Leadership at funded NPO's rendering substance abuse programmes in Gauteng .

Abstract

The problem of substance abuse in the Gauteng Province of South Africa is increasing at an alarming rate and costing the province millions of Rands to deal with the scourge through partnerships with Non Profit Organisations (NPOs). The NPOs are an extended service delivery arm of the Department in seeking to address this problem. This has seen a number of NPOs over the years applying for funding at the Department. However, it remains unclear whether these NPOs are adding value to assist the Department to curb the social pathology of substance abuse. The purpose of this research was to investigate the leadership challenges encountered in Non Profit Organisations rendering substance abuse programmes in Gauteng Province. The study seeks to establish an understanding of leadership within the funded NPOs and how this has impact on delivery of services. The study will also present the findings, interpretation of the findings and provide recommendations for strategies in implementing effective leadership strategies at these funded NPOs. The recommendations will assist the decision-makers to address leadership challenges at funded NPOs delivering substance abuse services in order to enhance the delivery of services. This research provides an insight into and better understanding of leadership practices and how service delivery can be improved. The study employed the qualitative approach following exploratory design to gain an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon. A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect data. Through a purposive sampling method, two members of the management board who are deemed to be the employers at NPOs as prescribed by the NPO Act, seven directors employed by the NPOs and two line managers employed by NPOs were purposefully selected to participate in the study through in-depth face-toface interviews The findings of the study confirmed that there are challenges that impact on effective leadership at these NPOs and ultimately affect the quality of services that are being rendered. The study revealed that the dearth of leadership at these NPOs is the result of structural challenges that are caused by the legislation that informs the framework for the functioning of the NPOs. Furthermore, the NPOs lack strategic direction and vision as it is not clear who should provide this as the roles and responsibilities between the Board of Management and Directors are blurred. This contributes to tension and confusion that impact on delivery of quality services. It was concluded that the lack of adequate leadership at funded NPOs rendering substance abuse programmes in Gauteng Province impacted negatively on delivery of quality services.