Adherence to performance management system framework by the Solid Waste Management Division within the Umdoni Municipality.

Abstract

Municipalities are obliged by the Constitution to provide services in an efficient, effective and accountable manner. However, Local Government in South Africa has been characterised by inefficiency and marred by public service delivery protests. This study argues that Performance Management System (PMS) is one practice of management which significantly improves service delivery in public organisations. The study explored the origin and evolution of management and the models of Public Administration. It is guided by four theories namely: the Scientific Management Theory, Systems Theory, Institutional Theory and the Rational Choice theory. The concept of Adherence was critical to the study, thus the researcher constructed the Adherence Model, illustrating the activities and organisational practices which lead to adherence. The main aim of the study was to assess the adherence of PMS at the Solid Waste Management Division at Umdoni Municipality. This was achieved by examining the perceptions of the management and operational staff of the Solid Waste Management Division at Umdoni Municipality. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, a questionnaire was employed to determine the degree of adherence of PMS by assessing the extent to which the Umdoni Municipality applied the principles of PMS. Rooted from the quantitative research design, closed-ended survey questionnaires were distributed to 115 participants. The results of the study indicated that there was a lack of comprehensiveness in the implementation of the PMS principles in the Umdoni Municipality. The findings also showed that the adherence of PMS was appropriately practised by the middle and top management staff, while the PMS principles were inconsistently imposed on the lower hierarchical staff, such as the Umdoni Solid Waste Management Division Staff.