scholarly journals Nuanced Accountability: Voter Responses to Service Delivery in Southern Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel de Kadt ◽  
Evan S. Lieberman
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Electoral Accountability ◽  
Dominant Party ◽  
Citizen Attitudes ◽  
Basic Services ◽  
The Relationship

Various theories of democratic governance posit that citizens should vote for incumbent politicians when they provide good service, and vote for the opposition when service delivery is poor. But does electoral accountability work as theorized, especially in developing country contexts? Studying Southern African democracies, where infrastructural investment in basic services has expanded widely but not universally, we contribute a new empirical answer to this question. Analyzing the relationship between service provision and voting, we find a surprising negative relationship: improvements in service provision predict decreases in support for dominant party incumbents. Though stronger in areas where opposition parties control local government, the negative relationship persists even in those areas where local government is run by the nationally dominant party. Survey data provide suggestive evidence that citizen concerns about corruption and ratcheting preferences for service delivery may be driving citizen attitudes and behaviors. Voters may thus be responsive to service delivery, but perhaps in ways that are more nuanced than extant theories previously recognized.

scholarly journals Local-Level Accountability in a Dominant Party System

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Wegner
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Party System ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
Local Level ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Government Performance ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Electoral Incentives ◽  
Dominant Party ◽  
The Relationship

This article investigates accountability in South Africa’s dominant party system by studying how the African National Congress (ANC) reacts to electoral incentives at the local level. It compares the ANC’s degree of responsiveness to voters across municipalities with different levels of political competition. The analysis focuses on whether and under which conditions the ANC is more likely to renominate better quality municipal councillors. It examines the relationship between renomination as ANC municipal councillor and local government performance – as measured by voter signals, service delivery and audit outcomes. The results show that the ANC does indeed adapt its behaviour to electoral incentives. In municipalities where the ANC has larger margins of victory, performance matters little for renomination. In contrast, in municipalities with higher electoral competition, local government performance is strongly correlated with renomination. These results suggest the need to expand dominant party research to topics of voter responsiveness and sub-national behaviour.

scholarly journals Facilitating Servitization in Manufacturing Firms: The Influence of Strategic Orientation

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 13541
Author(s):  
Yu Zhang ◽  
Yajuan Wang ◽  
Yao Li
Keyword(s):  
Market Orientation ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Small Firms ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Strategic Orientation ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Strategic Orientations ◽  
Basic Services ◽  
Technology Orientation ◽  
The Relationship

Servitization has significant implications for the sustainable development of manufacturing, the economy, and the environment. However, it does not always produce returns as the firms expect, which may discourage them from engaging in this transition. In this study, we examine the facilitating effects of two dimensions of strategic orientation (i.e., technology and market orientation) on two types of servitization (i.e., basic and advanced service provision), and further investigate the performance impacts of these servitization types contingent on firm size. By conducting an empirical study, using survey data comprising 210 samples, we confirm that both technology and market orientation are positively related to basic and advanced service provision. Moreover, while they have equal effects on basic services, market orientation is more important than technology orientation for providing advanced services. We also find that, for basic services, these two strategic orientations function independently, whereas they reinforce each other in the provision of advanced services. Finally, the relationship between servitization and firm performance is contingent on the size of the firm. Our results show that small firms can benefit from providing basic services, rather than advanced services, while only advanced services can improve the performance of large firms further.

scholarly journals An analysis of the declining support for the ANC during the 2011 South African local government elections

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
C Twala
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Majority Vote ◽  
Careful Analysis ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
National Elections ◽  
Basic Services ◽  
Registered Voters

Local government elections are notorious for low voter turnout, but the May 2011 elections in South Africa showed a record 58 percent of the 24 million registered voters. In South Africa, local government matters and not just because it provides a pointer to what might happen in the provincial and national elections due in 2014, but helps in determining the readiness of the African Nation Congress in providing basic services to the different communities. Interestingly, these elections were preceded by service delivery protests against the ANC. The article is an analysis of the decreased support for the ANC during the 2011 local government elections. The multifaceted reasons behind the boiling cauldron of this decline in support for the ANC are scrutinised. Underpinning this decline in support often lie deep and complex factors which can be uncovered through a careful analysis of the ANC’s campaigning strategies ahead of these elections; the media which has been accused of rampant sensationalism; service delivery protests and mudslinging from other political parties. However, it is not the author’s intention in this article to deal with how other parties fared during these elections, but to highlight their impact on the declined support received by the ANC in the elections. The discussion is presented in four parts: the first presents an exploratory discussion on the theory of local government in the sphere of governance. The second part discusses some key strategies and tactics used by the ANC in attempts to galvanise support, as well as the challenges encountered. The third deals with the opposition parties’ machinery in preventing the ANC from getting a majority vote during the election. Lastly, the article concludes by highlighting the lessons learnt by the ANC during these elections within the framework of electoral politics in South Africa.Keywords: local election 2011, African National Congress (ANC), local government. Disciplines: History, political science, electoral studies

