The relationship between governance and service delivery in the Makana Local Municipality

Abstract

The policy imperative derived from the legislative framework for local government is to deliver basic services, utilising a developmental approach in part, to address the legacy of the past through meaningful participation by the citizenry. However, the expectations from the local government sphere seem to be beyond the capacity of many municipalities in the country and the challenge can be linked to governance and service delivery. This assumption is linked to complexities at the institutional level fused with the political dynamics at that specific sphere of government. The challenges faced by municipalities are very different but they are all required by legislation and the citizenry to be responsive and responsible institutions. The Makana Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province is a case in which to explore what the effect is of both governance and service delivery challenges. This research sets out to explore and describe the relationship between governance and service delivery in the Makana Local Municipality by focusing on the delivery of water. Once a proud municipality and the recipient of various accolades, the Makana Local Municipality was on the verge of ruin in 2013. The municipality was faced with administrative instability and a lack of political oversight and, as a result, the ability to deliver services, particularly water provision was severely hampered. The research is premised on the theory of urban governance and utilises a multi-level urban governance analytical framework to study the dimensions of urban governance at the Makana Local Municipality through the application of qualitative research methods guided by the interpretivist paradigm. In terms of the key findings, the key actors identified in the decision-making realm are politicians and administrators both within and outside the municipality who lack effective and efficient oversight and accountability. Decision-making is not evenly distributed but straddles the different decision-makers internally, with an external bias towards the ruling party structures for crucial decisions to be made. There is a condensing of decision making power located internally within the nexus of the first Executive Mayor and the Speaker, as well as the nexus between the first Executive Mayor and the incumbency of the office of the Municipal Manager, but not discounting the external nuanced yet substantial decision-making power located within the regional and provincial structures of the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC). A lack of leadership at both politician- and administration-level resulted in a lack of oversight and accountability, which exploited the situation for self-interest expediency and/or the lack of the capacity to execute the mandate of local government. The governance, and hence service delivery failure, with particular reference to the consistent provision of water, was attributed to the disproportionate power distribution in decision-making that did not allow for meaningful interaction and consultation with a range of decision-makers who were responsive to the needs and aspirations of the broader community of that specific municipality. This was compounded by internal divisions and fractured politics on a municipal level and had an influence on the governance processes. The fact that the municipality is both a Water Services Authority and Water Services Provider but does not have the capacity nor the capability to fulfil both these powers and functions, leads to a situation where old patterns of service delivery are reinforced and reproduced, in particular with respect to township communities. Notwithstanding the efforts by different spheres of government to address the situation at Makana, the weaknesses that were identified at the municipality skirt around the extent and depth of the governance challenges that affected the delivery of services. Governance requires more than just efficient and effective service delivery. Moreover, it requires a focus on the social structure and institutional norms that shape the ability of communities to influence their lives. In other words, there is a strong relationship between governance and service delivery.