South African municipalities are confronted with leadership problems particularly when it comes to service delivery to the citizens (World Bank, 2012). Brautigam and Knack (2004) state that leadership must be strengthened in order for it to play a significant role in service delivery. Leadership and service delivery issues are more apparent in local government areas such as Greater Giyani Local Municipality, where there is arguably a lack of capacitated leadership to assist the delivery of basic services. Leadership is regarded as having the biggest impact on how municipalities are shaped and transformed (Bell, 2006). Institutions such as municipalities function as a service delivery mechanism for the government. This means the municipalities‟ leadership need to adopt and innovate to allow the change that will improve service delivery (Covey, 1992:15). Municipal leadership must focus on a few key areas to ensure that everyone in the society has access to basic services. The electorate elects a leader during the local government election to guarantee that their needs are taken into account when decisions are made during conferences.
According to Charton (1993), leaders should translate intentions into action and sustain them. The community's leader must continually listen to grasshoppers and adjust to the changing environment (Charton, 1993). They should immediately consider attending leadership-training seminars for leaders following the local government elections so that they are aware of their obligations (Nkhahle, 2015). A good training program yields great results as it creates true and enhanced leaders who motivate the administration to do more for the people while they understand the issues at hand (Nkhahle, 2015).
In general, government structures function in a political and administrative setting.
The link between politics and administration, as well as the responsibilities, powers, and duties of political office holders and government officials, are considered as problematic. Each form of leadership is in charge of a specific aspect and role in the
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delivery of services. The discussion that follows elaborates on these two types of leadership.
3.8.1. Political Leadership
Politics itself is difficult to define. Politics, according to Easton (1953), is the definitive provision of standards, morals, ethics, ideals, principles, believes and values in the society. It relates to creating regulations and policies that determine who, how much, where, and how social resources are distributed. Politics may also be described as a mechanism by which disputes, and conflicts are resolved as well as the resulting actions and policies are implemented. It's a fight between individuals with opposing views on public matters (Du Toit, 2002:58).
Municipalities are used to split South Africa into local authorities with the intention of making it easier for the populations to receive basic services. (Education and Training Unit for Democracy (2011:03). Every municipality has its own municipal council as well as municipal staff or officials who are responsible for putting the municipal council's decisions into action. The council is made up of councillors who are elected in their respective wards, and the mayor, who is elected by the council, oversees the work of the council. Municipal councils are responsible for making bylaws, and they elect the mayor with an executive committee (Local Government Action, 2014:02). The council is also in charge of appointing standing committees, which are led by councillors who are recognized as portfolio leaders in their portfolio.
Safety and security, water and sanitation, and human capital, for example, are all critical factors to consider.
Politicians generally are political leaders who participate in the municipal council as representatives of members of the people who voted for them (Cameron, 2003). As a result, they are in charge of ensuring that all matters relevant to community well- being are decided in a way that benefits the communities, they must also ensure that all the rights of communities are considered (Reddy, Sing & Moddley, 2004:79). In local government, political leaders are elected by local communities based on the perception that they will serve their interests in the most effectively way or that they will be the most beneficial to them (Paradza, Mokwena & Richards, 2010). Municipal councillors have good leadership instincts by nature, and those talents are constantly developed to ensure that they can face the difficulties, possibilities, and risks that
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come with local government (Silvester, 2013:4). It is impossible to overstate the need of effective political leadership (Councillors) in municipalities to solve difficulties and favorably influence service delivery (Silvester, 2013). It's all about setting an example and motivating and inspiring employees to do their best work. Honesty, integrity, fairness, transparency, and the commitment to be accountable for one's actions must all be adopted and supported by municipal political leadership.
3.8.2. Administrative Leadership
Public administration refers to the operations of government administrative entities that must implement authorized policies and programs in the framework of local government in South Africa. South African legislation allows for the establishment of administrative agencies whose principal mission is to carry out the ruling government's policy programs. Public administration can also be defined as the management of public programs, the translation of politics into the modern world that citizens experience every day, and the study of government decision-making, the analysis of the policies themselves, the inputs that produce them, and the inputs necessary to produce alternative policies (McKinney & Howard, 2015:62). According to Dekker (2014), the essential purpose of public administration is to advance management and policies so that government can function.
The general implementation of council resolutions is the responsibility of administrative leadership (Mthembu, 2012: 14). According to the Municipal Finance Management Act, 56 of 2003, the municipal manager leads the administration arm, while the directors are in charge of each department and are expected to perform executive duties, guide officials, and provide administrative guidance to the political structure within the municipal government in order to keep the institution going. For the municipalities to operate efficiently and effectively the administrative leadership in the local government area should have relevant expertise and abilities, without the knowledge and skills the operations will suffer (Ababio & Makgoba, 2002:17).
Consequently, the local government officials must be developed and oriented to distribute service impartially, honestly and rightfully (Thornill, 2010:48). He also suggests that administrative leadership be chosen for their knowledge of the different responsibilities that an executive institution must undertake. According to Rakate (2006) administrative leadership is responsible for ensuring that resources are
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efficiently utilized in order to achieve a successful service delivery endeavour, and that staff employees are fully trained to assist service delivery.
From the preceding discussion, it is easy to recognize the differences between political and administrative leadership, and then to appreciate their vital roles in the processes of providing excellent services to communities. The objective of politics, on the other hand, is to give political direction to the municipal government administration. The administration's primary task, on the other hand, is to translate political functionaries' value decisions into tangible outcomes. Because municipal administration plays such an essential role in policy creation, it might also be claimed that it is also a part of the political process because the municipal council must eventually approve these policies.
3.8.3. Principles for Selecting Councillors in the Municipalities
In South Africa, every citizen who is eligible to vote is entitled to stand up as Councillor. Councillors shall serve for 5 years and may leave the office after 5 years or leave the office or be removed from office in accordance with Act 32 of 2000.
(Municipal Structures Act, 2003:17). Where a councillor dies before completing his term or decides to resign before the end of his term of office, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) provides for an election, and the newly elected Councillor shall serve the remaining term of office. Despite the fact that the leadership issue has a significant impact on service delivery in the South Africa local government, Nyalunga (2006:4) argues that people have still to understand that the democratic dispensation has inherited a sector that is marked by fragmented gross inequality.
Each political party has its own method or system to select candidates representing the political party in the local government election. The method for selecting candidates used by the African National Congress includes certain requirements such as policy understanding, accessibility and flexibility in leaders and the leadership should not assume the status of the source of all wisdom in society (ANC, 2016:22). The Democratic Alliance (DA) has a mechanism in place where they call all prospective candidates for ward councils and invite them to make a presentation to the organisation's election panel (DA, 2016:23).
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3.8.4. Municipal Service Provision under the Influence of Leadership
The provision of services has a significant impact on the people's quality of life in a specific community (Holtzhausen, 2010). The issue of service delivery is a difficulty that must be tackled, given the low quality of service supply and the overwhelming demands of the poor in developing countries like South Africa (Besley & Ghaatak, 2009). Furthermore, a lack of service may make it difficult to attract new company or business to a location, limiting job opportunities for locals.
3.9. THE ROLE OF LEADERSHIP ON SERVICE DELIVERY IN THE