An evaluation of the ‘separation of powers’ governance model in the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality

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dc.contributor.authorChikwema, Salatial
dc.date.accessioned2020-01-09T13:28:40Z
dc.date.available2020-01-09T13:28:40Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.descriptionA thesis submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management, Wits School of Governance in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2018en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThe absence of the separation of executive and legislative functions in local government limits oversight, accountability, and public participation. Governance in municipalities in South Africa is ‘distressed’ because of weak accountability measures resulting from a lack of separation of the functions between the legislature and the executive. In 2006, the City of Johannesburg undertook governance reforms and established a governance model that separated the executive and legislative functions of Council in response to the challenge of weak accountability, inadequate oversight and weak public participation in Council. This study evaluates the governance model implemented in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Using a qualitative research strategy, a case study design and semi-structured interviews as the key data collection method, thirty-five key governance model stakeholders were identified and interviewed across the political and administrative spectrum. All interviews were transcribed and coded according to the relationship between individual leader themes and the extent they linked to particular research focus areas. The patterns determined from the data (interviews and document analysis) were used to explain the conceptualisation, strengths and weaknesses as well as challenges of the ‘separation of powers’ governance model in the City of Johannesburg. The results are discussed and interpreted using institutional, principal-agent and democratic governance theories as analytical frameworks. The study found that, despite positively influencing the practice of governance, the model failed to maximise its potential for ‘real’ oversight and accountability. Routine, overt, practices were implemented and promoted accountability practices, such as oversight committees, oversight visits, Council debates, performance monitoring and oversight reporting on performance. However, lack of capacity, inability to track Council resolutions, inadequate resourcing, mistrust between the legislature and administration, among other challenges, limited the evidence of the effect of such practices. The more subtle processes of values and culture of oversight were elusive leading to routine oversight activities failing to influence decision making. There was little evidence too that the model promoted public participation in Council processes.en_ZA
dc.description.librarianTL (2019)en_ZA
dc.facultyFaculty of Commerce, Law, and Managementen_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/28741
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.phd.titlePhDen_ZA
dc.titleAn evaluation of the ‘separation of powers’ governance model in the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipalityen_ZA
dc.typeThesisen_ZA
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