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FACULTY OF COMMERCE AND
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Graduate School of Business and Government
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THE EVALUATION OF MUNICIPAL ELECTRONIC
.
.
GOVERNMENT CAPACITY AND SERVICE DELIVERY AT
NGAKA MODIRI MOLEMA DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY
MYLET URSULA DLAMINI
AND
LIBRAR
Y
MAFIKE
N
G
C
AMPUS
Call No.:SUPERVISOR: PROF SAM LU
UBE
2014
-
07
- 2
4
Ace. No.:
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RT
H-
WEST
UNIVERS
I
TY
SEPTEMBER: 20
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0600436545 North-West University Mafikeng Campus LibraryDECLARATION
I,
Mylet
Ursula
Dlamini, hereby declares
that this
dissertation
entitled, "The
Evaluation
of
Municipal Electronic
Government Capacity
and
Service Delivery
at Ngaka Modiri Molema
District
Municipality
",
hereby
submitted,
is
an original
piece
of work
produced by myself
,
and
all references
and sources
have been
accurately
reported
and ackllowledged, and that
this
'
document has not previously
,
in its
entirely
or
in
part, been
submitted to any University
in
order to obtain an academic qualification.
Acknowledgements
I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to all those who
contrib
uted towards the success of this
study
recognizing that it is impossible to mention everyone by name.
However the following individuals are recognised by name:
•
The Lord, Jesus Christ, for all the blessings he has bestowed upon m
e.
•
My
supervisor,
Prof
Sam Lubbe, for
his time and encouragement to me to complete this
work
. He was very hard on me and that encouraged me
not to give up.
•
My daughter,
F~le,who
put up
with me whilst working on
the
dissertation and her
understanding that my time is
limited.
•
My mother,
Tbembi
,
who has always been a pillar of strength.
•
Suzan, who supported
me
during my thesis by ensuring that
I
dedicate sufficient time to
my
studies.
•
Tlhalefo
Moyo
,
for his invaluable insight, mentoring and coaching
-
I
wouldn'
t
have
made it without him.
•
An
drew Wanda and Dai
sy
Malele, for
encouraging
me to complete this dis
sertatio
n.
•
My
family,
for their
unconditional
love,
support and patience during my studies,
especially, my sister Mbali, for believing in me.
•
Graduate School of
Business Administration team, for th
eir
supp01i especially, Lungile.
•
The Networx for Career
Development
staff An-mari Swanepoel,
Sheriff Nkomo,
Lindokuhle Mabuza, Mpumi Sikiti and Stacy October.
DEDICATION
I dedicate this mini dissertation to my late grandfather
•
•
Rev. Nicholas Bhekinkosi Hepworth Bhengufor funding my education even beyond
the grave.
My late grandmothers Mylet Bhengu and Christina Africa .
ABSTRACT
This disse1tation investigates efficiency in municipal serv1ce
delivery,
the capability and
competency of staff, the
degree
of service quality experienced by the
community and
the
e-Govemment efficiency and effectiveness at Ngaka
Modiri Molema District
Municipality.
It
highlights
problems relating to
municipal incapacity and incompetency, and
inefficiency
of
e-Govemment system.
However,
municipalities are expected
to lead economic development
in their respective communities, democratic and governance programmes.
Then review of
the
literature relevant
to e-Government capacity and
municipal
service
delivery,
serves as a
primary data that adds value to the
dissertation.
Collation of the
relevant
data was
followed
by discussion of
the employee perception on
e-Government capacity and
municipal
service
delivery. Local
government struggles
to provide
services to citizens,
but the
poor service
erodes trust. Service delivery backlogs continue to
be unattended and significant segments of
the community
remain
economically inactiveand
municipal
capacity is the catalyst of the
who
le scenario.The relative lack of research on municipal e-Government capacity and service
delivery is the primary motivation
for this studyto evaluate thee-Government and
municipal
service delivery
and demonstrate that should e-Government capacity
and service delivery be
enhanced, the episode of local government protest can be eradicated and efficient servicequalitypromoted.The
sample
was drawn from Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality
employees
who
were
cooperative
in the execution
of the
study. As a
result of this,
the
research
on the subject has moved beyond imperfect borders of
e-Govemment capacity
and
mtmicipal
service
delivery issues
and
has begun to
focus more
on
aspects
that
can
be
considered to enhance e-Government capacity and municipal
service delivery.The findings of
this study
provide
a strong
point of departure for the
evaluation
of mtmicipal
e-Govemrnent
capacity a11d
service delivery at Ngaka Modiri Molema
District Municipality and indicate that
there
is
a
lack
of capacity and competency,
and inefficiency
in
the
e-Goverrunent service.
Ngaka
Modi
ri Molema District Municipality management
should explore opportunities to
ensure that training and development are
provided to municipal staff to
improve capacity and
competency
and
also explore the opportunity
to increase
e-Goverrunent efficiency and
effectiveness.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
1
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.1 INT
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BACKGROUND
AND CON
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EXT
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1.4
BACKGROUND
AND
RATIONALE
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1.5 RESEARCH
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ESIGN ...
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CHAPTER2
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LITERATURE
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INTRODUCTION
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EFINITION
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ETENCY ..
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.4
S
KILL
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IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT
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EARNING
AND TRAINING
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EFFICIENCY
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2.8 COST AND FINANCIA
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RESOURCES ...
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2.9 ELECTRONIC
GOVERNMENT
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2.10
RE
SEARCH
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UESTI
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2.11
CONCLUSION
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3.
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INTRO
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3.2 TYPES
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LIKERT
SCALE ...
