OpenUCT :: Browsing by Subject "Public Policy and Administration"

Browsing by Subject "Public Policy and Administration"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 21

Open Access
A battle for access to the streets of a "World-Class African City": Assessing the challenges facing the City of Johannesburg in the management of street trading in the inner-city
(University of Cape Town, 2020) Zulu, Nompumelelo; Cameron, Robert
The paper identifies the main challenges faced by the City of Johannesburg in the management of street trading in Johannesburg's inner-city. Street trading is very important as it constitutes a great proportion of the informal sector in South Africa, and it plays a great role in the alleviation of poverty and unemployment. Government acknowledges the significance of street trading but this does not translate into urban policy and practice. There is a need for government to be more supportive and developmental in the management of street trading in urban governance. The paper found that the 2013 Constitutional Court Judgement on Operation Clean Sweep has brought about a shift in the City of Johannesburg's approach and attitude towards street trading, however, key challenges remain. Firstly, the City of Johannesburg needs to establish a holistic, developmental and collaborative management model for street trading as the current one is fragmented and inconsistent. The mismanagement of street trading has left traders vulnerable to police harassment and corruption, and it has resulted in the "crime and grime" the City of Johannesburg so often blames street trading for. Secondly, the City of Johannesburg needs to balance its desire to attain world-class African city status with the needs of the poor and marginalized - economic development, urban renewal and investment should not take place at the expense of the poor. Thirdly, street traders need to be at the center of the management model, currently business and private interests are at the center of the model. Lastly, the City of Johannesburg needs to be more creative and lenient in accommodating the growing number of street traders in the inner-city. The City of Johannesburg needs to stop criminalizing street trading through the creation of scarcity. The findings of this paper have implications for urban management policy and practice. Research was conducted through interviews with the Department of Economic Development officials responsible for street trading; draft policy and government documents were used; and secondary sources were drawn upon.
Open Access
A Review of Critical Factors Impacting the Implementation of E-government in Developing Countries
(2021) Mogale, Boitumelo Hlengiwe; Cameron, Robert
A key challenge facing developing countries is the high failure rate of electronic government (e-government) programmes. Since its inception, e-government has been implemented globally with the aim that it will enhance the quality-of-service delivery, transform government's internal and external processes and make the public sector more effective and efficient. However, the majority of e-government initiatives have failed to meet their objectives, particularly in developing countries. Therefore, this research considers the factors facilitating and inhibiting the successful implementation of e-government in developing countries. The methodology adopted for the thesis was a qualitative research approach. Secondary data was collected through a literature review of various sources, namely government publications, annual reports compiled by international development agencies and relevant books. To address the research question, I identified literature from journal articles with expertise in information systems such as the Electronic Journal for E-government. The research findings indicate that e-government in developing countries is impacted by various infrastructural, financial, political, socio-economic, organisational and human related aspects. Some of these include the digital divide, resistance to change, limited ICT skills and a lack of robust regulatory frameworks. The study concludes that successful e-government does not solely rest on technology. Instead, developing countries need to understand the impact of the various local contextual factors. These are the fundamental aspects that must be considered during the strategic design of e-government initiatives to ensure they are appropriate for and relevant to local conditions.
Open Access
Affirming women in the South African public service a study of provincial government 2000 - 2007
(2012) Meyer, Tamlynn; Cameron, Robert
Since 1994 a strong legal and policy framework has been in place to ensure that women are adequately represented and treated as equals to their male counterparts. Affirmative action is the official programme used by the government to ensure that, among other things, women are fast tracked into the public service. This thesis examines the extent to which women are represented in provincial government and the possible barriers, if any, confronting them in their career advancement. A mixed-method approach incorporating both quantitative and qualitative data is used in this study.