Kommunereformen – en reform uten konsekvenser?

2021 ◽  
pp. 143-169
Author(s):  
Jan Erling Klausen ◽  
Lawrence E. Rose ◽  
Marte Winsvold
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Potential Outcomes ◽  
Government Reform ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
Local Identity ◽  
Citizen Attitudes

The outcome of Norway’s largely voluntary 2014–2020 structural local government reform relied heavily on positive citizen’ attitudes towards merging with neighboring municipalities. In the present chapter, we investigate how citizens assessed the potential outcomes of prospective mergers, in terms of service delivery, local democracy and local identity. Contrary to assumptions about “rational” voters, the largest group of respondents reported a set attitude towards merger although they did not foresee any significant consequences. Because a stated aim of the reform was to counter societal and demographic developments that could otherwise jeopardize service delivery and local democracy, the “no consequences” assessment can be interpreted as trust and support in the government’s arguments in support of the reform. A key point in the analysis is that citizens’ assessments of the consequences of a merger were related to whether their own municipality was set to become a center or a periphery in the new, merged unit. The implication is that perceived distributive outcomes affect support for a given merger.

Municipal financing for sustainable development: A case of South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 757-774
Author(s):  
CJ Hendriks
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Budget Process ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Basic Services ◽  
Development Goals

This article explores the financing of the sustainable development goals through the budget process with the aim of achieving sustainable development. Existing theory points out that local government budgets play an important role in pro-poor service delivery. However, underfunding can be seen across all areas in South Africa, resulting in municipalities that cannot function properly and look after the needs of their inhabitants. Based on a study of selected municipalities in South Africa, this paper tries to answer the question of whether municipalities allocate and spend their financial resources to pursue the 17 sustainable development goals. The findings indicate that as the medium for achieving the sustainable development goals, the focus of local government budgets has to shift from merely providing basic services to creating and facilitating an environment suitable for achieving sustainable development. If the emphasis of municipal spending does not change, governments will find it difficult to achieve the sustainable development goals.

scholarly journals An efficiency analysis of basic service provision in South African local government (2006/7 to 2008/9)

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gert Van der Westhuizen ◽  
Brian Dollery ◽  
Bligh Grant
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
South African ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Data Warehousing ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Local Municipalities ◽  
Government Sector ◽  
Basic Services ◽  
Warehousing Systems ◽  
Using Data

The South African local government sector has undergone changes in the post-apartheid era as policy makers have sought to improve basic services provided to disadvantaged local communities. While scholars have considered various dimensions of the reform program, little effort has been directed at evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency dimensions of the changes in service provision, with some notable exceptions (van der Westhuizen and Dollery, 2009; Krugell, et al., 2010). This article seeks to contribute to this literature by evaluating the efficiency with which municipalities have provided (Reconstruction and Development Program) RDP water, RDP sanitation RDP electricity and RDP refuse removal, using Data Envelopment Analysis techniques (DEA) applied to panel data from 2006/2007 to 2008/2009 for 231 local municipalities and 46 district municipalities.Keywords: Data warehousing, Systems thinking, Prescriptive theory, Descriptive theory, Interpretative research. Disciplines: Information technology, systems theory, data warehousing, hermeneutics

scholarly journals Efficiency measurement of basic service delivery at South African district and local municipalities

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Dollery ◽  
Gert Van der Westhuizen
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
South African ◽  
Productive Efficiency ◽  
Data Envelopment ◽  
Social Dimensions ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Local Municipalities ◽  
Basic Services ◽  
Using Data

