Role of good governance practices in enhancing service delivery : a case study of the department of human settlements at Ugu District Municipality

Abstract

Various South African municipalities are plagued by poor service delivery, which predominantly stems from poor governance. Innumerable citizens are experiencing insufficient access to essential services such as waste removal, electricity, sanitation, and clean water. Despite the growing literature on good governance and service delivery, empirical studies on these subjects still remain limited, particularly in South Africa. The majority of prior studies on good governance and service delivery in South Africa were based on desktop studies. Deliberate non-adherence to good governance processes and procedures in the provisions of legislations such as the Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000 have been touted as the leading causes of poor service delivery. The Department of Human Settlements at Ugu District municipality in KwaZulu-Natalis is not exceptional to these challenges. Hence, the current study sought to investigate the role of good governance on service delivery in the Department of Human Settlements at Ugu District municipality in KwaZuluNatal. A mixed research approach was utilised to accomplish the study's objectives with semi-structured interviews conducted with traditional leaders and close-ended questionnaires administered to municipal officials and councillors at Ugu District Municipality in South Africa. For the quantitative part of the research, the researcher did not have a sample because the target population of 113 participants was too small to warrant a sample selection. The researcher consulted the statistician and advised to include the entire target population as the sample. Hence, a census method was utilised. For the qualitative part of the study, a purposive sampling technique under the ambit of the non-probability sampling method was used to choose the sample, and the sample of 15 was adequate. While qualitative data was analysed manually utilising thematic analysis, quantitative data was analysed utilising various statistical tools, including inferential and descriptive statistics. The study revealed a positive correlation between good governance practices and service delivery in the Department of Human Settlement at Ugu District Municipality. In addition, the study identified several challenges faced by the Department of Human Settlements in exercising good governance and were categorised based on their severity levels. The study provides practical implications for management, policymakers, administrators and the community. The practical implication of the study is that management must ensure that all municipality officials and councillors abide by the principles of good governance daily. Another key implication of these findings is that municipalities should invest in the training and development of municipal staff about transparency practices, which is necessary to improve service delivery. The study recommends that future studies focus on the governance-related challenges faced by municipal officials.