Open Access
An assessment of corporate social responsibility in South Africa's mining industry : a case study of Anglo American Platinum's corporate social investment programmes in the area of education
(2016) Siyobi, Busisipho Ayakha; Butler, Anthony
The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) agenda and practice has been a part of the global, academic and corporate debate for many decades. Policymakers are increasingly viewing the private sector as an important role player in contributing towards meeting the socio-economic developmental challenges. The research study has assessed the role of CSR in South Africa's mining industry with a focus on the basic education system; by unpacking the objectives and the key challenges of the provincial department of basic education in the North West and Limpopo provinces. This research study has made use of Anglo American Platinum's Corporate Social Investment (CSI) education programmes as a case study to further gauge the impact of CSR engagement and key challenges that prevail in the execution of CSI education programmes. The challenges pertain to poor coordination and cooperation, poor consultation and strategic planning and lack of consistent review of monitoring and evaluation of all the stakeholders involved. Therefore, the paper argues that company's interests, incentives and motives to engage in CSI education programmes is twofold: one; CSI is used to project public relations and as a 'window-dressing' exercise and two; businesses are gradually viewing CSI as a long-term investment towards social and human capital that will benefit the corporations in the future.
Open Access
Commercialising Zambia's urban water services : a critical analysis.
(2012) Kabinga, Makondo; Cameron, Robert
This research critically analyses reforms undertaken in Zambia's water sector. Its main focus however, is on the corporatisation of Zambia's urban water services. The objective is to apply some selected indicators of water services improvement to establish whether the commercialisation of urban water services has improved water service delivery. The research uses qualitative and quantitative literature and generally relies on secondary data. Therefore, it is an exhaustive literature review of the available electronic and hard copy sources. Of particular relevance to the research are the National Water and Sanitation Council's (NWASCO) sector reports, which are comprehensive records of the performance of Zambia's Commercial Water Utilities (CUs).
Open Access
A critical assessment of policy coordination in the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme: the case of Riemvasmaak
(2016) Maré, Annelie; Naidoo, Vinothan
Rural development has been a part of South Africa's policy agenda since the country's transition to democracy, but it has enjoyed new prominence since the ANC's policy conference at Polokwane in 2007 (ANC, 2008). This renewed interest in rural development as a policy priority culminated in the establishment of the new Department of Rural Development and Land Reform and the adoption of its flagship strategy, the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP), in 2009. Even in its earliest incarnations, rural development was classified as a crosscutting policy problem beyond the scope of a single South African government department, therefore requiring horizontal coordination across sectors like land reform and agriculture, as well as vertical coordination with provincial departments serving concurrent functions. On the vertical plane, local government is also considered to be vital not only in identifying the needs of communities, but in their contributions to integrated planning processes. This study aims to examine the policy coordination mechanisms of the CRDP, including the new lead department tasked with its implementation, since the crosscutting nature of the policy problem necessitates such a wide variety of stakeholders coming together and taking a coordinated approach. The dissertation will focus on the town of Riemvasmaak in the Northern Cape as a case study, following a site visit and a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with officials from different spheres of government involved in the implementation of the new programme. The findings suggest that, despite the benefits of having a new national department, political support and financial resources at its disposal, policy coordination in the CRDP is not functioning as it should. The line between rural development and agriculture's mandates are becoming blurred, risking duplication between the two departments, while the CRDP's own chosen mechanism at grassroots, the Council of Stakeholders, seems to be duplicating existing Integrated Development Planning (IDP) processes at local government level. The findings also suggest that none of the chosen mechanisms proved adequate for resolving or overcoming conflict and other complexities hampering coordination at community level.
Open Access
Evaluating public sector reforms in Botswana : performance management, privatization and anti-corruption reforms
(2012) Moremong, Leruo; Cameron, Robert
This study sought to examine Botswana’s most recent attempts at public sector reform, which, to a greater extent than its previous endeavours have reflected global trends. Specifically, it sought to evaluate the impact of performance management, privatization and anti-corruption reforms on the country’s public sector. The dissertation has primarily consisted of desktop documentary review of relevant literature and provides an extensive assessment of public sector reforms trends in developed and developing countries, as the background against which examination of the three reform initiatives undertaken by Botswana is made.