South Africa has experienced immense changes in the post- apartheid era and coordinated local public policy has sought to expand and improve the level of basic services provided to previously disadvantaged people. Local government has played a pivotal role in this process and has been subjected to intense reform in an effort to enhance its effective- ness and broaden its range of activities. While a number of scholars have examined the administrative, political and social dimensions of the local government reform program, little attention has focused on the economic efficiency of service delivery. This paper seeks to remedy this neglect by evaluating the productive efficiency with which municipal councils have delivered electricity, domestic waste removal, sanitation and water in line with their new responsibilities using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) techniques applied to cross-sectional data covering the period 2006/2007 for 231 local municipalities and 46 district municipalities.

scholarly journals Local service delivery enhancement – attitudes: a case study of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Israel Tsatsire ◽  
John Derek Taylor ◽  
Kishore Raga
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Institutional Capacity ◽  
Local Service ◽  
Empirical Survey ◽  
Nelson Mandela ◽  
Basic Services ◽  
The Republic

In this article, the new developmental mandate as s igned to local government is reviewed using the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (hereafter referred to as the NMBM) as a case study. The concept of developmental local government is of cardinal importance as it imposes additional specific obligations on municipal councils. In addition, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (hereafter referred to as the Constitution) requires local government to render quality, affordable and sustainable basic services. Therefore, councillors are now required to meet specific Constitutional and other developmental legislative prescriptions pertaining to their communities and areas of jurisdiction.An empirical survey was conducted at the NMBM to test selected senior officials and councillors’ attitudinal responses to service delivery and the new developmental mandate as s igned to local government. The survey intended to es tabl ish whether there was institutional capacity to enhance basic service delivery. These findings are elaborated upon in this article.

Intraurban Spatial Variations in Local Government Service Provision: 2. Application and Results

1983 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Whitehead
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Fire Protection ◽  
Service Provision ◽  
Local Authority ◽  
Spatial Interaction ◽  
Interaction Techniques ◽  
Government Service ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
The City

It is shown how the methodology used to estimate net fiscal incidence, presented in a previous paper, can be applied to British local government. The example chosen is Leeds, and four services—education, fire protection, library provision, and swimming pool provision—are studied. Estimates of net fiscal incidence are presented for the period 1966–1975. The choice of appropriate geographical areas within the city is discussed and analysis zones are defined on the basis of a principal components analysis of characteristics likely to give rise to significant variations in expenditure participation and revenue contribution. A brief outline of service delivery in Leeds is then presented. Net fiscal residuals are estimated separately for each service. Service expenditure allocation is estimated by spatial interaction techniques and it is shown that there are significant variations in the distributions. However, the spatial pattern of net fiscal imbalances in the City turn out to have some overall similarities. Because of local government reorganisation and other factors, it is not possible to directly compare changes over the study period. Nevertheless, the methods by which local authority finances are raised, movement of client groups, and changes in service delivery are all important mechanisms contributing to change. Further possible explanations are also briefly discussed.

scholarly journals The impact of corruption on service delivery: a topical matter in the South African Municipalities

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mabeba SJ ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
South African ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
The South ◽  
Basic Services ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Impact

One of the topical challenges facing South African municipalities recently is corruption. From time-to-time citizens learn about and witness the corrupt practices of public officials in the Local Government sphere. Arguably, the phenomenon of corruption has both direct and indirect impact on service delivery with specific focus to municipalities. Section 152(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) states that the Local Government sphere has the mandate to ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner. Subsequently, some of the communities across the country still wish to have access to basic services namely: water, electricity, community halls and proper tar roads to name a few. As a result, at times it seems impossible for municipalities to smoothly render such services due to corrupt practices emanating in the South African Local Government sphere. This article aimed to explore the impact of corruption on service delivery in the South African municipalities. The article fully relied on secondary data as it collects information from newspapers, books, journal articles, conference proceedings, officials report and academic dissertations. In pursuit of all this, Afrocentricity: a theory of social change has been placed in context with a view that the needs of the society should be placed at the center of the local government sphere. To be specific, these needs are but not limited to water and electricity. Looking at the findings of the study, indeed literature can confirm that corruptions have negative impact on the ability of the municipalities in South Africa to provide basic services. Because the interests of the public are competing with those of the municipal officials. Therefore, at the end of the day service delivery is compromised due unlawful practices.

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