Enhancing service delivery and local democracy through community participation in Madibeng Local Municipality.
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Date
2021
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Abstract
Poor service delivery and the lack of community participation in local government affairs are perceived by many citizens as undermining constitutional democracy and the government’s vision of building a developmental state. When these challenges are not addressed, the developmental agenda of the National Development Plan (NDP) and other national imperatives may not be achieved. This research investigated the role of community participation in enhancing service delivery in Madibeng Local Municipality in the North West Province of South Africa. The main aim was to explore the extent to which effective and efficient community participation strategies can promote local democracy and quality service delivery in this municipality. The literature reviewed in this study revealed that since the first local government elections in 1995, much has been achieved to improve the status of municipalities so that they provide quality services to their communities. The study adopted the New Public Management (NPM) theory, which concurred with the literature of the study that municipalities should use innovative methods for improving their service delivery systems and that they should be guided by the values of good governance and comply with private-sector principles rather than the rigid hierarchical bureaucracies. The study used a quantitative methodology to collect quantitative data from the sample of 200 community members and qualitative data from a sample of 12 municipal officials of Madibeng Local Municipality. The quantitative findings revealed that despite the existing challenges that delay service delivery, the municipality has community participation strategies that will need to be intensified so that the municipality may efficiently execute its service delivery mandate. Furthermore, these findings demonstrated dissatisfaction and frustrations of the citizens about the poor pace of service delivery and the failure of the municipality to facilitate socio-economic opportunities in the form of youth and adult employment. To prioritise service delivery and the general well-being of local citizens, the study recommended a holistic restructuring of the municipality which will promote active collaborations between the municipality and various municipal stakeholders. The use of innovative technologies in the municipality was also recommended due to their efficiency and effectiveness.
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Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.