Grounding Community and Urban Governance Through Ward Committees at eThekwini, Durban, South Africa

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Ndwakhulu Stephen Tshishonga
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Executive Power ◽  
Services Delivery ◽  
Government Documents ◽  
Five Elements ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
Micro Structures

South Africa is premised on the democratic principles of local governance, decentralized service delivery, and development. Although ward committees do not have any executive power, they are regarded as key linking micro structures between communities and the municipality, respectively. In this chapter, ward committees are perceived as the community elected and legislated structures institutionalized to entrench local governance and accelerate decision making more particularly in services delivery and development at ward community level. The author argues that the effectiveness of ward committee structures depends on the interface of five elements: participation, representation, accountability, deliberation, and collective action. This is a qualitative empirical chapter and the data are solicited through the use of research instruments such journals, government documents, and some selected interviews with ward councilors and ward committees in 110 wards at eThekwini Municipality

scholarly journals INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL ISSUE 3 : 2014

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Zin Mohamed
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Information And Communication Technology ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Coastal Area ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Coastal Areas ◽  
Services Delivery ◽  
Information And Communication

Urban planning is a broad spectrum of subjects covering technical, social and political processes concerning with the control of the use of land and design of the urban environment. Local governance similarly extends its realm into areas such as urban management, institutional and capacity building, legal and regulatory mechanisms as well as accountability and transparency in the undertakings at the lowest level of administration. In view of these two research areas, diverse elements such as solving environmental issues through technical know-hows, coastal area management towards sustainability, speedier and smoother public services deliveries through the application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and community decision and governance, form parts of this book. Cities experiencing persistent problems such as increasing population, multiplicity in number of cities, air and noise pollution and traffic congestion have attracted many urban planners to come out with innovations and creative solutions to counter measure the effects of cities’ dynamisms.Local governance in Malaysia is expected to encounter many issues extending from the residential and community facilities allocation, threatened coastal areas’ management, public services delivery enhancement through Information and Communication Technology (ICT), legislative and regulative issues surrounding local governance, local economic generation through tourism promotion, to the more detailed climatic mapping and road geometrical design to resolved more specific localised issues. This edited book has addressed the above mentioned urban planning and local governance subjects in the eight chapters that it contains. The authors of chapter 1 explore the technical approaches of geospatial in a localised context. Urban governance resilience is mapped for the purpose of demarcating the urban morphology. The authors of chapter 2 have adopted a more fiscal and financial approach towards managing a degrading coastal area. In light of sustainable governance, the authors have managed to quantify various aspects of threats to sensitive coastal areas. In chapter 3, the authors focused on the application of ICT in public services delivery mechanism. E-payment deployments in the case studies of Majlis Bandaraya Shah Alam and Majlis Daerah Kampar have been cited as successful deliveries of local government services. Chapter 4 investigated the concept of satisfaction from the perspective of residential dwellers. The authors elaborated, quantified and analysed empirical evidences of satisfactory living conditions and environs.In chapter 5, the authors retrospectively reflected on the legal and institutional setting of various legislation related to urban planning and local governance. Historical setting and chronological development of each enactment processes are cited and discussed in great detail. The authors in chapter 6 discussed the positive impacts of tourism activities and expenditure on the local communities. Both direct and indirect benefits and economic impacts are quantified to model the actual community receipts from these travel and expenditure patterns. The case study of Melaka, a UNESCO world heritage site has been exemplified.In chapter 7, the authors mapped the changes in urban climate adopted in land use planning through the use of Geographic Information System (GIS). They reviewed such deployment in various planning documents and the effectiveness of such practices in the contemporary urban governance practice.Finally, at a localised context, the road geometric design has been investigated against the effectiveness of regulating speed on the arterial road by the authors of chapter 8. They concluded that whilst this regulation is purposively for discouraging the negative behaviour among drivers, effectiveness levels depended on the siting and location of such provision and strict adherence to the designs guidelines. In the end, it should be mentioned that although the eight chapters have addressed the important issues, directions and challenges of governing urban centres at the lowest level of administration through effective urban planning, these do not provide a complete spectrum of urban studies, implying that local governance is a derived part of sustainability, hence, it is a multifaceted and continuous process.

scholarly journals The Relationship between Courts and the Other Arms of Government in Promoting and Protecting Socio-economic Rights in South Africa: What About Separation of Powers?

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justice Denis Davis
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Separation Of Powers ◽  
Constitutional Democracy ◽  
Political Equality ◽  
Life Choices ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
The Relationship

 The model of constitutional democracy which is envisaged in the 1996 text of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (the Constitution) has been described as promoting  'a thick' conception of democracy.  It is concerned with the empowerment of all citizens to participate in decisions that are crucial to the outcome of their life choices. At its most basic promise, the Constitution promotes a model of participatory democracy, by creating a series of representative institutions and enabling participation in decision making, both inside and outside of these institutions. Expressed differently, the Constitution promotes both participation through regular elections and enshrines a principle of accountability in terms of which government can be held accountable for particular aspects of its policy, particularly those which fail to pass constitutional muster.  That leads to the second component of the model which introduces a substantive set of guarantees to ensure participation. The idea is that various institutions of State should work to promote and to vindicate basis democratic principles which are directed to accountable control of decision making and substantive political equality between citizens.

