Effectiveness of project management office relative to the King Sabata Dalindyebo local municipality in Mthatha, Eastern Cape

Ndalasi, Luntu

Effectiveness of project management office relative to the King Sabata Dalindyebo local municipality in Mthatha, Eastern Cape

Thesis / Dissertation

2026

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Construction Economics and Management

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment

Abstract

Background: The role of the Project Management Office (PMO) in organizations continues to be a topic of great interest to project management practitioners. The PMO has many potential roles to play as a contributor to advancing the performance outcomes and imperative success factors/milestones of any organisation, yet, for many organizations, a struggle exists to define the PMO role, to position the PMO for long-term success, and to leverage the PMO to support achievement of the organization's strategic objectives. The basic tools explored as part of this research are based on the premise of the MIG PMU guideline issued by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) together with National Treasury on how compliant Project Management Unit (PMU's) should be structured and resourced in municipalities for effective delivery of services to its intended beneficiaries that are communities, therefore the research study explores if the guideline is accurate and is utilized to optimize expectations and it is in-line with international standards on how project management office should be structured and resourced. Objectives: This study investigates the challenges faced by PMO's in achieving project objectives within the local government sphere focusing on the South African context and evaluates the effectiveness of the project management unit at the local authority sphere amid all the infrastructure planning and delivery challenges exhibited through the performance of municipalities in provision of basic service delivery through infrastructure projects and further exhibits how the PMO's are structured and resourced. Methodology: This study commenced by undertaking a literature review of peer reviewed journal papers to identify and analyse applicable PMO frameworks and their success factors to improve project performance and delivery. It further used case study research approach with a focused municipality to confine the method of study and data collection and also used structured interviews as a form of collecting data to avoid open-ended questions and responses through an unstructured interview method. Based on researcher's understanding of the local government environment, direct observations were also used to gather available data through direct observation of performance by municipalities and also during the interviews with participants. Participant's observations and written documentation were also considered in the literature review, as it provides more complete understanding of the phenomenon. With all the combined factors applied, it eventually embroidered principles of the qualitative research. Results/Findings: The results show key outcomes in how to structure and resource the composition of the Project Management Units at municipalities and utilisation of technological software packages as form of performance enhancement. Further findings are that the prescripts of the MIG PMU Guidelines as issued by COGTA for MIG receiving municipalities matches up to the PRINCE 2 framework and gated stages is recommended The study agrees with the existing PMO framework literature that suggest for effectiveness of PMO's, the must be regulated span of control for project managers in administering a certain number of projects regardless of the complexity of projects. Another imperative alignment to the existing literature is that of clearly defined roles and responsibilities amongst project stakeholders to enhance understanding and improve effectiveness of the PMO's. Conclusion: The study concludes by recommending adaptation of project management office frameworks at local government sphere as a way of improving effectiveness of PMU's thus ensuring that administering of municipal projects are creating efficiencies that demonstrates critical success factors for functional PMU's and project success. The study also recommends the regular update (at least every 5 years) of the MIG PMU Guidelines as issued by COGTA.