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3.4
POPULATION
AND SAMPLE SIZE
... 42
v3.5
DATA
COLLECTION
METHOD
... 43
3.6
VALIDITY
AND RELIABILITY ...
44
3.7
DATA ANALYS
IS ...
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OF BIAS ...
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3.9 ETHICAL
.
CONSIDERA TJON
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1
0
LIMITATION OF
THE STUDY ...
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3.11 CONCLUSION ...
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CHAPTER
4
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4.4
DISCUSSION
OF
THE
RESULTS OF
THE INVESTIGATION ... 50
4.5
ASSOCIA
TTVE
STATISTICS
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CHAPTER
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CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...
74
5.1 INTRODUCTION ...
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5.2 SUMMARY
OF THE
STUDY
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5.3
RESPONSE
TO
RESEARCH
QUESTIO
NS
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5.3
.1
what determines
efficiency
and deficiency
in
municipal
service
delivery?
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5.3.2 to
what
extent is the
municipality
capable and
competent? ...
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77
5.3.3 what
determines
good
quality mun
ici
pal
serv
ice delivery ...
79
5.3.4 what determines the efficiency and effectiveness of electronic government
(e-gove
rnment)
system? ...
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5.4
LIMITATIONS
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5.5
MANAGER1AL GUIDELINES
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5.6
FURTURE RESEARCI
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5.7 CONCLUSION ...
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6.
B
I
BLIOGRAPHY
...
88
APPENDIX A: MATR1X ...
100
APPENDIX
B :Q
UES
Tl
ONNAIRE
DEV
ELO
PM
ENT MATRIX ... 106
APPENDIX C : RESEARCH QUESTIONNA
IRE ...
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LIST OF TABLES
PAGE
TABLE
3.
1
OVERVIEW OF T
H
E
DIF
FERENCE
BETWEEN Q
UAN
TTTA
T
I
VE AN
D
QUALITA
T
IVE RESEA
RCH.
37
TABLE
4.1 CORRELATIONS
62
\
LIST
OF
FIGURES
Figure 4.1
Age of Respondents
48
Figure 4.2
Gender
of
respondents
48
Figure 4.3
Years of Experience at the municipality
49
Figure 4.4 Type
of
Post
49
Figure 4.5 Qualifications
50
Figure 4.6 Municipal
Service
Delivery Adequacy and
Efficiency
50
Figure 4.7Municipality'
s abi
l
ity to provide requi
r
ed se
rvice to local munic
ipality
51
Figure 4.8 Mun
i
cipal
lead
ers sufficiency
and competency
52
Figure 4.9
Is the entrepreneurship
training
effective and appropriate?
52
Figure 4.10 Recruitment andSe
l
ection
Process
Application
53
Figure 4.11Municipa
l
staff
l
evel
of expertise in del
i
vering
the required
serv
i
ce to the
comm
unity
54
Figure 4.12
Municipal
staff knowledge and
skills to provide
the
required
services to the
community
55
Figure 4.13 Municipal
organisational
cu
l
ture upholds
the
principle of
service
delivery
55
Figure 4.14Community
satisfact
i
on about the quality of
service
delivery received from
municipality
Figure 4.15 e-Govemment
e
n
suring
better
service
in
terms of
quality
Figure 4.16Staff understanding of
local government
l
egal
framework
Figure 4.17 e-Govemmentse
r
vice enhancing
access and
service
delivery
Figure 4.18 The community understands the roleof
Information and
Technology (IT)
service
Figure 4.19
e-Government
service
efficiency
Figure 4.20
Municipa
l
ity
having sufficient
l
y tra
in
ed
IT personnel
viii
56
57
57
58
59
59
60CHAPTE
R I
OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
1.1 INTRODUCTION
ln terms of Section 151 of the Constitution Act, 1996 (Act l 08 of 1996) of South Africa, the Act provides for the establishment of municipalities, with the executive and legislative authority of municipality vested in its municipal council. A municipality governs 1the local government affairs of the commUtnity in its area of jurisdiction. This is, however, subjec:t to national and provincial legislation. The ability or right of a municipaUty to perform its functions may not be compromised or impeded by the national or provincial governments (:Smith, 2005: 16-17).
The study conducted by Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in 2008 shows that municipalities are .increasingly expected to lead economic development in their respective communities ILISing democratic and governance programmes (Human Sciences Research Council, 2008:3). Afonso and Fernandes (2008:1948) are in agreement that local government should
...
promote sociatl and economic development, territory organisation, supply local public goods such as water and sewerage, transport, housing, bealtbcare, education, culture, sports, defend the environment and protect the civil population. However, Mohr, Delle:r and Halstead (20 10: 894) highlight that Local governments face stress of economic downturn or stagnation, and are struggling to maintain service levels. Furthermore, they must cope with population growth and additional service demands.
Since the late: 1990's, governments at all levels have launched elec:tronic government projects with the aim of providing electronic information and services to citizens and businesses (Chen and Gant, 2010 I: 343). According to Kaisara and Pather (20 II: I), 1U1e [nternet has become an omnipresent amd integral part of a dynamic information society with 1ever increas.ing role in areas of education, professional sectors, recreation, social networking and in myriad of other areas of life. As a result, the capacity of the modem organisation is largely influenced by the way in which it is atble to harness the benefits of the Intemet. Kuk (2002:356) asserts that, local govemment bas to lead the way in the creation of high quality co1otent and services, develop
solutions that are right for the local context and deploy e-Govemment to meet the needs of its communities.
This chapter discusses the background to the problem statement on municipal service delivery, background and rationale, research objectives and research design for e-Govemment capacity and service delivery.
