CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND METHODOLOGIES
INTRODUCTION
This research project seeks to interrogate the changes in local government specifically insofar as they impact on the decision-making structures and processes. The key issues are the criteria for democracy, as identified in Chapter Two, namely, inclusivity, transparency, accountability and participationand the expectation for efficiency to prevail in decision-making in local government.
With these issues in mind, it is necessary to take a step back to examine how the changes in local government and their impact on the decision-making process can best be probed.
Chapter Two covered, inter alia, the statement of the problem and the formulation of the objectives.
Following on from there, this chapter describes the activities to be conducted to achieve the desired objective, that is, to unpack the decision-making structures in local government with a view to determining the levels of efficiency and democracy and to confirm whether or not, in fact, there is a tension that exists between them. Accordingly, this chapter will cover, firstly, the research questions, secondly the methodologies, thirdly the methods and techniques to be used for the collection of data, fourthly the scope and limitations of the study, and fifthly, the participants.
To what extent do the various municipal decision-making models promote efficiency in decision-making?
This research will accordingly examine the various decision-making models in operation in municipalities in South Africa and will pay specific attention to the efficiency achieved by each of these models. Attention will be given to both decision-making structures and processes. When dealing with the structures, attention will be given to, inter-alia, the council, itself, as a decision- making structure, the executive, that is, either the executive committee or executive mayor-in- mayoral committee, the number and composition of standing committees and any other decision- making structure. When dealing with decision making processes, the research will focus on powers and functions, statutory requirements, delegation of authority, work flow, time frames etc.
Specifically four levels of decision-making will be addressed, namely, council, executive, standing committee and administrative decision-making. Municipal councils whether they are metropolitan, local or district have been vested with original decision-making powers as contained in the Constitution. However, in recognising that the size of full council is too large to be an efficient decision-making structure, statutory provisions have been enacted to facilitate the establishment of an executive (the primary decision-making body of the council) and a system of standing committees, accountable either to the executive or to the council. Not only may councils establish a system of standing committees, but the legislation makes provision for councils to initiate a system of delegations to these committees which is designed to optimise efficiencies.
In addition, not only will the research focus on the levels of decision-making referred to above, but three distinct types of decision-making common to all municipalities will also be included in the research, namely, the adoption of by-laws, the annual budget and approval of building plans.
1.2 Democracy
When addressing the question of democracy in municipal decision-making, the research will focus primarily on the following question:-
To what extent do the various municipal decision-making models encourage democracy?
Given the way in under which municipalities functioned during the previous regime, it is understandable that the new system of local government places considerable emphasis on the requirement for the new municipalities to conduct their activities far more democratically than before. Therefore, while municipalities are expected to be efficient, there are a far greater number of statutory provisions all aimed at ensuring that the democratisation of local government becomes a reality. The legislation expects municipalities to supplement the system of representative government with a system of participative governance which will enable communities to have a say in decisions which affect them.
In Chapter Two, four criteria were identified which best capture the substance of democracy when applied to the function of decision-making in local government, namely, Inclusivity, Transparency, Accountability and Participation. The research will focus on the extent to which these requirements are manifested in the decision-making structures and processes of local government decision- making. For example, the cornerstone of participative governance is the establishment and institutionalisation of a system of ward committees. The research will accordingly probe the composition, powers and functions of ward committees and, more importantly, the influence which they exert on the formal municipal decision-making structures and processes.
The research will also attempt to ascertain the attitudes of the key role players to the democratisation of local government. The new system of local government not only brings with it new structures and processes, but it also requires that the very culture of local government must change. There is the constant challenge of weighing up the need for speedy delivery with the need for community participation. For example, do the major role players believe that for the new local government system to work properly, delivery and democracy need to be mutually re-enforcing or do they believe that public participation interferes with a council's right to govern?
Finally, under the question of democracy in decision-making, the research will focus on the steps taken by municipalities towards building the capacity of communities. In this regard, it is necessary to distinguish between informed participation and uninformed participation and to examine the municipality's role in building capacity of communities. Municipalities are required, in terms of the
participation and which will, in turn, allow local government to become more developmental.
Municipalities are required to make provision in their annual budgets to develop a culture of community participationl and the council's executive must report annually on the involvement of communities and community organisations in the affairs of the municipality.2 The executive is to also ensure that regard is given to public views and to report on the influence of consultation on the decisions of council.3
1.3 Efficiency versus Democracy.
When addressing the question of efficiency versus democracy in municipal decision-making, the research will focus primarily on the following question:-
Will an increase in the level of democracy in decision-making result in a reduction in the level of efficiency?
As frequently stated, the new system of local government expects a far greater degree of democracy in the way in which municipalities conduct their business. It also stresses the importance of efficiency. Can these two requirements co-exist? Is there perhaps a chance that they may even complement one another? Is there a correlation between the two concepts? For example, will the achievement of a higher level of democracy necessarily mean a cost against the level of efficiency and vice-versa? Put differently, does it necessarily mean that efficiency will have to be sacrificed if the level of democracy is increased? Will a higher level of efficiency be achieved through having less public participation? Is it likely that a more informed community will promote a more active democracy? If so, have attempts by councils towards building the capacity of communities had the desired effect? Attention will also be given to whether or not an efficiency threshold exists, below which the democratisation of local government would be meaningless.
Attention has been drawn above to the tensions that are likely to exist between democracy and efficiency. Having regard to the hypothesis and sub-hypotheses contained in Chapter Two, the bases for the research will be designed in a way so as to test these suppositions, or rather hypotheses - in other words the research will be structured around the research questions in a way that will
Therefore, firstly, when dealing with the requirement of inclusivity, the premise on which the research will be based is that greater inclusivity in the decision-making structures and processes will entail a cost to efficiency and vice-versa. For example, it is assumed that the executive mayor-in- mayoral committee system is less democratic but more efficient than an executive committee. This statement is made against the background that the mayoral committee need not be constituted on a multi-party basis whereas the executive committee must be constituted in such a way that parties and interests represented in the municipal council are represented in the executive committee in substantially the same proportion.
Secondly, the higher levels oftransparency will have a negative influence on efficiency levels.
There are a significant number of statutory provisions which require municipalities to conduct their business in a more transparent way, for example, permitting the presence of the media and the public at meetings of council and committees. The research will attempt to show that compliance by municipalities with these requirements will entail a debit against the level of efficiency of the decision-making system.
Thirdly the degree of accountability demanded of representatives will influence the level of efficiency in decision-making, that is, greater measures aimed at ensuring accountability will entail a cost to efficiency and vice- versa. The rendering of account usually takes place at meetings.
More meetings require more time which, in turn, will retard the efficiency of the decision-making system. Fourthly, greater involvement by the community and community organisations in the affairs of local government will have a negative influence on the level of efficiency in municipal decision-making. For example, the efficiency of the decision-making system will be retarded if all matters requiring a decision are first routed through a system of ward committees.