Trust, leadership and service delivery in the City of Tshwane

Abstract

Trust, Leadership and Service Delivery in the City of Tshwane is an academic study undertaken to investigate the levels of public trust in elected public leaders of the City of Tshwane. This study also examines the levels of citizen satisfaction with services provided by the City as well as the relationship between service satisfaction and the levels of public trust in Tshwane. It further compares the levels of trust in elected leaders with the levels of trust in leaders in the business and non-government sectors. The delivery of basic services such as water, sanitation, roads, waste removal, and electricity are primarily the focus of local government. These services are vital as they are seen to be the principal enablers for economic activity (Bureau of Market Research (UNISA), 2013). Low and Tan (2008) state that among the most commonly acknowledged factors affecting citizens' trust in government, is its ability to deliver public service effectively and efficiently. At the same time public trust is considered critical for a democratic government to be able to survive and thrive towards the delivery of these services (Holmberg, 1999). An improved relationship between citizens and leaders can thus improve service delivery, but this can only be achieved with the strengthening of public trust levels. This research drew on a non-probability, convenience sample of 217 City of Tshwane citizens, sourced from online social media platforms run by the city. These platforms are used by the city to regularly engage the citizens on service delivery issues. The study employed the cross sectional research design (Survey design), which is most appropriate for studies with quantitative objectives (Bryman, 2012). The literature review in this study traces the evolution of leadership theories and how the topic of trust has become more and more central to the practice of leadership. The Servant leadership theory by Robert Greenleaf provides the conceptual framework for this study. The selection of this theory as the conceptual framework ii was based on its similarity with the Batho Pele (People first) principles of the government of South Africa that emphasise service and people. Servant leadership stresses the importance of personal integrity and serving others, including employees, customers and community. Servant leaders set aside self-interest for the betterment of their followers (Chinomona, 2013). According to the research findings, the Executive Mayor of the City of Tshwane was the most trusted elected public leader, and ward based leaders were the least trusted of the elected leaders. NGO leaders were found to be more trusted than elected leaders and business leaders, confirming a trend that has been observed globally in the past decade. This research also found that most of the respondents were familiar with the Executive Mayor of Tshwane, but less than half were familiar with their ward councillor and ward committee members. Furthermore, the study found that more people had participated in activities that involved the Executive Mayor than any other elected leader in the past two years. On the relationship between service delivery and trust levels: the study found that there were very high levels of satisfaction with the delivery of services in the City of Tshwane, however that did not necessary translate to similarly high levels of trust in leaders. The findings indicate that special attention needs to be paid to citizens at the lower income levels as they demonstrate the least amount of satisfaction with services. These citizens by and large reside in the same areas are known for being prone to service delivery protests. The study also demonstrated that in the City of Tshwane, service delivery, trust, and leadership have positive, symbiotic relationship. When governments are seen to deliver in their promises, the more likely they will be trusted by the owners of power. The key recommendations of the study include: increased engagement of communities by local leaders, skill-based selection of leaders and a stronger focus on communities requiring heightened attention.