study was undertaken whereby data were collected by using face-to-face semi-structured interviews. A sample of 15 purposely selected junior and middle management civilian participants from Defence Head Quarters was done whereby participants were interviewed and data collected analysed by using thematic analysis. The themes that emerged indicated how employees perceive and experience performance appraisal. The findings revealed that although employees understand what performance appraisal is, the management of the process remains a challenge. From the analysis, there is a lot of dissatisfaction among employees as they feel that performance appraisal is subjective, and the way performance bonuses are paid is based on favouritism and inconsistency which lead to grievances. The findings also indicated that some managers use performance appraisal to punish employees that they do not like regardless of their performance which often diminishes the morale of high performers. The absence of feedback, lack of training by Human Resource Development and lack of support and commitment by top management were also raised as challenges that impede proper management. It is therefore recommended that the Department of Defence should prioritise offering regular and detailed performance appraisal training and workshops to managers and employees so that they both have a common understanding of the objective of the process. Furthermore, the Department of Defence should benchmark with other state institutions and implement an automated performance appraisal system with the latest technology which might reduce human errors and biasedness
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    Effectiveness of the mobile technology intervention in rural schools: The case of Seshego circuit in Polokwane district
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2020) Nare Joyce, Mahwai; Wotela, Kambidima
    The objective of this qualitative study is to conduct a summative evaluation of a mobile technology intervention in rural schools of Seshego circuit. The aim is to determine the effectiveness of the intervention to determine how mobile technologies are integrated in teaching and learning. Employing a qualitative research strategy with case study research design methods, participants were purposively selected to answer four research questions to determine the outcomes of the information and communication technology intervention in rural schools of Seshego circuit in Polokwane district. Teachers’ views were obtained regarding the integration of mobile technologies in teaching and learning as well as documenting the process for mobile technology integration in teaching and learning. This research applied technology acceptance model (TAM) and Technology acceptance model 2 (TAM2) to make understand the use and integration of mobile technologies in teaching and learning. Preliminary findings reveal that mobile technology integration does end with providing schools with information and communications technology infrastructure, there has to be a deliberate effort from teachers, learners, school management, subject advisors, national and provincial department of education to ensure that mobile technologies are used and integrated in teaching and learning. There are barriers that prevents teachers from fully integrating technologies in teaching and learning like the availability of ICT infrastructure as well as lack of skills and knowledge to integrate mobile technologies in teaching and learning. This research recommends that teachers be placed at the heart of technology implementation in teaching and learning
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    Community participation in rural development at Ga-Maja in the Limpopo Province
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Tema, Mokgatla Bernice; Khumalo, John
    Public participation in development, in South Africa, is embraced in the country’s Constitution and various legislative and policy frameworks. Despite this, participation is not adequately institutionalised in government, including in local government. The purpose of this study is to explore how community members perceive community participation in decision-making about and implementation of rural development programmes. The research is a qualitative case study with focus on the village of Ga-Maja in the Limpopo province. The research has, among others, found that the community is not fully engaged in its development. It has also established that conflict between the ward councillors and the traditional leadership is a hindrance to community participation in development. This conflict is largely caused by the vague description of the role of traditional leadership in government’s policy documents. Accordingly, government should empower the traditional leadership to play a definitive role in the development of rural communities
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    Streamlining of contrasting multi-stakeholder monitoring and evaluation institutional arrangements in a South African National Department
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Matsumunyane, Molupe
    In recent times, the efficacy and impact of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) on the development of low income countries has been placed under a lot of scrutiny. Following the demise of apartheid in 1994, South Africa became a recipient of ODA from various international sources. In this respect, the National Treasury of South Africa is responsible for the overall management and coordination of ODA (Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation, 2014). However, the responsibility and accountability for the implementation of ODA rests with the respective National Departments (National Treasury of South Africa, 2003). This includes the responsibility for monitoring, reporting and evaluating the delivery of ODA programmes. The problem is that, monitoring and evaluation of South African public service initiatives is sometimes seen to be highly fragmented and Departments tend to develop instruments that do not adhere to, for example the various monitoring and reporting instruments developed in the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) and the National Treasury (Porter & Goldman, 2013) This study seeks to qualitatively interrogate how to align multi-stakeholder monitoring and evaluation institutional arrangements involving ODA supported interventions at Government Departments in general, uses the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) as the case study. The findings reveal that each ODA programme has its own legal agreements that prescribe the governance structures and institutional arrangements. This means that every ODA programme has unique institutional arrangements in place that the Government of South Africa has to adapt to. In order to remedy this, the Government of SA should explore setting up an independent State Entity that will oversee and manage all ODA initiatives. Successful institutional arrangements require that implementation be allocated to one single entity which will render high priority to the development interventions
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    The Impact of COVID-19 on Jobs, Skills and Skills Development in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Leeuw, Lucinda
    The scale of the COVID-19 pandemic has no equivalent in modern history. The pandemic has tested the economic and social resolve of the economies across the world. It has altered the world of work and accelerated the adoption of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in society, the economy and across sectors. For South Africa to prepare for the future, the changing world of work and learning must be understood in the South African context. An assessment of the pandemic’s implications on jobs, skills and overall skills development is crucial for the economic growth of the country. Skills development and education have always been considered critical in addressing South Africa’s triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment. However, the pandemic also presents a window of opportunity to review existing trends in the economy, development and policy to ensure that present challenges do not become permanent, unsolvable problems in the country. It is therefore important to understand the social and economic context of the pandemic on education, skills and jobs—as a means towards sustainable growth—in an unfolding, dynamic and digital environment. One way for the country to carve a path out of the chaos wrought by the COVID-19 crisis is the pursuit of knowledge-creation in crucial areas of development and economics. This research, through the analysis of recent data, identifies pressure points for the South African economy and skills system. The research also identifies areas of opportunity for responsiveness and the sustainability of jobs, skills and skills development in South Africa given the scale of the social and economic change induced by the 2020 crisis
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    Assessing the effectiveness of the employee health and wellness programme in Gauteng department of education
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Mhangwani, Chrisen Eddie; Malindini, K.