1.2 BACKGROUND AND CO
NTEXT
Research conducted by CoGTA (2009:4) states that the priority of local govemmental challenges includes huge service delivery and backlog, poor communication and accountability, relationships with communities, political administrative interface, corruption and fraud, poor financial management, service delivery protests, weak civil society formations, intra - and inter-political party issues which negatively affect governance and delivery, and insufficient municipal capacity due to lack of scarce skills. According to Verdegem and Verleye (2009:488), the users of the public service can be obliged to interact with governments, and user dissatisfaction with quality of service may easily become a political issue;·
Wohlers (2007) asserts that the adoption of Information and Technology (IT) has contributed to the emergence of electronic-government or e-Govemment designed to communicate information, deliver services, and offer additional avenues designed to interact with and participate in government. However, Lee, Kim and Ahn (20 11: 1) state that e-Govemment has received little attention from scholars in public administration. Kaisara and Patber (20 1 I :3) also assert that despite the fact that service quality has been proven to be a suitable indicator of IT effectiveness, the assessment of service quality in the public sector has been less studied.
The study conducted by Human Sciences Research Council (2008:4) reveals that municipal service delivery backlogs continue to be unattended to and significant segments of South African population remains economically inactive, while local unrests and a host of other anti-social behaviour traits persist making municipal capacity the catalyst of the whole scenario of democracy and governance programmes. Papagiannidis and Li (2005:471) state that lack of skills is a common component of underperformance in these local governments.
1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT
The problem investigated was a determination of the extent to which e-Government capacity and municipal service delivery can be increased through research. The study conducted by Ndletyana (2007) and Human Sciences Research Council (2008:4) show that the recurring episodes of local protests in the local government, result from the iA.adequate or/and absence of municipal services. Local government constraints relate to: general scarcity of technical skills, recruitment and retainment of staff, e- Government inefficiency and insufficient financial resources relative to the scale of need in communities.
The wave of unrest at the local sphere of government, and the dissatisfaction expressed by local communities question the ability of local governments in South AtTica to effectively and efficiently provide essential services (Roux and Nyamukachi, 2005:703). Ngubane, Sabela and Queely (2005:96-97) highlight the fact that local governments face challenges that include growing impatience on the part of the general public towards poor service delivery as most government services are not easily accessible.
Steinberg and Miranda (2005: 167) equally assert tlrat the problems of municipalities can be generalised as: limited municipal budgets, insufficient human resources to execute its functions and to fulfill its competencies, irrational utilization of available resources, lack of municipal autonomy and undefined role of the community, and accumulated de·ficit in urban in·rrastructure services. Nientied and Racoviceanu (2000:436) highlight that public sector is characterised by problems such as lack of coordination, coherence and continuity, continued politicisation, lack of policy making and management capacities, and weak systems of accountability.
Despite constitutional and legislative provisions for the composition, functioning and development of local government in South Africa, the rendering of essential services, particularly to the poor and disadvantaged communities appears to be highly problematic for municipalities. Furthennore, the unrest at the local sphere of government in South Africa questions the ability of municipalities to provide basic services to local communities (Roux and Nyamukachi, 2005:687).
In a study conducted by Wohlers (2007) it was found that the municipalities that lack professional managers, are characterised by lower socio-economic levels, and perform badly in terms of providing a wide array of government related information and service delivery. Nientied and Racoviceanu (2000:437) state that the study conducted by Central and Eastern countries reveals numerous shortcomings such as, lack of experience with local democracy, limited
\
management experience, inadequate legal framework, limited budgets, issues of transparency and accountability
Research conducted by the Municipal Capacity Assessment in (20 11) indicates that, in general, most national and provincial departments with supervisory and regulatory responsibilities over municipalities are not playing their role of specifying regulatory norms and standards, or specifying processes for monitoring and supervision. Chen and Gant (200 l :344) argue that another challenge for local government is the lack of frnancial resources. Furthermore, another
..
barrier has been found to include inadequate IT infrastructure and outdated work procedures and rules. Mohr, Deller and Halstead (2010:903) state that municipalities face significant constraints in insufficient bids.
The study conducted in the United Kingdom on-local governments identified the major challenges in achieving local government targets as: change management capability, funding, channel uptake by citizens and co-ordination of government activities (King, 2007:49). According to USAID (2000:1) the basic building blocks of efficient and economically vital communities are provision and management of water, waste-water, solid waste and heating. Although ensuring adequate provision of these services is a critical public sector function, many national and sub-national governments fall short.
1.
4
. BACKGROUND
AND
RATIONALE
The outcome of this study can make contribution with regard to the e- Government capacity and service delivery implementation. There is a need for local governments to provide adequate municipal services to the community, as well as ensure that the workforce is skilful and knowledgeable to provide good quality service.
1.5
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study was to evaluate the e-Govemment capacity and municipal service delivery, to demonstrate the result that if e-Government and its service delivery are enhanced, episodes of local government protest can be eradicated, efficiency and service quality sustained. The objectives of the study were to:
• Determine the impact of municipal service delivery constraints • Determine the extent of efficiency and capacity of e-Government • Critically evaluate the approach to municipal service delivery
• Determine the extent to which municipalities can improve their service delivery, and • Determine strategies that local governments can implement to attain efficiency and
quality service delivery.