DATABASE DESIGN FOR E-GOVERNANCE APPLICATION: A FRAMEWORK FOR THE MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS OF THE VIETNAM COMMITTEE FOR ETHNIC MINORITY AFFAIRS

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Viet Hung ◽  
Phan Van Hung ◽  
Be Trung Anh
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information System ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Base System ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Competency Based

Data mode “good governance” developed in the last century for process of sustainable base system, providing basic information and on-line services, supports the development, challenges and opportunities in the context of globalization and integration. In this paper I discuss a framework for the design of e-Local Governance (eLG) that integrates Information System (IS), Geographical Information System (GIS) and Atlas with focus on ethnic minorities in Vietnam. The design framework is based on various classifications such categories as sex, age, ethnic group, education background and income. The database system is built to enhance the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs (CEMA) capabilities in the planning and decision making process by providing the authorities with data, internet GIS, internet communication and some ecological economic models to disseminate results to the ethnic minorities. The unique feature of the CEMADATA using GIS is that it helps users not only to improve the public services and to provide information and encourage ethnic minorities to participate in decision making processes, but also to support the competency-based training for IT staff

A Review of Medical Waste Management in South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olaniyi FC ◽  
Ogola JS ◽  
Tshitangano TG
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
South African ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Medical Waste ◽  
African Government ◽  
The Past ◽  
Government Documents ◽  
Medical Waste Management

Background:Poor medical waste management has been implicated in an increase in the number of epidemics and waste-related diseases in the past years. South Africa is resource-constrained in the management of medical waste.Objectives:A review of studies regarding medical waste management in South Africa in the past decade was undertaken to explore the practices of medical waste management and the challenges being faced by stakeholders.Method:Published articles, South African government documents, reports of hospital surveys, unpublished theses and dissertations were consulted, analysed and synthesised. The studies employed quantitative, qualitative and mixed research methods and documented comparable results from all provinces.Results:The absence of a national policy to guide the medical waste management practice in the provinces was identified as the principal problem. Poor practices were reported across the country from the point of medical waste generation to disposal, as well as non-enforcement of guidelines in the provinces where they exit. The authorized disposal sites nationally are currently unable to cope with the enormous amount of the medical waste being generated and illegal dumping of the waste in unapproved sites have been reported. The challenges range from lack of adequate facilities for temporary storage of waste to final disposal.Conclusion:These challenges must be addressed and the practices corrected to forestall the adverse effects of poorly managed medical waste on the country. There is a need to develop a medical waste policy to assist in the management of such waste.

scholarly journals Neoliberal State Intervention and the Power of Community in Urban Regeneration: An Empirical Study of Three Village Redevelopment Projects in Guangzhou, China

2021 ◽  
pp. 0739456X2199466
Author(s):  
Siu Wai Wong ◽  
Xingguang Chen ◽  
Bo-sin Tang ◽  
Jinlong Liu
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Community Building ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Urban Regeneration ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
The State ◽  
Village Communities ◽  
The City

A key theme in urban governance research is how neoliberalism reshapes the state–society relationship. Our study on Guangzhou, where urban regeneration through massive redevelopment of “villages-in-the-city” uncovered interactions between the state, market, and community in local governance, contributes to this debate. Based on intensive field research to analyze three projects, we find that what really controls neoliberal growth in China is not simply the authoritarian tradition of the socialist state but also the power of the indigenous village communities. Our findings suggest that state intervention for community building is vital for rebalancing power relations between the state, market, and community.

scholarly journals Exploring the factors that influence the career decision of STEM students at a university in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethel Ndidiamaka Abe ◽  
Vitallis Chikoko
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
South African ◽  
Career Decisions ◽  
Career Decision ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Career Decision Making ◽  
Stem Students ◽  
African Context

Abstract Background Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) educators and stakeholders in South Africa are interested in the ways STEM students make their career decisions because of the shortages in these critical skills. Although various factors including family, teachers, peers, and career interest have been reported as determinants of career decision-making, there is a scarcity of studies that have qualitatively explored the levels of influences of any of these factors in the South African context. The main aim of this study was to investigate the factors that influence career decision-making among STEM student majors in a South African university. By better understanding students’ viewpoint on these factors, educators and policymakers can assist students in making career decisions that fit their experiences, personality, and expectations. Students in their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year of study respectively, were invited to respond to a semi-structured questionnaire about the factors that were influential in their decision to pursue a career in STEM. A total of 203 texts (response rate: 63%) were qualitatively analyzed utilising a hermeneutic phenomenology approach to traditional content analysis, whereby themes develop inductively from the data. Results We used a hermeneutic phenomenological method to traditional content analysis to examine the factors influencing participants’ career decision-making. Peer interrogation, modified member verification, compact description, code-recode tactics, and assessment trails were engaged to confirm quality and rigour. Three key results emerged, namely interpersonal, intrapersonal, and career outcomes expectancy. The perceptions of STEM students of their career decision-making in the South African context are more multifaceted than reported previously. The insights could inform policies to counter skills shortages in the STEM area. Conclusions In this exploratory study, we gave attention to describing the various ranges of students’ perceptions and experiences regarding their career decision-making. Several students reported, among other factors, that their families, personality, and expectations played influential roles in their career decision-making. Here, we discuss the meaning of interpersonal, intrapersonal, and outcome expectations with respect to career decision-making from the perspective of STEM students in a South African university.

scholarly journals The Quality Of Leader/Employee Relationship

2006 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
F. J. Carstens ◽  
Neil Barnes
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Business Performance ◽  
Business Leaders ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Sufficient Condition ◽  
Employee Relationship ◽  
The Relationship

This study set out to investigate what role the quality of the relationship between business leaders and their employees played in the performance of their business. The study compared the business performance of forty-five area managers in one of the major listed banks in South Africa with their specific leader/employee relationship profiles. The research approach was quantitative and of a correlational nature. The results indicate that although certain elements within the relationship between business leaders and employees indeed have an influence on business performance this alone was not a sufficient condition. The study suggested that the dimensions relating to vision, trust, accountability and decision- making have the strongest influence on business performance. Further research in this area is suggested.

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