Open Access
Examination of centralisation practices in South African local government
(2011) Moya, Hazel Nasiphi; Cameron, Robert
Democratic decentralisation in South Africa was undertaken as part of post-apartheid restructuring. This signified a shift on local government's status from being a tier to being a sphere with its own and powers functions. The empowerment of local government is evident in five tested indicators, which are the areas that are empowered to lift local government's autonomy as stipulated in the constitution and in supporting legislations. These areas include legal, financial, functional, human resources and public participation. However, these areas are facing challenges which lead to scholars and government to view local government as inefficient and ineffective. As a result, central government is intervening in local government's affairs claiming to ensure the intended constitutional objectives.This dissertation examines the evidence of centralisation by testing five areas that are constitutionally empowered to ensure democratic decentralisation. In South Africa, these indicators are evident in empowering of local government based on the national legislations and supporting local government policies. However, the central government's interference has undermined these powers and function.
Open Access
An exploration of social policy responses for orphans and vulnerable children in Botswana
(2012) Motlogelwa, Kealeboga Kelly; Taylor, Viviene
This study explores whether social policy responses for orphans and vulnerable children(OVC) in Botswana address the needs of this category of children. The objectives of social policies and legislation (such as the Constitution, the Children's Act of 2009, the National Guidelines on the Care of OVC of 2008, and the Botswana National Plan of Action for OVC of 2010-2016) in relation to social protection are analysed, and the availability, accessibility and adequacy of the HIV and AIDS social protection measures for OVC, namely prevention of mother-to-child transmission, antiretroviral therapy, and community home-based care and orphan food baskets, are described. The study argues that these social policy responses for OVC are inadequate and do not comprehensively meet the needs of OVC. There is an inadequate legal and policy framework, fragmentation of social protection provisions, inadequate minimum eligibility criteria, shortage of human resources, insufficient funding, lack of awareness, and the presence of stigma and discrimination. These present barriers to the availability, accessibility and adequacy of social protection provision to OVC.
Open Access
Facilitating educational access for children with learning disabilities: The implementation of inclusive education in South Africa
(2022) Mampane, Jane Thandi; Naidoo, Vinothan
Children with disabilities have long experienced barriers to equal education due to discrimination. When the United Nations declared education a fundamental human right for every child in 1948, UNESCO-led conferences began to endorse campaigns worldwide that encouraged governments to reform their segregated education systems and promote the inclusion of children with disabilities in formal and mainstream schools. Following the demise of apartheid in 1994, the newly elected democratic government declared education a fundamental human right of all South Africans. The Department of Education adopted an inclusive education approach that intended to dismantle the segregated education system that historically discriminated against children with disabilities. The department introduced the Education White Paper 6 in 2001 to establish an inclusive system that would accommodate children with diverse learning needs in ordinary classrooms. However, children with disabilities are still subjected to exclusion from ordinary schools, while thousands more are out of school. This is especially true for children with learning disabilities because they are considered ‘stupid' and uneducable. This study sought to examine the extent to which the implementation of policy on inclusive education, namely Education White Paper 6, has facilitated access to mainstream schooling for children with learning disabilities. The study was based on collecting data from a sample of full-service public and independent schools as well as special schools in Gauteng. The study found that the implementation of inclusive education can claim certain achievements such as the adoption of alternative learning programmes in schools to accommodate diverse learners, the development of good inter-relations between pupils with learning disabilities and their non-disabled peers in schools, and the establishment of well-functioning and supportive District- Based Support Teams in some school districts. However, some factors hinder the successful inclusion of children with learning disabilities in ordinary schools, which include a lack of teachers and government officials sufficiently trained in special and inclusive education, as well as large class sizes due to schools not having enough classrooms. Negative attitudes and cultural denialism towards children with learning disabilities as well as financial constraints were also found to be factors that prevent these children from attending school like their non-disabled peers. Other factors that continue to impede access to equal education for children with disabilities are misdiagnosis and incorrect placement in special schools when they are actually candidates for ordinary schools, as well as the lack of sufficient national information campaigns to educate the public about inclusive education. The study found that although there have been efforts to implement inclusive education in ordinary schools and admit children with learning disabilities, progress remains slow due to several school-level and cultural barriers.