1.6 RESEARC
H D
ES
I
GN
Bless, Smith and Kagee (2006) assert that the function of research design is to ensure that the evidence obtained enables the researcher to answer research questions as unambigously as possible. Obtaining relevant evidence entails specifying the type of evidence needed to answer the research question, to test theory, to evaluate the programme or to accurately describe some phenomenon. Therefore, it means that in designing research questions there is a need to ask, given the research question, what type of evidence is needed to answer the question in a convincing way (Bless, Smith and Kagee, 2006). Mckendrick (2000) concurs that research design provides the answer to questions, of what are the means which shall be used to obtain information that is needed. lt is the overall plan or strategy by which questions are answered. For the purposes of this study quantitative measures were applied. Nicholls (2009) believes that quantitative research provides detailed inclusion and exclusion to sample often of large numbers of participants with comparable traits. Furthermore, with quantitative research, the researcher commonly begins with the questions that need to be answered and the study is never allowed to stray from its original purpose.
The design of this study is largely exploratory and cross sectional, and data was collected from a survey using structured questionnaires. Exploratory studies are valuable means of finding out what is happening and asking questions and assessing phenomena in a new light (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2007:78).
For the quantitative measure, research questionnaires were distributed to the respondents. The rationale for using questionnaires is the validation of information that will be gathered to eradicate any doubt or feeling of bias. The information gathered needed to be congruent with the questionnaires, to ensure validity and reliability.
The study made use of the following methods to collect and analyse relevant data, namely, a research methodology comprising methodological and survey techniques; method of data collection, comprising the use of questionnaire; data analysis; validity and reliability tests; ethical considerations; demarcation of .research, comprising both time demarcation and numerical demarcation (general purpose, target population, and sample); clarification of terminology and conclusion.
1.7 DISSERTATION LAYOUT
The study is divided into five Chapters tbat include this introductory chapter.
Chapter 2, is a review of the literature relating to contextualizing e-Government capacity and municipal service delivery, with special reference to the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality. This chapter also provides an outline of contextualizing e-Government capacity and municipal service delivery, in terms of defmitions, capacity and competency, skills Learning and training, performance, service quality, fmancial cost and e-Govemment. The objective is to emphasize the significance of e-Government capacity for municipal service delivery and the way
in which it impacts on the local communities.
Chapter 3, discusses the research methodology including the research paradigm, the population and sample size. The detailed account of both data collection techniques and data analysis and interpretation is also presented. Issues ofthe validity and reliability of the study as well as ethical issues are also discussed and the limitations of the research are clarified.
Chapter 4, provides a detailed chronology of results obtained from the e-Government capacity and municipal service delivery, and an analysis of these results in terms of the literature presented, and findings.
Chapter 5, establishes a link between the literature reviewed in this study with the data collected and presented. It also contains the conclusion and recom.mendations for further study.
1.8
CONCLUSION
This chapter has presented information pertaining to e-Government capacity and municipal service delivery. An introductory look on e-Govemment capacity and municipal service delivery, and a brief history of e-Government capacity and municipal service delivery were outlined, followed by its background, research problem, research objectives, research design and conclusion.
Balassiano (20 II :61) states that the burden of devolution is eased when local governments reach out to local communities to mobilise grass roots participation, and strengthen local networks, close the gap between local government and the communities.
In Chapter 2 (contextualizing e-Govemment capacity and municipal service delivery), e-Government capacity and municipal service delivery is contextualized at Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality. This chapter will provide an outline of e-Government and municipal service delivery, in terms of definitions, capacity and competency, skills, learning and training, performance, service quality, financial and cost and e-Government. The objective is to emphasize the significance of e-Government capacity and municipal service delivery and the way in which it impacts on the local communities.
CHAPT
E
R2
LITERATURE REVIEW
2
.
1 I
N
TROD
UCT
IO
N
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Local governments struggle to provide services to citizens, but the poor service erodes the trust in them (USAID, 2006). The research conducted by CoGTA (2009:55-70) reveals that the challenges for local government include poor governance, capacity and performance. Nientied and Racoviceanu (2000:436) also assert that lack of coordination, coherence and continuity, continued politicisation, Jack of policy-making, management capacities, and weak accountability are the challenges of all local government structures.
Local governments constitute territorially based organisations with administrative fiscal economy with budgetary and patrimonial independence. The activity of any local government should be tine-tuned to satisfy local needs and improve the well-being of the local population. In addition, local governments should promote social and economic development of their territories (Fernandes, 2008: 1948). However, Chen and Gran! (2001 :352) indicate that the main constraints of local governments include shortage of skilled Information and Technology (fT) staff, limited fmancial resource, inadequate IT infrastructure and work procedures. CoGT A (2009: 55-70) also states that in response to numerous performance and viability failures, and deteriorating service and urgent turnaround strategy for local government is needed.
To search for relevant literature key words: skills gap in municipalities, capacity assessment, constraints in local government, service delivery, capacity challenges in municipalities, capacity building and e-Government, theories on municipal service delivery have been used to search for articles in the following search engines - ABUinform, Business source Complete, Emerald, SA epublication, OM review, Google scholar and EBSCON.
This chapter provides an outline of e-Government capacity and municipal service delivery, in tenns of definitions, capacity and competency, skills, learning and training, performance, service delivery and service quality, financial cost and e-Government.
2.2 D
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2.2.1 Local GovernmentLocal government refers to local democratic unit within the unitary democratic system whose officials are subordinate members of the government vested with prescribed, controlled governmental powers and sources of income to render specific local services and to develop, control and regulate the geographic, social and economic development of defined local areas (Ntlebi and Maphunye, 2003 ). tsmael ( 1996: 12) sees local government as that level of government which is commonly defined as decentralized, representative institution with general and specific powers devolved to it by a higher tier of government (central or provincial) within a geographically defined area.
