Masters Degrees (School of Public Leadership)

Permanent URI for this collection

https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/694

Browse

Browsing Masters Degrees (School of Public Leadership) by Subject "Administrative agencies -- South Africa -- Management"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    “Improving the existing public sector strategic planning guidelines towards integrated provincial and local government strategic planning processes : lessons learned from Eastern Cape"
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012-03) Maxegwana, Malusi; Schwella, Erwin; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The practice of public-sector strategic planning has gained dominance in public sector management in imitation of the concept of strategy in military science and later of the practice of strategic planning in the private sector. Its institutionalisation in the public sector should be welcomed as a positive development. The policy and regulatory framework instils a culture of cooperative governance through the promotion of effective intra- and inter-governmental relations that assume a developmental approach to planning. It is this culture that sets parameters within which the practice of strategic planning should be managed in the public sector. Strategy alignment is critical in achieving cooperative governance in strategic planning, as is shown in this study. The study sought to establish the extent to which the existing strategic planning guidelines could be manipulated to achieve alignment between the provincial and local spheres of government. A qualitative study was performed. It relied on both a non-empirical literature review and an empirical investigation to generate its data. Interviews were conducted with representatives of a sample of four Provincial Departments and seven different Municipalities drawn from the three categories of Local Government, namely metropolitan, local and district Municipalities. The Eastern Cape Provincial Government structure with its composite Municipalities constituted the case selected for this study. The study revealed that strategic planning in the province assumes different formats ranging from basic and medium-term to comprehensive and long-term, as well as sector- and project-specific strategic planning processes. The public sector strategic processes are politically influenced, taking their tone from political directives, but driven mainly by administrators. Whereas the active participation of politicians in shaping integrated development plans (IDPs) as the principal strategic plans for Municipalities is acknowledged, the concern that politicians at a provincial level are playing a limited role in shaping Provincial Departments’ strategic plans remains relevant. It is vital that the political governance centre in the province; namely the premier’s office, should take charge of coordinating strategic planning and should be responsible for the alignment efforts of the government structures in the province. Strategic planning plays a significant role in defining the organisational growth path of every public-sector organisation, as well as the management of public resources, financial and non-financial. This study advocates for learning as a central organisational value and recommends that the existing strategic-planning guidelines be improved to embody a cooperative governance approach.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Public sector reform within the South African perishable export industry
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009-12) Jansen, Lucien; Muller, Kobus; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Management and Planning.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Public sector reform has been around since the 1980s and was a result of criticism against traditional public administration for being too slow and inefficient to address public needs. Although Public sector reform is common in developed countries, evidence of public sector reform has rarely been seen in developing countries. The purpose of this investigation is to determine whether there is any evidence of public sector reform in a developing country such as South Africa. The author divides public sector reform into three categories, namely: new governance, regulatory governance and new public management (NPM). Based on the theoretical information analysed, a list of qualifying criteria for public sector reform is compiled. The author then focuses on the Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB), a statutory organisation acting as a service provider for the perishable products export industry and a regulator on behalf of the South African government. The author analyses the model on which South African perishable exports are based and studies the organisation‟s history, strategies, operational structure and its relationship with government. The information gathered is then compared to the list of qualifying criteria compiled for public sector reform. It was found that the model, and specifically service delivery strategies by the PPECB, provides conclusive evidence of new governance, regulatory governance and NPM. It was also found the model is a hybrid between traditional public administration and public sector reform, as it contains characteristics of both. The study takes the form of a literature review. Research was conducted through studying various literatures pertaining to new governance, regulatory governance and new public management. In addition, the author gathered relevant information from within the PPECB, the South African Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) and the export industry. Further information was also collected by means of unstructured interviews with senior individuals employed by the PPECB.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Strategies for enhancing good governance in South African local government
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009-03) Dlalisa, Welcome Thamsanqa Mlungisi; Burger, A. P. J.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Management and Planning.
    The Republic of South Africa has drawn increasing attention from the international community for its new approaches towards solving a variety of problems and thus enhancing good governance in Africa in general. Such problems include, but are not limited to, poverty and systemic corruption. The constitutional and legislative frameworks that underpin governance in municipalities are identified and explained. These constitutional and legislative frameworks include the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (RSA, Act 108 of 1996) and the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (RSA, Act 56 of 2003). The manifestations and consequent dangers of poor governance as well as strategies to instil good governance in municipal functionaries are also identified. The manifestations of poor governance include poor financial management, ill-advised appointments and misguided patriotism in service delivery. The consequences of poor governance in local government include high incidents of violence, decline in municipal service payments and the consequent deterioration in service delivery. It is herein argued that municipal functionaries must be able to identify the manifestations of bad governance for them to serve as effective whistle-blowers. The role of the national integrity system as a strategy for combating the manifestations of bad governance is also identified. The national integrity system refers to the holistic approach (or various strategies) for instilling good governance amongst municipal functionaries. These include an anti-corruption strategy for local government (also known as “a local government integrity system”), constitutional strategies and exemplifying ethical behaviour by municipal functionaries. Constitutional strategies include the Auditor-General and the Public Protector. It is argued that preventing unethical conduct such as corruption assists in raising municipal revenues and thus towards improved service delivery. The study concludes by asserting that big, corrupt actors must be named and punished to convince an already cynical citizenry that the avowed anti-corruption drive is more than just lip service. It is, accordingly, important that one of the “first big fish” should preferably come from the governing party to ensure that the party is not accused of protecting its members against charges of corruption.