Open Access
How do conceptual and contextual problems affect the measurement validity of policies directed at orphans and vulnerable children in South Africa?
(2010) Theron, Mariette; Naidoo, Vinothan
The research question examines how conceptual and contextual problems affect the measurement validity of policies directed at Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in South Africa. This study looks at the definition of concepts used in policies directed at OVC in South Africa and to what extente these concepts lend themselves measurement. The research focused on two specific concepts related to OVC policy: 'OVC' and 'stigma'.
Open Access
Men, masculinities and HIV care work: A small-scale, exploratory study of the role of community care workers in supporting HIV positive men's health-seeking behaviour
(2015) Gittings, Lesley
Caring is typically constructed as a feminized practice, resulting in women shouldering the burden of care-related work. Health-seeking behaviours are also constructed as feminine and men have poorer health outcomes globally. Employing men as carers may not only improve the health of the men they assist but also be transformative with regard to gendered constructions of caring. This dissertation adds to the small but growing literature on men in caring by focusing on men as community care workers (CCWs) and their male clients. Using semi-structured interviews and observational home visits, this study explores whether male CCWs have a unique role to play in addressing harmful health-related gender norms and in supporting HIV positive men's health-affirming behaviour. The empirical analysis draws on the perspectives of eight CCWs and three of their male clients from the Cape Town area. Being problem-driven in nature and situated within a 'gender transformative' agenda, it explores male client preferences for gender concordant care workers and the techniques that CCWs (with a focus on male CCWs) employ to support HIV positive men's health-affirming behaviour. CCWs navigate around hegemonic masculine norms that require men to act tough, suppress emotion and deny weakness and sickness by using techniques such as indirectly broaching sensitive subjects, acting friendly and being clear about the intention of their work. The interviews revealed that CCWs strove not to rupture hegemonic masculine norms while encouraging male clients to engage in health-affirming behaviour . This dissertation also explores male client preferences for gender concordant CCWs and the potential that these pairings have to support health and to be 'gender transformative'. Here 'gender transformative' refers to the creation of more gender equitable environments. The variety of intertwined factors that contribute to male client preferences for male CCWs include gendered power dynamics, comfort in sharing intimate health information and a fear of women gossiping. Drawing on current literature on men, caring and gender transformation to inform the analysis of participant perspectives and experiences, this study explores the barriers to encouraging men to seek health and also considers the challenges in recruiting an d retaining men as CCWs. Employing more male CCWs is a strategy that could improve male client's health outcomes and also contribute to the development of more gender equitable norms. Shifting such norms requires much more than simply hiring men. To contribute to gender transformation, male CCWs should ideally resonate emotionally with their work, possess gender equitable beliefs and ground these beliefs in practice.
Open Access
Performance information utilisation in The City of Cape Town Metro Municipality
(2015) Oduor-Noah, Linda; Cameron, Robert
This study looked into performance information (PI) utilisation behaviour of senior officials in the City of Cape Town Metro Municipality (CoCT). Inspired by comments around performance information having minimal effects despite its prodigious production, the study sought to determine how performance information is used and how a local government context affects utilisation behaviour. This was assessed based on conceptual approaches identified in the literature i.e. rational, and symbolic approaches to performance information, the latter subsuming both political and cultural approaches to information use. Additionally, contingency theory was referred to in order to better accommodate the notion of context and to combine the various approaches to use into one framework. A survey was administered and semi–structured interviews held with key informants to better explore this phenomenon. Descriptive and correlation analysis was carried out, with findings showing that directors use PI in both rational and symbolic ways. Both types of performance information use were affected by a range of factors, the more predominant ones being resource, internal and external environmental variables. This corroborated various other findings that state that rational approaches to information use, indeed performance management, are insufficient in providing a holistic picture of what shapes bureaucratic behaviour.