2.2.2 Capacity Building
Smith and Ballard (2005) define capacity building as the development of knowledge, skills, commitment, structures, systems and leadership to enable effective performance. However,
Barker (2005:11) defines capacity building differently, as the process of increasing the capacity of those charged with managing and make sound· planning and management decisions. Kuk (2002:361) believes that defining capacity building invites a myriad of statements, definitions, theory and practice ranging from technical skills development to institutional development of civil society. The capacity building debate is dynamic and widespread, yet it lacks clarity.
Furthermore, Kuk (2002:361) affirms that it is important that local governments have a long strategy of building capacity through training and development.
2.2.3 Competency
According to Boucher, Bonjour and Grabot (2007: II 0), competency refers to the ability of an actor (organisation) to achieve an activity using a resource, and is characterized by the activity it can contribute to, by the resources it requires, level of expertise and also by a learning mechanism considered to change the level of expertise. Luo (2008:298) defmes competency as a combination of knowledge, skills and attitude. Carson and Gilmore (2000:366) explain that competency is divided into various categories, which include decision making competency, conceptual competence which describes the mental ability to co-ordinate all of the organisation's
interests and activities, human competence which is the ability to work with, understand and motivate other people, both individually and groups, and political competence which can include the ability to enhance the company's position, build a power base and establish the right connections (Carson and Gilmore, 2000:366).
2.2.4 Training
Armstrong (2001 :543) refers to training as the formal and systematic modification of behaviour through learning, which occurs as a result of education, instruction, development and planned experience. Ntlebi and Maphunye (2003) assert that training is the extension of knowledge for the specific purpose of filling a given position and to effectively perform the work involved. 2.2.5 Effectiveness
Van der Westhuizen, Mosoge and Van Vuuren (2004:709) defme effectiveness as the means of acquiring the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes that can be applied to the job situation. 2.2.6 E-Government
According to Wohlers (2007), e-Government is the transformation process of the public administration as a whole and of its interaction with people, the process, through infonnation and communication technologies. It aims at optimizing the provision of services at incre-asing participation by citizens and enterprises. Zhao (20 1 0:208) asserts that e-Govemment refers to government's use of technology, particularly web-based Internet applications, to enhance the access and delivery of government information and service to citizens, business partners, employees, other agencies, and government entities. King (2007:48) concurs that e-Govemment is the use of technology to enhance the access to, and delivery of government services to benefit citizens, business partners and employees. It has the power to create a new mode of public service where all public organisations deliver a modernised, integrated and seamless service to citizens. Torres, Pina and Yentano (2000:43) agree that e-Government is utilizing the world-wide web for delivering government information and services to citizens. Furthermore, Torres, Pina and Yetano (2000:43) state that e-Goveroment is an Internet (online service delivery) and other Internet based activities, such as e-consultation and capacity to transform public administration through the use of IT.
The e-Govemment Policy (200 I :3) defines e-Government as the continuous optimisation of government service delivery, constituency participation, and governance by transforming internal and external relationships through technology, the Internet and media. Furthermore •. e-Government is a concept of IT to improve internal functioning of government, delivery of services to citizens, and interaction with stakeholders.
2.3
CAP
ACITY AND COMPETENCY
Research conducted by COGTA (2009:21) highlights that the overall positive progress and success of the local government system in South Africa is increasingly being overwhelmed by a range of factors and negative practices both internal and external to municipalities. These factors apply to poor governance, service delivery failures and their capacity and performance. Research conducted by LGSETA (20 I 0) states that the lack of capacity in local government is demonstrated by lack of financial resources to meet service delivery and large numbers of staff vacancies, and municipalities have to become competent (LGSETA, 2010:2-3).
LGSETA (2010) also mentions that the National·Capacity Building Framework identifies capacity constraints within local government for individual capacity as: lack of competency which leads to the inability to do tasks, poorly defined job descriptions, recruitment and selection of staff not in line with job descriptions, inadequate requisite technical skills in critical functional
areas, inadequate knowledge and information base within municipalities, poor understanding of
local government legal framework, insufficient expertise to interpret and translate legislation and policies into action, Jack of in-house technical abilities to develop systems, support internal processes, perform the municipal functions and to accommodate new functions and lack of service orientated attitude and behaviour.
LGSETA (2010) further highlights lack of capacity within local government for institutional capacity include insufficient staff contingency and non-availability of appropriate candidates due to the inability to attract such individuals into the local government arena and the lack of trained individuals, mismatch between the staff contingency (organogram) and the functions to be performed, insufficient strategic leadership to drive large-scale change-management and
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Pagedevelopmental processes, insufficient political leadership capable of guiding the change process, limited understanding of the developmental organisational purpose and vision, an organisational culture that does not uphold the principles of service delivery, bureaucratic and hierarchical structures and systems that limit functional relations and programme and project based activities, dissipated organisational memory due to continual transformation and lack of knowledge management, low degree of internal confidence and sense of progress, lack of requisite internal operational infrastructure and technology, lack of infrastructure for external service delivery to communities and lack of appropriate systems and structures necessary to stabilise fmances and begin to ensure service delivery and development.
Balassiano (20 II :60) states that existing government training institutions are overburdened with the rising demand in terms of capacity and capability. The study conducted by Mohr, Deller and Halstead (20 I 0:895) revealed that many rural governments are run by volunteers and small staff of employees. The municipal clerk that has an associate degree in accounting and the public works director spend the majority of their time plowing roads and filling potholes. Given the lack of professional or trained staff, small municipalities may be at a relative disadvantage in writing and monitoring enforceable contracts.
