Quite a number of policies and legislation have been instituted by the South African Government. This allows the municipalities to expedite and implement service delivery in their respective jurisdiction. In terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (RSA), Act 108 of 1996, Section 40 (1), local government is the most proximate to the community among the three tiers of government. It is the most immediate level of the government which relates directly with the citizens on crucial matters of their lives. Therefore, it could be said to be the reflector of the failures or successes of the national government. The purpose of this segment of the literature review is to explain the context of local government in South Africa and to look at service delivery in uMgungundlovu District Municipality within this context.
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2.11.1 Historical Context of Service Delivery in Local Government
Ever since 1994, a process of transformation from the apartheid system to a democratic society has never ceased in South Africa. According to Van Niekerk (2002:34), the apartheid system is generally known for its social, institutional and geographical disassociation along racial contours, a complete contrast to democracy. In fact, Van Niekerk (2002:34) defines apartheid as “a value system, a form of government and a policy of racial segregation ...” as opposed to the core tenet of inclusiveness embedded in democracy. Therefore, during the apartheid regime, the distribution of public resources was fashioned along racial lines. Ample municipal services and amenities were deliberately assigned to the urban white areas to the detriments of the black communities. Therefore, when the African National Congress (ANC) democratically took over power in 1994, one of its main objectives was to stabilize these historical inequities by making sure that basic amenities are equally reachable and utilised by all citizens. In the Constitution of the RSA, 1996, (Act 108 chapter four), which talks about the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), Growth Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) and other policy documents, the commitment of the government is clearly documented on this subject.
2.11.2 Normative Guidelines of Public Administration
In section 195 of Act 108 of the Constitution of 1996 of the Republic of South Africa, the ethics of unbiased service delivery are unreservedly enshrined. The Act stipulates people-orientated administration and effective utilisation of public resources with high regards for transparency, impartiality and inclusiveness. These principles are meant to be applicable to all structures and tiers of government (Constitution of Republic of South Africa, 1996, Act 108:195). According to the White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery (1997:8), there are eight principles that serve as guidelines on service delivery in the public service in the RSA: they are popularly known as Batho Pele Principles (Republic of South Africa, 1997: 8). Batho Pele means “people first”, that is the government's commitment to serving people and putting the public first. These principles are aimed at improving the quality of services and exceeding customer satisfaction (Republic of South Africa, 1997, White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery). The Batho-Pele principles are applicable to all spheres of government and are described as follows:
2.11.2.1 Access
Chapter Eight of the constitution the Republic of South Africa (1996); Local Government:
Municipal Systems Act (32 of 2000) states that municipalities must ensure that communities
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have equal access to basic services and that these are reviewed regularly with a view to upgrading and improving quality. The Republic of South Africa, Constitution of 1996, (Act 108), Section 9 states that no organ of state may unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on any grounds, including race, gender, sex, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, and language. Public servants have a special role to play, to make sure that those who need extra assistance get it. Managers should ensure that these services are accessible to disabled people and that people who use wheelchairs and walking aids can get into public buildings. Special arrangements should be made to assist people with hearing or visual disabilities. However, the bureaucratic framework becomes unfavourable for the implementer when attention is not given to social, economic, political, and legal context. This variable in the 5C Protocol is known as Context, it submits that the larger context impacts greatly on the implementation process (Batho Pele Principles, Republic of South Africa, 1997).
2.11.2.2 Consultation
Consultation as one of the components of Batho Pele principles requires that citizens are consulted about the level and quality of the public services they receive and, wherever possible, should be given a choice about the services that are offered. Such consultation could be done by interacting with, listening to and learning from the people they serve. Public servants are to ensure that they stay in touch with the people they serve in order to ensure that the goals are achieved. Therefore, consultation as one of the Batho Pele principles, interlink with all eight principles. For example, the promotion of the principles of access requires that consultation takes place with citizens to better understand their needs and to ensure services can be accessible to them. Consultation is critical in the deepening of good governance and democracy but also as players in decision- making on service delivery.
It is mandatory for the municipality to consult the community when preparing the Integrated Development Plan (IDP). A municipality must develop a culture of municipal governance that complements formal representative government with a system of participatory governance and must, for this purpose, encourage and create conditions for the local community to participate in the affairs of the municipality (Constitution of Republic of South Africa 1996, Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 32 of 2000). Consultation provides the municipality with an opportunity to understand the expectations of the community so as to improve the service offering and narrow the gap between customer expectations and management's perceptions of such customer requirements (Batho Pele Principles, Republic of South Africa, 1997).
