Assessment of service delivery planning in local government with specific reference to Ndwedwe Local Municipality.

Abstract

The current study assessed the state of service delivery planning in the South African sphere of local government with particular reference to the local municipality of Ndwedwe in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province. The general aim of the study was to investigate the commitment of the municipality towards inclusive service delivery planning that involves a wide range of role-players, including communities who are the main beneficiaries of government services, non-government actors and municipal functionaries. The study adopted a mixed method approach, in which a set of 50 questionnaires were administered to community members in Ward 12, 14, 17. and 19 and a total of 15 qualitative interviews conducted with municipal officials. The quantitative findings were analysed using Social Package of Social Sciences (SPSS), and qualitative findings through thematic analysis. The outcomes of the study discovered that the community members lack knowledge about service delivery processes and the Integrated Development Planning (IDP) process which serves as a strategic guideline for service delivery planning. Furthermore, due to various institutional challenges that faced the municipality, communities were unable to access quality service delivery that constitutes the vision of Basic Human Rights (BHR) as envisioned by the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. Finally, the study recommended a strong service delivery planning initiative in the municipality that is informed by the municipal IDP, policy implementation, and the continuous engagement of municipal stakeholders in service delivery planning. The encouragement of the culture of public participation was also considered a valid instrument in transforming municipal service delivery systems.