Mohr, Deller and Halstead (201 0:894-895) highJight that large units of governments have difficulty in negotiating, monitoring, and enforcing contracts. Furthermore, producing public services by engaging in profit firms requires clearly delineated, enforceable contracts, and managerial capacity to supervise contractor performance, which the municipalities lack. According to Jacobson, Rubin and Selden (2002:485), training is a direct means of developing individuals, and subsequently organisational capacity. This capacity, in turn, is linked to the overall organisational performance.
Wang, Lo and Yang (2004:250) argue that, with the increasing dynamic and turbulent nature of competition, there is a strong tendency to understand organisations in terms of the efficient use of unique capabilities that create sustained performance differentials within industries. This makes the development of more effective methods for managing knowledge and other intangible resources a central concern for contemporary strategic management. Sobeck and Agius (2007:237) believe that capacity building is promoted as a way to enhance effectiveness and
sustainability. Capacity building has become an important tool to support local government by giving thena training, technical assistance, and other resources to achieve their mission. Balaguer-Coll, Prior and Tortosa-Ausina (2007:427) state that effective policy is necessary to improve local government managerial capacity. Steinberg and Miranda (2005: 167) equally agree that municipalities suffer from inadequate revenue, and there exists locally, a serious lack of
technical and managerial capabilities. But they also see communi1ry based capacity building as
serving to 'enhance a moral sense of duty because there is a moral dimension to capacity building, as there is a link between resources and users. Aijaz (2010:34) indicates that many governments view capacity building as an important strategy component.
The study conducted by Human Sciences Research Council (2008:4) rn Pretoria, indicates
capacity constraints within local government as insufficient contingency and the seemingly non-availability of appropriate candidates due to inability to attract such individuals into the local government arena as well as the lack of such trained or graduated individuals, insufficient strategic leadership to drive large-scale change management and development processes, inadequate requisite technical skills in critical functional areas and lack of requisite internal operational infrastructure and technology, lack of competency which leads to the inability to do the tasks, recruitment and selection of staff not in line with job descriptions, poor understanding of local government legal framework caused by insufficient expe1tise to interpret and translate legislation :and policies into action, lack of service orientated attitude and behaviour, partly influenced loy an organisational culture that does not uphold the principles of service delivery, limited und,erstanding of the developmental organisational purpose and vision, bureaucratic and hierarchical structures and systems that limit functional relations and programmes and project based activities, dissipated organisational memory due to continued transformation and lack of
knowledge management and appropriate consolidation of systems and structures necessary to
stabilize fmances and begin to ensure service delivery and development (Human Sciences Research C•cmncil, 2008:4).
Chen and Gant (200 I :350) highlight that local government shouldl have appropriate level of IT capability dhat empowers it to accomplish several tasks critical in securing performance. Smith and Trevor (2005) state that one of the challenges facing local government is delivery of equitable service to the citizens of South Africa. Local government, like many other government
institutions, has limited financial and human resources capacity to attend to these challenges. It
is, therefore, important that local government strives within constraints, to provide equitable
services' to its people in terms of housing, water, electricity and sanitation (Smith and Trevor, 2005).
According to the Local Government Transition Act, 1993 (Act 209 of 1993), which is the
statutory legislation, local government is the form of government that is closest to the people,
and necessary to ensure that the basic needs of its community are adequately provided, through
the provision of services such as health, water, housing, sanitation and electricity, commonly
referred to as essential services.
In terms of Section I of the White Paper on Local Government Service Partnerships (2000), acquiring capital resources is a need to meet service delivery. In addition innovative financing
solutions have to be devised for prudent financial management practices. The White Paper on
Local Government Service Partnerships (2000) highlights challenges of municipalities in relation
to service delivery as lack of implementation capacity at local government level, inability to spend available funds for local government development, corruption and nepotism, inadequate human resource capacity and expertise, inadequate institutional and infrastructural capacity to
render municipal services effectively, inadequate communication between national government
and local government on the real needs of local communities and inadequate financial resources
to fully implement and manage well-meaning government programs (Makhura, 2005).
LGSETA (20 1 0:2) demonstrates the lack of capacity on local government as the lack of fmancial
resources to meet service delivery obligations due to the poverty of the community, large number
of staff vacancies, both on budgeted posts and on organograms, staff employed does not have minimum level of competence, or attitude necessary to do the job for which they are employed, operational systems and processes are poorly developed or absent, employees lack the tools, or hardware to do their jobs.
2.4 SKILLS IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Jacobson (20 1 0:353) states that the nation is poised for a workforce crisis and governments are
likely to feel the crisis because of high proportion of older employees and high demand for knowledge workers. People with the required skills and knowledge will become harder to recruit
and retain, especially if governments are not clear about the skills they seek. Wang, Lo and Yang
(2004:252) assert that organisations are under increasing pressure to develop, strengthen and
renew competencies that enable them to adapt, integrate and reconfigure their skills and knowledge and dynamic capabilities, in order to adapt to a changing business environment and
deliver superior customer value in a timely, responsive and continuous manner.
According Aijaz (20 I 0:386), various organisations build core skills in diverse areas, including
leadership, fmancial management, local economic development, participatory planning,
budgeting and conflict management to impact job performance and organisational effectiveness.
Kuk (2002:360) is in agreement that local government needs skills and knowledge to understand
how technologies can be deployed in a way that will help delivers local priorities. However, the
necessary skills and knowledge are in short supply. Thompson-Fawcett (2007:326) concurs that
the problem with skill shortage is that it's actually systematic industry problem. In the study
conducted by Human Sciences Research Council (2008:4) the study highlight that effective
municipality is a function of a combination of technical skills, material resources, and civic
engagement.
