The role of community workers in promoting service delivery in Nsikazi North, Mpumalanga

Abstract

Municipal IQ, a research organization that collects data on service-delivery-related protests targeting municipalities, found on average, 94 protests per year took place in South Africa between 2004 and 2016, for service delivery perceived as lacking in many South African communities. In an explorative manner, the research seeks to investigate the roles and effectiveness of community workers in improving service delivery in various communities, with special focus on rural areas of Nsikazi North, Mpumalanga province. The primary research objective is to investigate the effectiveness of community workers in service delivery initiatives in the rural areas of Nsikazi North in the Mpumalanga Province. The study shall follow a qualitative method to collect in-depth details on the topic. A review of literature will comprise published research relating to community workers as agents of service delivery and challenges faced by different community workers in delivering services in the community. In addition, the literature review provides information on community perception towards community workers. A semi-structured questionnaire, combined with a semi-structured interview method will be employed to gather the required data. Residents from Nsikazi North will form the sampling frame of the envisaged research, with 12 participants selected for sampling, of which three respondents will be selected for semi-structured interviews using convenience and snowballing methods. The remaining nine respondents shall be chosen through a purposive sampling technique, which will include City of Mbombela councillors, and Community Workers.