scholarly journals Erratum: An analysis of the effects of equalisation funds on service delivery in selected local authorities in Zambia

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanson Chishimba ◽  
Eustarckio Kazonga ◽  
Everisto Nsenduluka
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Local Authorities

Why are Local Authorities Reluctant to Externalise (and Do They Have Good Reason)?

10.1068/c0419 ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Entwistle
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Performance Improvement ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Good Reason ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Labour Government ◽  
Theoretical Support

In vogue with the international currents of public management, the United Kingdom's New Labour government sees the outsourcing, or externalisation, of public service delivery as a key instrument of performance improvement. Evidence suggests, however, that a significant proportion of local authorities are reluctant to externalise. On the basis of fifty interviews in six case-study authorities, the author identifies five reasons for a reluctance to externalise. He further considers the degree of theoretical support for this reluctance, concluding that gaps in our knowledge—critical to ‘make or buy’ decisions—make it impossible to determine whether a reluctance to externalise is well founded or not.

scholarly journals Contracting out parks and roads maintenance in England

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 441-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Dempsey ◽  
Mel Burton ◽  
Johanna Selin
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Public Service Delivery ◽  
Contracting Out ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Constraints

Purpose – Different models have been adopted in England over time to organise public service delivery. The purpose of this paper is to explore contracting-out, a prevalent model of public service delivery in England, in relation to parks and roads maintenance delivery by examining private contractors’ performance according to local authority stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach – Since the Conservative Government was in power during the 1980s, local authorities have been an arena for experimentation of contracting-out to private and other sectors. This paper provides a review of the academic and grey literature, and findings are presented from a large-scale online questionnaire survey (n=103) which was distributed to the relevant public realm managers in English local authorities. Findings – The paper shows that contracting-out of parks and roads maintenance happens across the country in different ways. By and large, local authorities are satisfied with the performance of contractors, particularly as a response to economic constraints. Responsibilities, particularly for parks, are increasingly shared with non-governmental organisations, including community groups, although this is not reflected in budget distribution. Research limitations/implications – Despite the efforts, the response rate was relatively low (32 per cent), potentially due to the e-mail communication and online nature of the questionnaire. Originality/value – The research provides empirical evidence about how contracting-out is currently delivering public services and how it has changed in recent years. The findings suggest that responsibilities (and to a lesser extent, budgets) are increasingly shared in England between different combinations of public, private, third and community sector stakeholders. This marks a shift away from in-house public sector delivery of parks and roads services.

scholarly journals Twinning arrangements and service delivery in Zimbabwe’s local authorities: The case of Bulawayo City Council (Zimbabwe) and eThekwini Municipality (South Africa)

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alouis Chilunjika ◽  
Sharon RT Chilunjika
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Community Involvement ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
City Council ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Developing Cities ◽  
The Impact

The Zimbabwean local government environment has been affected by chronic defects in the provision of basic public services. As such, city twinning has been adopted as one of the strategies to address the impasse in service delivery as it allows for the sharing of expertise in local governance, development, strategic international relations and the enhancement of service delivery in local authorities. Using the exploratory case study research design the study explores the impact the twinning arrangement between Bulawayo City Council (BCC) and eThekwini Municipality and how it has enhanced service delivery in Bulawayo. Data was gathered from written documents, observations and in-depth interviews. The study established that the BCC-eThekwini cooperation has been very fruitful and Bulawayo City Council has benefited immensely through the exchange of ideas and information as well as technology transfer among others from this twinning arrangement. Nonetheless, it was also observed that weak legal and financial frameworks hinders the city twinning partnership from realising its full fruition. The study concluded that city twinning between BCC and eThekwini is a favourable route for creating sustainable South to South linkages that benefit developing cities. As recommendations, the article argues that there is need for clarity in defining the partnership roles and goals, community involvement as well as an enabling policy and institutional environment.

scholarly journals The Rural Immigration Effects on Urban Service Delivery in South Africa (SA)

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (6(J)) ◽  
pp. 11-24
Author(s):  
Buyani Nkabinde ◽  
Lawrence Mpele Lekhanya ◽  
Nirmala Dorasamy
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Urban Migration ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Services Delivery ◽  
Rural To Urban Migration ◽  
The Government

The current socio-economic and political problems of South Africa are rooted in the colonial apartheid era as scholars and researchers suggest through extensive research. However, there have been high levels of service delivery protests related to the government performance on the issues of service delivery to the local communities’ countrywide. Governments departments appear to be lacking much required knowledge and understanding of external factors associated with rural to urban migration such social-economic factors and other various relevant challenges, hence, local authorities are struggling to meet up with demands caused by the ever-increasing number of urban populations, which affects services delivery performance. The study was quantitative approach and used 5 Likert scale questionnaires which were distributed in the selected areas of eThekwini city. A total of 100 with 25 respondents per area, chosen areas include emhlabeni, emalandeni, ezimeleni and silver city. Whereas, qualitative aspects of the study were secondary data through extensive literature review, the study has found that indeed rural to urban migration has a negative impact on service delivery the study argue that service delivery, rural to urban migration, public participation need to be part of the government agenda holistically to improve service delivery and capacity of local authorities. This study recommends proactive urban planning and community involvement through public participation channels. The generalization of the findings of this study should be done with care.

scholarly journals Discretion on the Frontline: The Street Level Bureaucrat in English Statutory Homelessness Services

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Alden
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Resource Scarcity ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Street Level ◽  
Exercise Of Discretion

This article employs Michael Lipsky's street level bureaucrat conceptual framework to explore the exercise of discretion in frontline homelessness service delivery. It is the first to apply Lipsky's model to English homelessness services at the outset, and builds on earlier investigations which have uncovered how the use of illegitimate discretion can potentially lead to detrimental outcomes for service users affected by homelessness. This topic is particularly salient in light of the current politically austere climate, whereby statutory homelessness services have experienced an increase in service users, yet resources, if anything, are declining. Interview findings from twelve local authorities found evidence of unlawful discretion, which was attributed to a complex mesh of individual, intersubjective, organisational and central-led factors. However, the use of negative discretion was chiefly underpinned by higher level pressures around resource scarcity and strict targets.

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