LGSETA (2010:5-43) highlights that there is a large increase in the demand for skills as a result
of the transformation and restructuring agenda of the local government sector, increased focus on the sector as an implementation agent for national policies, necessity to eradicate service delivery backlogs and high staff turnover, the transformation of human resource management practices,
and employment equity considerations. Furthermore LGSETA (20 I 0:5-43) highlights that
despite problems with the attraction and retention of high-level skills, very little evidence is
found on strategies to address problems across the local government sector. Therefore, high
skills demand in local government is the result of the upgrading of service delivery methods and
increasing the demand for services. In addition LGSETA (20 I 0:5-43) states that the greatest
problem with acquiring skills in the municipalities is the lack of experience within local government, which is a source for great concern.
LGSET A (20 I 0:5-43) further states that project consolidate notes in relation to management and
institutional development that there is a lack of accountability mechanisms within the work place
to ensure performance. Performance agreements are not concluded hampering the
implementation of performance assessment~ organisa6onal structures are not finalised, or are
incomplete~ labour disputes and disciplinary issues remain unresolved for extended periods of
time; lack of support for individual career development and career pathing and inadequate staff
recruitment and retention. Consequently, LGSETA research highlights that most municipalities
are struggling to understand the implications of skills development legislation and skills development commitment. These problems prevent effective training in many municipalities
(LGSETA, 2010:5-43).
Research conducted by CoGTA (2009:66) indicates that the submission of the Policy Review
Process on Provincial and Local Government report, identified a number of challenges with
skills development and capacity building on municipal levels, including under-investment in
people, particularly where technical, management and leadership skills are required, assumptions
that there are short cuts to acquire specialist skills except through required education and work
experience, more creative responses are required to address scarce skills, such as partnering with civil society, private sector and shared services options, high turnover of staff due to changes in
leadership especially after elections, not enough attention paid to skills required by politicians in
terms of governance and associated accredited programmes to build such skills, political
influence in appointment process in politically acceptable appointments at the expense of
technical competence, and poor municipal work environment that is not conducive to attract and
retain talented professionals (CoGTA, 2009:66).
Skills Development Act (1998) highlights its purpose as developing skills of the South African
workforce by improving the quality of life of workers, their prospects of work and labour
mobility, improving productivity in the workplace and the competitiveness of employers and
promoting self-employment and improving the delivery of social services. Ntlebi and Maphunye (2003: I) argue that South Africa is faced with challenges in bridging the gap of productivity because of serious shortage of skilled employees.
2.5 LEARNING AND TRAINING
According to Nilsson and Eriksson (2008: 135), acknowledging that the learning process is
important for the capacity to handle crises is critical. Carson and Gilmore (2000:366) assert that the existing competencies of knowledge, experience, communication and judgment that managers have can combine to create experiential knowledge through the development of their experiential learning. Nilsson and Eriksson (2008: 136) state that a response to a crisis benefits individuals having adequate skills and knowledge of resources needed to solve the specific crisis situation.
Despite their traditional and long standing challenge the public sector organisations have increasingly placed more emphasis on training and development (Jacobson, 2010:357). Jacobson, Rubin and Selden (2002:485) explain that a well-designed training system contributes to a public organisation's performance by ensuring that employees have the knowledge and skills they need to meet the demands of their cun·ent and future jobs. An important component or predictor of government performance is in its training and infrastructure. It helps organisations recruit and retain workers, as well as ensure that workers have requisite skills and opportunities to perform in their current and future positions. Training may also help governments attract and retain workers in an increasingly competitive job market (Jacobson, Rubin and Selden,
2002:485). Vander Westhuizen et at. (2004:706) are in agreement that training and development have become a major part of business in many organisations, as a way of making organisations more competitive in a changing market place. Paton and McLaughlin (2008:77) assert that it is the transfer of knowledge that crucially influences operational effectiveness and ability of the municipality to grow and innovate effectively.
Roux and Nyamukachi (2005:703) assert that it is imperative for municipalities to constantly change and review the way services are rendered, in order to remain relevant and effective. An institutional culture of learning should be developed for any process change. Employees should be empowered through continuous learning, training and development. Training systems within local government are poorly developed and training committees often poorly capacitated.
LGSET A (20 l 0:43-47) again indicates the weakness within the overall management of training as little consideration of workplace training and the development of policies and procedures. The high levels of training taking place within the sector are largely related to upgrading the capacity of existing staff, currently driven by organisational, rather than service delivery needs. Jn addition there are high levels of training taking place
in
local government sector but, its impact on average is limited. Much of the training is piecerrieal, ad hoc and does not lead to full qualifications of any sort.Ntlebi and Maphunye (2003:3) consider that training and development as an important issue in South African local government. Several studies argue that majority of South African workers need new or significantly expanded skills to keep up with the demands of their jobs. Employee training and development is seen as a key factor in meeting the employer's strategic, business and operational goals. In addition, people who work in the public sector must constantly strive to act in a way that will lead to improvement on the quality of service delivery by public institutions. Furthermore, Ntlebi and Maphunye state that training and development is the responsibility of the enterprise, if it wants to ensure that employees are competent and motivated. South African human resource managers are faced with great challenges, and no institution can function efficiently without suitably trained personnel. Byars and Rue (1994:216) agree that training is a learning process that involves the acquisition of skills, concepts, rules, or attitudes to increase the performance of employees.
South Africa needs trained municipal employers if it has to meet the unfulfilled needs of its population. The demand for services is there, and unless municipal employees are properly and adequately trained, service standards will decline. Furthermore, productivity is a problem iJ1 South Africa, without training and efforts to increase productivity; the municipal organisation cannot be fully successful (Ntlebi and Maphunye, 2003:4).