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Public servants must behave in a manner that shows respect to members of the public. This principle can also be associated with two service quality dimensions, namely: assurance and empathy. One of the service quality dimensions is the responsiveness of employees to the needs of customers. The Constitution of Republic of South Africa, Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 32 of 2000) calls for all municipalities to be responsive to the needs of the community. Citizens should be treated with courtesy and dignity. Public servants have to remember that they are employed to help the people and to give them access to the services that are their rights. This means that in their interaction with the citizen, public servants should always be courteous and helpful (Batho Pele Principles, Republic of South Africa, 1997).
2.11.2.4 Information
Decision-making should be influenced by the high-quality level of information gathered and managed by the municipality. Information should be disseminated to different municipal stakeholders to allow for active participation in the affairs of the municipality. All municipalities are required to develop the performance management system that has clear objectives of the municipality and performance indicators for objective assessment. Members of the public are encouraged to participate in the process of developing, implementing and evaluating the objectives, targets, and indicators of the performance management system.
Providing accurate information empowers members of the public to determine what can realistically be expected from the municipality and thereby developing what can be regarded as adequate service expectation. Members of the public or customers cannot accurately determine the level of tolerance if there is no information available on which to base what can be realistically expected, in terms of service quality level from the municipality (Batho Pele Principles, Republic of South Africa, 1997).
2.11.2.5 Service standards
All public service institutions must uphold high service standards. The level of the quality of service must be communicated to the members of the public. By communicating the level of the quality of service, members of the public are being assured of the service level to expect, on which a comparison will be made to formulate service perceptions. Service standards should clearly state how long it takes to deliver and exactly what people can expect from the public service. The strength of the reliability of the municipality is measured against what is being
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promised to the community in terms of service quality. Can the municipality be depended upon for service delivery? The production and consumption of services cannot be separated. The consumer becomes part of the production process. Municipalities solicit the ideas of the public regarding the level and the quality of service to be delivered.
2.11.2.6 Openness and transparency
Municipalities must be open and transparent in all the operations and decisions taken. Citizens should be told how national and provincial departments are run, how much they cost and who is in charge. It is very important for the Public Service and administration to be run as an open book. The Public Service is there to serve the people and they have a right to the services it offers. Many people, especially poor people, do not yet have access to things like free basic services, or social grants, simply because they do not have the information to access it. The people also have the right to know how decisions are made, how a department works, who is in charge and what its plans and budgets are (White Paper on transforming Public Service Delivery, 1997).
2.11.2.7 Redress
Municipalities are to conduct their affairs and deploy their resources in the manner that progressively attempts to redress the imbalances created by the apartheid policies in terms of service delivery. The new democratic dispensation provides hope in the minds of the public that hardships experienced as a result of apartheid will be adequately addressed by providing services equitably. If the promised standard of service is not delivered, citizens should be offered an apology, a full explanation, and a speedy and effective remedy; and when complaints are made, citizens should receive a sympathetic, positive response. When people do not get what they are entitled to from the Public Service, they have a right to redress. This means that the public servant should immediately apologise to them and also tell them what solution they are offering to their problem. If the public servant has none, they should speak to their manager or supervisor and make sure that the problem is sorted out. The Public Service’s success and the image are built on its ability to deliver what people expect from them. When complaints are made, citizens should receive a sympathetic and positive response. The Promotion of Administrative Justice Act allows for citizens to ask for reasons for any decision taken by the government that affects them. The Act ensures that citizens have a right to administrative decisions that are lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair. Where citizens are dissatisfied with
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the reasons given, the Act allows people to appeal the decision or ask for the review of the administrative action by a court or, where appropriate, an independent and impartial tribunal (White Paper on transforming Public Service Delivery, 1997).
2.11.2.8 Value for Money
Municipalities should endeavor to provide the best service with the least available resources (Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996). Public services should be provided economically and efficiently in order to give citizens the best possible value for money. It is very important that public servants do not waste the scarce resources of government and that they deliver a service that is as cost-effective and efficient as possible. It is their duty to inform management of any wastage of resources and to look for ways of saving money and time, without compromising the quality of the service delivered to people (White Paper on transforming Public Service Delivery, 1997).