The influence of the transformation of local government on service delivery in category B municipalities in the Eastern Cape

[摘要] English: Following the demise of apartheid the restructuring of local government in South Africa commenced. Cities were notorious for the exclusion of a significant proportion of the population from economic opportunities and the delivery of basic services. The national debate on local government transformation and restructuring commenced in 1990 in the Local Government Negotiating Forum (LGNF) alongside the national negotiating process. The LGNF negotiated the Local Government Transitional Act, 1993 (Act 209 of 1993) that envisaged a three phase transition process and provided for the abolishment of racially based local authorities.The final phase of the transformation of local government commenced with the implementation of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996). In terms of the Constitution (Chapter 10), all three spheres of government were responsible for ensuring the delivery of quality services to all South Africans. To enable these spheres of government to carry out their responsibilities, the public sector delivery process needed to transform through a process of restructuring.In terms of the Reconstruction and Development Programme municipalities were key institutions for delivering basic services. Therefore the restoration and upgrading of services where they have collapsed and extending services to new areas were regarded as vital preconditions for the legitimising of the new local government system. A Demarcation Board was established to determine boundaries for local authorities that were to be established in terms of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998. The Act sets out the categories and types of municipalities for South Africa.The purpose of the study is to investigate the influence of transformation on the level of service delivery. Consequently the establishment of the Maletswai Local Municipality and related issues were investigated. Furthermore, the services that should be delivered by local government in terms of its constitutional mandate were explained whereafter the level of satisfaction of residents with regards to service delivery were investigated by means of an empirical study. Findings and recommendations to improve service delivery were submitted in the final chapter of the thesis.

[发布机构] University of the Free State