According to Ann strong (200 I :543), the fundamental aim of training is to help the organisation achieve its purpose by adding value to its key resources, and the people it employs. Training means investing in people to enable them to perform better and to empower them to make the best use of their natural abilities. In addition, A1mstrong maintains that the objective of training is to develop the skills and competences of employees and improve their performance, help 18
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Ntlebi and Maphunye (2003: 13) argue that the majority of workers need new or significantly expanded skills to keep up with the demands of their jobs. This includes new technology, management, customer service and basic skills training. Employee training, development and education programmes are big business in South Africa. In addition employee training and development is seen as a key factor in meeting the employer's strategic, business and operation goals.
According to Ntlebi and Maphunye (2003:38), it is a given fact that no person, irrespective of his/her background and academic qualifications, is fully equipped for his/her job with an organisation without further training. Furthermore, apart from those joining the organisation for the first time, even the experienced employee has a permanent need for in-service training, due to ever-increasing changes in the technological and other fields. ln addition, training is not only aimed at improving the employees' knowledge and skill with regard to his/her functional and administrative duties, but the acquisition of certain virtues and attitudes like diligence, willingness, integrity, loyalty and responsibility are also within its scope.
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Municipal Capacity Assessment (20 11) final report states that it is common knowledge that local government performance is highly divergent. Service providers should periodically evaluate their performance against fonnal targets because citizens are skeptical towards the public sector performance, but relatively satisfied with obligatory services when their needs are well received. Furthermore some municipalities perform poorly and warrant intervention.
There is a need to ensure that municipalities are responsive, efficient, and effective and provide value for money with the allocated public resources (CoGT A, 2009:6). Roux and Nyamukachi (2005:696) are of the opinion that when municipal councils do not perform as expected by local communities, it is understandable that such communities will express their dissatisfaction. [n
addition, the recent wave of local unrest serves as an example to the extent and emphasizes the need for municipalities, considering comprehensive reform, to incorporate mechanisms that would secure accountability in municipal affairs.
According to LGSETA (2010:3), the key performance areas for local government are good
governance and deepening of democracy, municipal transformation and institutional
development, municipal financial viability and management, basic service delivery and infrastruch1re development, and sustainable local economic development.
The public choice approach is often characterized by a "leviathan'' view of government, which argues that government monopoly over the public leads to overproduction and inefficiency (Mohr, Deller and Halstead, 20 10:894). Local government efficiency and effectiveness involves satisfying citizens' wishes (Torres, Pina and Yentano, 2000:43). Organisational effectiveness is influenced by a complex interplay of factors, including leadership and governance, fmancial management, technology, programme quality and human resources (Sobeck and Agius,
2007:239).
In this changing world, government authorities simultaneously face two challenges: the importance of fulfilling the new needs and expectitions of their citizens and the reality of reduced budget. The new service delivery must provide greater satisfaction with higher
efficiency (Verdegem and Verleye, 2009:487). According to Balaguer-Coll, Prior and
Tortosa-Ausina (2007:426) all individuals, governments and f.lfllls have an interest, one way or another,
in improving efficiency and productivity in public sector activities.
Esfahani (2005:498) highlights that it is not clear whether most of today's low-income economies can take off without fixing the basic problems that impede the efficiency of public services. Chen and Gru1t (2001 :352) assert that to maximize efficiency gains, local government
should work with application service providers that are best capable of providing the services
they need.
Superior performance is always derived from the possession of unique and difficult to imitate
skills, knowledge, resources, assets or competencies, which are themselves a complex combination of interlinked processes, routines, technologies and individual skills (Wang, Lo and Yang, 2004:252). IT capability, management capability, and senior management support are 20 I Page
three ingredients for high performance for local government (Chen and Gant, 200 I :350). Local government IT staff needs to be able to monitor performance and IT staff should be able to assess whether the time required for e-Govemment services are reasonable (Chen and Gant, 200 I :350). ln rapid development, customers do not only demand efficiency, effectiveness, economical and transparent service delivery, but they also want municipalities to be responsive to consumers of local government services (Drewry, 2005).
Roux and Nyamukachi (2005:696) are very much aware that the system of local government requires an efficient, effective and transparent local public administration that conforms to constitutional principles to ensure financially and economically viable municipalities. COGTA (2009:70) believes that in response to the numerous perforn1ance and viability failures amongst municipalities, and the deteriorating service delivery record, an urgent and comprehensive intergovernmental turn-around strategy for local government is needed. LGSETA Plan (2010:25) argues that lack of experience within local government is a source for concern in ensuring performance.
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In terms of Section 73 of the Local Government Municipal Systems (Act 32 of 2000) the municipality must give effect to the provision of the Constitution and give priority to the basic needs (RSA, 2000). Therefore municipalities must be equitable and accessible, provided with economic, efficient and effective resources, fmancially sustainable, environmentally sustainable, and regularly reviewed with a view to upgrading, extension and improvement.
Jn order for municipalities to deliver services effectively and efficiently, they have to build partnerships with the private sector, especially where municipalities deliver a wide range of diversified municipal services to their local communities within their area of jurisdiction (Smith,
2005:3). According to Local Government White Paper (1998), local government is a
commitment of working with citizens and groups within the community to find sustainable ways to meet social, economic, material needs and improve the quality of lives. Furthermore, the Local Government White Paper ( 1998) highlights that local government has four inter-related characteristics being to maximize social development and economic growth, integrate and
