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An Institutional Capacity Model for Municipalities in South Africa

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An Institutional Capacity Model for Municipalities in South Africa AN INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY MODEL OF MUNICIPALITIES IN SOUTH AFRICA Louis Adrian Scheepers Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Public Management and Development Planning in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at Stellenbosch University Supervisor: Prof Erwin Schwella December 2015 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za DECLARATION By submitting this dissertation electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. Signature: .................................. Date: ........................................... Copyright © 2015 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved i Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za ABSTRACT Local government occupies a special place in the architecture of state in South Africa and there is an increasing realisation that the performance of local government is critical in respect of poverty alleviation and the rendering of services to communities. There is, however, also a need to focus on the capacity of individual municipalities to improve their quality of governance and levels of service delivery. This dissertation therefore presents a model, the Municipal Institutional Capacity Model (MICM) that can be used, outside of the present research for the dissertation, to facilitate the development of tools for the assessment of the institutional capacity of municipalities in South Africa. As background to the study, and also as a key informant towards the ultimate design and construction of the model, six eras in the development of the South African state, with special reference to the system of local government, are identified and described, namely (1) the pre-colonial era; (2) the colonial era (laying the basis for race-based governance); (3) the Union years (institutionalising race-based governance); (4) the apartheid era (entrenching race-based governance); (5) the pre-negotiations phase (challenging race- based governance); and (6) the democratic era. This timeline represents an enriching of the historiography of the development of the South African state by including a narrative on the system of governance of one of the pre-colonial societies found in South Africa. At the centre of the South African local government system lie a set of developmental ambitions, contained in the White Paper on Local Government, the Constitution and the ii Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za suite of local government that regulates local government in South Africa. The lofty ideals contained in this framework create a standard against which to measure the system of local government and the outputs and outcomes that it produces. At the same time, the discourse on the developmental state and developmental local government has developed into a theoretical framework that underlies the developmental ambitions of both the South African state and the importance of the system of local government in achieving these ambitions. The MICM is constructed in three sections consisting of two capacity areas, namely, a primary capacity area (leadership) and a secondary capacity area (innovation); and a set of four key institutional capacity elements, namely (1) long-term visioning and planning; (2) fiscal management; (3) public participation; and (4) human resources. The dissertation can be classified as a non-positivist, descriptive and explanatory qualitative study. In line with this classification, the model was validated by internal as well as external validation. The internal validation is based on a triangulation of calibrating the MICM with (1) the continuities between the different eras of local government development in South Africa; (2) the developmental mandate of local government; (3) the constitutional and legislative mandate of local government in South Africa; (4) the status quo in respect of local government performance in South Africa; and (5) the discourse on institutional capacity and capacity measurement. The external validation of the model consisted of an expert validation workshop in which four experts engaged with the MICM and considered whether the MICM provides predictive and structural validity and whether the model outputs agree with an external entity, in this case, municipalities in South Africa. iii Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za OPSOMMING Plaaslike regering bekleë ‘n spesiale plek in die samestelling van die Suid-Afrikaanse staat en daar is ‘n toenemende bewuswording dat die prestasie van plaaslike regering