Open Access
Policy regimes in South African electricity policy as a barrier to reform and sustainability Kevin J.R. Foster.
(2012) Foster, Kevin JR; Taljaard, Raenette
This thesis examines the South African electricity policy-making regime asking the question "What is the nature of South Africa's electricity policy regime and how does it act as a barrier to reform and the introduction of sustainable energy sources into the South Africa's energy system from 1994 to 2011?" It hypothesizes that a policy regime that amounts to a coalition between energy intensive business, electricity utility Eskom and the Government that has developed in the post apartheid era out of what Fine and Rustomjee called the Minerals-Energy Complex. It hypothesizes that this regime uses its financial and political power and skills asymmetries to ensure policy is made in a supply paradigm, which prefers cheap source of electricity supply to meet growing demand over efficiency and sustainability in the energy system and that this is the major barrier to reform.
Open Access
Public finance management reform and expenditure control in Ghana: the role of the ministry of finance in implementing the MTEF
(2020) Acheampong, Michael Ekow; Naidoo, Vinothan
Public expenditure control is vital in countries because it is a key instrument for ensuring effective government strategic planning and policy priorities. In many countries, public expenditure control has been inadequately implemented because of weak accounting systems, a weak cash management system and a weak flow of information, among others, despite public finance management reforms implemented in developing countries. Public expenditure management has been a concern in Ghana's public service because of weak budget formulation, weak monitoring and evaluation, and an ineffective flow of information between the ministry of finance (MOF) and the key public institutions. The Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) has been introduced in Ghana's public service but it has been faced with challenges after the initial stage of implementation of the reforms. This study sought to examine why public finance management reforms appears to have failed to control public expenditure in Ghana, by investigating the ministry of finance's (MOF) role in implementing the MTEF. The study employs a qualitative method using interviews with officials from the MOF to examine the role of the MOF in implementing the MTEF. The key themes that the researcher sought to test through the research as potential factors behind poor expenditure control included the coordination amongst other government institutions, weak planning and forecasting, monitoring and evaluation capacity, information management systems and cash management systems, the political environment and the commitment control. The findings revealed that, despite the importance of political environment and the commitment control, planning and forecasting, the monitoring and evaluation capacity, information management system and the cash management and the coordination management government institutions in implementing the MTEF by the MOF, the new public management framework is not well implemented as it should be. The findings also revealed that in implementing the MTEF by the MOF, coordination among other government institutions such as the MOF and the NDPC has been improved and overcoming the shortcoming of implementing the public finance management reform in Ghana.
Open Access
The South African parliamentary committee system and institutional capacity
(2016) Doyle, Monique; Naidoo, Vinothan
This study aims to provide an analysis of the factors which facilitate or impede the capacity of the portfolio committees of the South African National Assembly in the carrying out of the primary function of oversight. Parliamentary oversight presents itself as a key function of legislatures and further than this, serves as a primary indicator of the effectiveness of the legislature as a principle institution in the system of democratic governance. There has not been much contribution to the field of study of the committee system of the South African Parliament much less its institutional capacity. The dissertation conceptualised capacity as the "hard" physical resources available to the committees as well as the "soft" political environment in which the committee operates. The study made use of a number secondary documents relating to the work of committees along with data collected from interviews carried out with chairpersons and committee researchers. From an analysis of these variables in relation to a sample of committees, findings present a varied picture where capacity, in terms of both hard and soft variables, differ from one committee to the next. Overall committees differ from one to the next whether in terms of the scope of their oversight or their workload and this study found that capacity has to mirror these distinctions for effective oversight.
Open Access
State fragility and militia proliferation in Kenya a case study of policy inadequacy in the context of soft insecurity
(2012) Kago, Pamela Wangeci; Cameron, Robert
This study looks at service delivery in the context of failed states. The objective of this study is to investigate whether state failure in its provisioning capacity of basic services to its citizens has led to the proliferation of militia groups in Kenya. The study draws upon secondary sources of literature such as research reports, articles, journals, and academic documents, classifications of militia groups, population growth and government service provision in Kenya since independence, and the basic needs of the poor in the slums to retrieve relevant information on the dimensions of fragility. Reports on the analysis of census data since 1963-2009 are reviewed to investigate whether government services in Kenya have been improving or deteriorating. Further, two main militia groups in Kenya: the Mungiki and SLDF (Sabaot Land Defence Force) are analysed to determine their agenda and activities.
