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Although municipalities have legislative and executive powers to develop and adopt policies, municipal policies are not developed adequately. This research identified a number of factors contributing to municipalities’ policy-making challenges. The most significant factor for the unsatisfactory development of policies at the local government level is the lack of the necessary financial and human resource capacity. Another contributing factor is the plethora of national and provincial legislation that has a direct influence on local government.
Municipalities have to be well acquainted and in compliance with all the legislative provisions to be able to perform their functions and to execute their powers. The new local government system, and specifically the amalgamation of municipalities in South Africa since 2000 resulted in specific policy implementation challenges. These challenges include the consolidation of policy documents and the setting of parity principles with regard to employee benefits. In the process of executing the responsibility of providing effective municipal services, the local government has neglected the responsibility of continuously developing, adopting and implementing policies. In addressing the policy-making responsibility some municipalities identified the critical policies that had to be developed in terms of legislation. Municipalities mainly concentrate on the development of policies in compliance with the Municipal Finance Management Act and applicable labour legislation, whilst other policies are neglected. It is apparent that there are significant challenges that municipalities will have to overcome to perform its functions effectively. The appropriate fulfilment of the powers and functions of municipalities can only be enhanced by committed and capacitated municipalities, where the advancement of the policy-making process at the local government level is prioritised to ensure that these challenges are addressed in line with established systems and procedures (Justice).
2.22 POLICY PROCESS AT THE UMGUNGUDLOVU DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY
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stage and throughout the stages of the UMDM’s policy process, Legal Advisor is involved (UMDM, 2015).
2.22.2 Research, Analysis, and Direction
The development of the policy at the UMDM began with the gathering and analyzing of information, both from within and outside the organization. This is imperative to set a clear direction for the implementation of the policy. At this stage, testing of assumptions is logically carried out alongside the business case.
2.22.3 Policy Formulation/Design
After the data have been generated and analyzed, the guiding principles of the policy are eventually identified and highlighted. Therefore, the UMDM is able to define the vision of the policy, to clarify its objectives and, to develop multiple policy options based on the complexity of the issues involved. The design of the policy is chosen here base on the principles, vision and, objectives, with the ultimate purpose in view (UMDM, 2015).
2.22.4 The Consultation
When a policy process reaches this advanced stage, the UMDM offers all stakeholders the opportunity to examine the proposed policy and provide suggestion where necessary. However, its scope of consultation is dependent on such factors as: “the nature and complexity of the policy; the extent to which it will require changes and the number of service users, staff and other stakeholders the policy is likely to have an impact upon” (UMDM, 2015).
The Departmental Policy Project Manager, Senior Managers of the Policy and Research Unit, and the Manager of Communications are responsible for the discussions on who to consult and how to consult. However, key consultations outside the organization are carefully planned and implemented, and the policy author is responsible for the review of all responses. The report is thus compiled stressing the important themes of the rejoinder therein before presenting it to the policy owner.
2.22.5 Finalise the Policy and Complete an Impact Assessment
Following the consultation process, a new version of the policy document is re-drafted and, it is at this stage that the policy is subjected to a preliminary evaluation via the use of the Impact Assessment template (i.e. the Resources Pack). In the absence of any adverse outcomes, the
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policy document is, therefore, submitted to the Council for final approval. However, if any unjustifiable adverse impact is acknowledged, the policy then undergoes further development and another evaluation as soon as the changes are affected (UMDM, 2015).
2.22.6 Getting Council Approval
At this point, all Head of Departments are offered the opportunity to make last observation, change and improvements to draft policy. An item on the draft policy is then submitted to various Council structures, and then the final draft is approved by Council.
2.22.7 Planning for Publication
Following Council approval, the policy document is ready for publication. Therefore, in consultation with the Policy Development Manager and the Communications Manager, a feasible and effective communication plan is developed and implemented (UMDM, 2015).
2.22.8 Communicating the Policy Launch
The Policy Sponsor informs all Directors and Unit Senior Managers about the new policy which is ready for implementation. All staff members are made aware of the launch of a new policy through various acceptable means of communication. An implementation pack such as briefing for staff and a PowerPoint presentation which Directors/ Senior Managers can use to introduce the policy to their teams. The policy implementation is monitor by the Policy Author through the Departmental reports and issues are being raised such as confusion around the meaning of certain text then these should be referred to the Policy Sponsor or Lead Officer.
Furthermore, a report on the level of policy compliance is circulated amongst Unit Senior Managers, quarterly (UMDM, 2015).
2.22.9 Reviewing a Policy
All UMDM policies are subject to an annual review. Inevitably, the demands of the organisation can change over a year and it is important to consider whether the policy needs to be amended to reflect these changes. It is also essential for UMgungundlovu District Municipality to stimulate views from across the organization about the success of the policy, what has worked and what has not, obvious gaps and any newly emerging issues (UMDM, 2015).
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