    Employee Health and Wellness Programmes (EHWPs) were initiated in the public service since 2009 following the Department of Public Service Employee Health and Wellness Strategic Framework 2008 which was later reviewed in 2019 with the idea to proactively enhance the productivity of employees by providing health enhancing preventive strategies which if not provided, may contribute to ill-health absenteeism which have been identified as having significant direct and indirect costs to organisations. Therefore this study sought to assess the effectiveness of the Employee Health and Wellness Programme (EHWP) in Gauteng Department of Education Head Office by exploring the perceptions of GDE employees towards the programme in averting ill-health absenteeism behaviour. The study adopted the qualitative case study to collect data using investigative in-depth qualitative survey targeting hundred (100) GDE employees to explore and understand their perceptions as described by their responses towards the programme. The sample consisted of participants who had experience in utilising the services provided by the employer sponsored EHWP. The idea of using qualitative survey interviews were informed by its strength to collect rich and dense information from multiple sources which in the context of this study were fifteen GDE Districts and Head Office. As theoretical saturation of information is the guiding principle in collecting qualitative data, the researcher ended up interviewing forty (40) participants as there were no divergent views from the survey interview responses. This was done to ensure the reliability of the study by ensuring that the variability of the responses is maintained. The findings of the study reveal the varying perceptions towards the EHWP in averting ill-health absenteeism behaviour showed that it is good in advancing employees’ health and productivity while others hold the view that its implementation is not tractable. Moreover, the lack of employing monitoring and evaluation strategies in implementation and the ethical dilemmas in the provision of this service, have been cited as hindering the effectiveness of the programme
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    An assessment of the implementation of the global counter-terrorism framework in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2020) Ntsalong, Kgeng; Van Nieuwkerk, Anthoni
    The world is experiencing a general rising threat of terrorism. Some regions of the world have experienced more cases than others but no country in the world can claim to be immune. As such each country has a responsibility to protect its citizens, guests and installations against the risk of terrorism. This is done by having policy instruments in place and implementing them effectively to the benefit of the citizens and guests of the country. South Africa promulgated the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorism and related Activities Act in 2004 to criminalise acts of terrorism. This investigative and exploratory study seeks to establish how South Africa brought into effect its counterterrorism legal instruments and the challenges experienced during the implementation phase as well as to assess whether or not the policy has achieved the intended outcomes in the eyes of practitioners. Strengths and weaknesses are identified and recommendations to enhance the current instrument are proposed
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    Management of teaching and learning material in no-fee schools: The case of Ekangala Township in Tshwane Municipality
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Maimela, Joyce Matome; Wotela, Kambidima
    The gist of this quantitative study was to empirically establish how no-fee schools manage their teaching and learning material (TLM), employing the case of Ekangala Township in Tshwane municipality. To accomplish this, the study seeks to empirically determine the functionality of financial resources, human resources, and procurement processes of TLM in no-fee schools. A cross-sectional design was adopted. A combination of purposive and stratified random sampling techniques was used to draw HODs, Deputy Principals, Principals, SGBs, educators and administrative officers, yielding a total sample of 101 respondents. Data was collected using a questionnaire and inferential statistics were used to establish validity. The study was framed on the general systems theory, and the programme theory, used for converting research results to research findings. The preliminary findings revealed a linear relationship between effective management and budget processes of TLM, although not strong. However, there was no statistically significant linear relationship between management and procurement processes. The results concluded that there is ineffective management of TLM in no-fee schools in Ekangala Township. The researcher recommends that periodic audits be conducted when required, to ensure appropriate application and compliance with the policy. A further recommendation is the use of a Resource Management System (RMS), a web-based system designed to facilitate planning, online procurement, inventory updates and budget tracking of all TLM at schools at both district and provincial levels