Open Access
A study of local economic development in the town of Stutterheim
(2016) Dyosi, Fiona Simakuhle; Naidoo, Vinothan
Local economic development (LED) is progressively being implemented by developing countries and has shifted from being a development approach pursued only by industrialised nations. Academic interpretation of LED prioritises strategies based on ideas of grassroots and bottom-up development. These ideas are centred on the self-reliance of communities as well as on highlighting the benefits of creating partnerships with different actors for local development. This approach to development is encouraged in South Africa's post-apartheid local government system and is outlined in the sphere's constitutional philosophies of participatory democracy and developmental local government. As such, from the mid-1990's, LED has been embedded in legislation in South Africa, and local governments have been instructed to support LED projects and to assist in their implementation. The consensus is that the implementation of LED by South Africa's local governments has generally not been a success, and poor rural municipalities have been the most negatively impacted by these results. This dissertation looks at the evolution of LED implementation in the small rural town of Stutterheim. The first LED initiative in the town took place in the early 1990's in line with the national political transformation of South Africa from apartheid to democratic governance. This initiative has been heralded as one of the most successful cases of LED in the country. What is most noteworthy about the case is that it pre-dates the establishment of a formal post-1994 local government system and LED policy in South Africa. The LED initiative in the town has survived this formalisation but with significant revisions and reduction in its LED role in the town. This paper is primarily concerned with such revisions and the extent to which they have been a consequence of the relationship between the town's initial LED coordinator, the Stutterheim Development Foundation, and the new local government constitutionally mandated with LED. The paper further interrogates the implementation of LED in Stutterheim after 2000 and post-Stutterheim Development Foundation.
Open Access
“To be or not to be?”: The decriminalisation of sex work in South Africa
(2022) Ramabulana, Fulufhelo Shirley; Scanlon, Helen
President Cyril Ramaphosa in his speech at the launch of the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Femicide Declaration in 2019, made the commitment to working towards decriminalising sex work in South Africa as a means to also fight GBV. This in-line with what organisations that advocate for sex work such as the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT) and Sonke Gender Justice have been fighting for. The plight of sex workers and the urgent requirement for sex work legislative reforms has been highlighted by the documented increase or the spotlight on GBV. Sex work is predominantly a profession taken up by women and thus the effects of its criminalisation are mostly experienced by women. Therefore, there is a close link between the struggles of sex workers the struggle against GBV. The thesis explores the reasons why advocacy groups such as SWEAT support decriminalisation as opposed to legalisation and partial decriminalisation. Drawing an understanding as to why other sex work modules do not appeal to the needs of sex workers and why they are viewed to lead back to the infringement on basic human rights. Furthermore, it looks at the impact of using the GBV platforms to address the decriminalisation of sex work in South Africa.
Open Access
Traditional leadership, democratic authority and public opinion in Botswana
(2011) Mpule, Keneilwe P; Mattes, Robert
Renewed scholarly interest on chieftaincy hardly pays attention to the interaction between traditional leadership and modern democratic citizens. It is the state-chieftaincy relationship that has dominated much of the current research on traditional leadership in modern Africa. Even work that has been done on traditional leadership and the modern democratic state is mostly qualitative and speculative. This has led to the field being flooded by mostly qualitative and speculative assumptions on traditional rule. Botswana has not been immune to this anomaly. By employing public opinion data from the Afrobarometer surveys of 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2008, the study hopes to contribute towards the limited empirical research on traditional leaders, particularly in Botswana, which will make a valuable contribution to a more profound and grounded picture of traditional leadership in an era of heightened democratization resulting from economic development and modernization.