belangrilk is ten opsigte van die aanspreek van armoede en dienslewering aan gemeenskappe. Daar is egter ook ‘n behoefte om te fokus op die kapasiteit van individuele munisipalitieite ten einde hulle vermoë om goeie regering en vlakke van dienslewering te verbeter. Hierdie proefskrif bied daarom ‘n model aan, die Munisipale Institusionele Kapasiteitsmodel (MIKM) om, buite die raamwerk van die navorsing vir hierdie proefskrif, die ontwikkeling van hulpmiddels te fasiliteer waarmee die institusionele kapasiteit van munisipaliteite in Suid-Afrika gemeet kan word. As agtergrond tot die studie, sowel as ‘n belangrike inset tot die uiteindelike ontwerp en samestelling van die model, word ses eras in die ontwikkeling van die Suid-Afrikaanse staat, en spesifiek die stelsel van plaaslike regering, geïdentifiseer en beskryf. Hierdie eras is (1) die pre-koloniale era; (2) die koloniale era (waarin die basis vir ras-gebaseerde regering gelê is); (3) die Unie-jare (waarin ras-gebaseerde regering geïnstitusionaliseer is); (4) apartheid era (waarin ras-gebaseerde regering vasgelê is); (5) die periode voor onderhandeling (waarin ras-gebaseerde regering uitgedaag is) en (6) die demokratiese era. Hierdie tydlyn verteenwoordig ‘n verryking van die historografie van die ontwikkeling van die Suid-Afrikaanse staat deur die insluiting van ‘n narratief oor die regeerstelsel van een van die voor-koloniaanse gemeenskappe wat in Suid-Afrika aangetref was. iv Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Aan die kern van die Suid-Afrikaanse stelsel van plaaslike regering is ‘n stel ontwikkelings- ambisies, vervat in die Witskrif op Plaaslike Regering, die Grondwet en die reeks wetgewing wat plaaslike regering in Suid-Afrika reguleer. Die hoë ideale wat in hierdie raamwerk vervat is skep ‘n standaard waarteen die stelsel van plaaslike regering en die uitsette en uitkomste wat dit lewer gemeet kan word. Terselfdertyd het die diskoers oor die ontwikkelingstaat en ontwikkelingsgerigte plaaslike regering gegroei tot ‘n teoretiese raamwerk wat die ontwikkelingsambisies van die Suid-Afrikaanse staat ondersteun, sowel as die belangrikheid van plaaslike regering ten einde hierdie ambisies te verwesenlik. Die MIKM bestaan uit drie afdelings wat bestaan uit twee kapasiteitsareas, naamlik ‘n primêre kapasiteitsarea (leierskap) en ‘n sekondêre kapasiteitsarea (innovering); en vier kern institusionele kapasiteits elemente, naamlik (1) lang termyn visie & beplanning; (2) fiskale bestuur; (3) openbare deelname; en (4) menslike hulpbronne. Die proefskrif kan geklasifiseer word as ‘n non-positivistiese, beskrywende en verduidelikende kwalitatiewe studie. In lyn hiermee was die model gevalideer deur middel van beide interne sowel as eksterne validering. Die interne validering is gebaseer op ‘n triangulering van kalibrering van die model met (1) die gemeenplase tussen die verskillende eras van die ontwikkeling van plaaslike regering in Suid-Afrika; (2) die ontwikkelingsmandaat van plaaslike regering in Suid-Afrika; (3) die grondwetlike en statutêre mandaat van plaaslike regering in Suid-Afrika; (4) die status quo ten opsigte van die prestasie van plaaslike regering in Suid-Afrika; en (5) die diskoers oor institusionele kapasiteit en kapasiteitsmeting. Die eksterne validering het bestaan uit ‘n werkswinkel van kundiges waarin vier kundiges deur die die MIKM gewerk het en oorweeg het of die MIKM v Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za voorspelbaarheids- en strukturele integriteit bied en of die model uitsette ooreenstem met ‘n eksterne entiteit, in hierdie geval munisipaliteite in Suid-Afrka. vi Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1. I must thank my parents, Louis and the late Mariana Scheepers, who have worked hard to provide us with the opportunities to be the best that we can be and who have inculcated in us the belief in education as a means to improve oneself, as well as the society that one is a part of. Above all, thank you for the love that has always been a part of the house in which we grew up. 2. Mamma Tilly, thank you very much for your love and the impact that you have had on my life. 3. My wife, Penny, and daughters, Genevieve and Luché, for your unwavering love and support and for providing me with the space and time to pursue this dream. 4. My supervisor, Prof Erwin Schwella, who has become a mentor and a person that I look up to for intellectual, academic and social guidance. Thank you very much for accompanying me on this stimulating journey. 5. Thank you also to the members of the external validation panel (Prof Jaap de Visser, Dr Hildegarde Fast, Dr Leanne Scott and Adv Werner Zybrand) for their valuable input. 6. I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr
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