3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item The effects of bureaucracy on the delivery of services within the city of Johannesburg(2015-02-25) Mafune, Irene AdziambeiSince the advent of democracy in 1994, government programmes have improved the quality of lives and living standards of the poorest South Africans, the majority of whom were previously disadvantaged by apartheid segregation policies. On face value, racism and prejudice seem to have declined. Thus society seems to be slowly integrating as equals. However, the legacies of apartheid, combined with poor budgetary and financial management skills, a massive backlog in basic services and infrastructure, regional inequalities in the provision thereof, and sometimes tense social relationships, continue to limit opportunities for social and economic development. Additionally, despite progress made, many people remain vulnerable with poverty, unemployment, and health issues remaining a factor that continues to promote dependency on government The ability of government, municipalities in particular, to deliver such services and meet the expectations of the communities remains a contested notion. Capacity, a lack of suitable skills, bureaucracy and outsourcing of government functions to consultants has been widely blamed for what has been viewed as “shabby service delivery” by municipalities. These they believe are as a result of poor leadership skills, lack of vision and an inability to deliver while outsourcing its functions to unqualified, less experienced contractors who do not have the government’s development goals as their aim. The primary purpose of this research therefore is to determine the effects of internal bureaucracy on the provision of services within the City of Johannesburg. The research will further investigate how that impacts negatively on the City’s quest to provide quality services to its residence. These are leadership role, citizen engagement and governance. With reference to the ongoing public protests in various parts of the City, this ii research will in addition explore and attempt to understand how the City intends to address public violence linked to service delivery demands, and the impact that current internal institutional arrangements, leadership challenges and management systems have on realising the vision to achieve a world class African City that is well governed, resilient, sustainable and liveable for all. Recommendations informed by participant’s views and management theories will be also be made.Item Institutional arrangements for artisan development in the manufacturing sector(2014-08-26) Mgidi, SinayeItem Governance and service delivery protest in Bitou Municipality(2013) Mkhabela, Thulani ValentineSoon after the ANC acquired the leadership of this country there has been a series of service delivery protests in most of the municipalities. Several studies have sought to explain the causes of these protests and many have come to the conclusion that they are caused by the slow pace of delivering houses, electricity water and sanitation to the local communities. Most of the existing work has discussed the problem from the point of view of politicians and members of the community. To date, no research has elected to focus on the view of the employees of the municipalities to which the grievances are mostly directed. Using a qualitative research that surveyed municipal managers, ordinary employees as well as community members in Bitou Municipality, this study argues that poor governance, structural reasons, social reasons, systematic reasons are some of the causes of service delivery protests in the municipalities. The research has also uncovered a litany of reasons that contribute to service delivery protests and government practice which fuel support or hinder service delivery.Item Corruption and reform in democratic South Africa(2009-06-19T10:42:30Z) Camerer, Marianne IreneABSTRACT This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of public sector anti-corruption reform efforts in democratic South Africa. These reforms are contextualized within the international theory, literature and policy debate that has emerged over the past decade on the control of corruption within the context of democratic governance. To evaluate the effectiveness of anti-corruption reforms the thesis first covers a number of broad themes including: conceptions, causes and consequences of corruption; main theoretical approaches underpinning anti-corruption reforms; and methodologies to evaluate the effectiveness and seriousness of anti-corruption efforts. Specifically focusing on South Africa, the thesis looks at the nature and extent of corruption both pre and post 1994; recent legislative, institutional, and policy interventions to control public sector corruption; and, as an illustrative case study of grand corruption, an in-depth analysis of the government’s handling of allegations of corruption in the Strategic Defense Procurement Package or “arms deal.” The findings of the thesis are mixed: I argue that democracy is a necessary albeit insufficient condition for effectively fighting corruption. Although South Africa has an impressive array of institutions, laws and policies to counter public sector corruption, the most important ingredient for successful reforms, namely an indication of sustained political will, is not yet fully in evidence. The government’s mishandling of allegations of corruption in the arms deal is a case in point, suggesting chronic weaknesses on the part of institutions such as parliament to safeguard the public interest. Lack of regulation in the funding of political parties remains the “Achilles heel” of anti-corruption reform efforts. So far as concerns further theoretical framing of corruption studies I conclude that a focus on social empowerment (Johnston) in the context of democratic consolidation, including an active civil society and vigilant media, is crucial for the effective fight against corruption in new democracies such as South Africa.Item Education decentralisation in Malawi : current trends and developments.(2009-01-07T05:55:14Z) Kufaine, Noel DrakeThe government of Malawi has embarked on a decentralisation program, whose primary objective is to improve service delivery. The program is implemented by transferring responsibility and authority from central office to the district assemblies. The study aimed at assessing the implementation situation of education decentralisation and its effects on the district education office operations and the primary school support. The study uses qualitative research method and undertook a case study of two districts. Data was collected by using in-depth individual interviews and document analysis. The results show that decentralisation is a complex phenomenon with problems at all stages from design to implementation. On the one hand the government appears committed to transferring responsibilities and authority gradually to district assembly level while on the other hand it is not prepared to compensate for the disparities existing in the districts by increasing resources. There is an acute shortage of material and human resources in terms of numbers as well as competency levels. This has affected the pace and smooth implementation of decentralisation. Because decentralisation is not a ‘once and for all’ act but a complex process, it is recommended to intensify advocacy, capacity building and support with relevant resources at all levels.