scholarly journals Factors affecting the performance of South African municipal officials: stakeholders’ perspectives

2021 ◽  
pp. 97-115
Author(s):  
Tyanai Masiya ◽  
Yul Derek Davids ◽  
Mary S Mangai
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
South African ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Negative Power ◽  
Government Interventions ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Political Interference ◽  
The Government

Since the inception of the democratically elected post-apartheid government, South Africa has experienced growing numbers of protests about inadequate provision of basic municipal services. Recent studies have revealed that the poor performance of municipal officials contributes towards poor municipal service delivery. This article is based on a study which used qualitative key stakeholder interviews to analyse the performance of South African municipal officials, specifically in the delivery of services. It found that the following inter-related factors were responsible for the lack of performance: an unsupportive institutional environment, negative power struggles, over-regulation, political interference, a tense and bureaucratic environment, lack of coherent management systems, absence of a culture of excellence, poor skill utilisation, poor oversight mechanisms, weak capacity to engage in collaborations, and lack of trust between councillors from different political parties. The study concludes that for South African municipalities to meet their constitutional obligations to deliver optimal basic services to the people, the government must, inter alia, invest in building the capacity of municipal officials through the development of skills and other crucial local government interventions and transformations. The municipalities should also depoliticise local government and promote non-partisan appointment of municipal officials.

Accountability and the Media

2014 ◽  
Vol 652 (1) ◽  
pp. 206-221
Author(s):  
Anton Harber
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
News Media ◽  
Media Access ◽  
Political Interference ◽  
The Face ◽  
Public Broadcaster ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Poor Management

Two decades of contestation over the nature and extent of transformation in the South African news media have left a sector different in substantive ways from the apartheid inheritance but still patchy in its capacity to fill the democratic ideal. Change came fast to a newly open broadcasting sector, but has faltered in recent years, particularly in a public broadcaster troubled by political interference and poor management. The potential of online media to provide much greater media access has been hindered by the cost of bandwidth. Community media has grown but struggled to survive financially. Print media has been aggressive in investigative exposé, but financial cutbacks have damaged routine daily coverage. In the face of this, the government has turned its attention to the print sector, demanding greater—but vaguely defined—transformation and threatened legislation. This has met strong resistance.

scholarly journals The Political-administrative interface in South African municipalities: Assessing the quality of local democracies

2010 ◽  
pp. 86-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaap De Visser
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
South African ◽  
Separation Of Powers ◽  
Administrative Leadership ◽  
The Political ◽  
Executive Authority ◽  
Political Interference ◽  
Local Government Level ◽  
Government Level

South African municipalities experience serious challenges in dealing wit the interface between politicians and officials. Inappropriate political interference in administrative matters as well as strained relations between key political and administrative officials in the municipalities appear to be the order of the day. Oftentimes, the lack of a separation of powers between legislative and executive authority at local government level is blamed for this. This contribution has attempted to draw the attention away from the conflation of legislative and executive authority in the municipal council while still recognising it as an important background. It is suggested that, instead of spending energy on examining a possible separation of powers in local government, the relevant stakeholders (i.e. national lawmakers, municipalities and supervising provinces) should consider smaller institutional changes to the governance makeup of municipalities. Even more importantly, the political and administrative leadership of municipalities and political structures that surround them should be acutely aware of the consequences that inappropriate political leadership has on the functioning of municipalities and therefore on service delivery.

scholarly journals Toward an improved risk/crisis communication in this time of COVID-19 pandemic: a baseline study for Philippine local government units

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (07) ◽  
pp. A09
Author(s):  
Reymund Flores ◽  
Xavier Venn Asuncion
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Communication Preferences ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government

This study mainly explores the communication preferences of the public; their level of trust in the government; and the factors affecting their risk/crisis perception amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The key findings —derived from the data collected through an online survey and analysis using descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), provide insights on how Local Government Units (LGUs) can improve their risk/crisis communication in this current health crisis. Among the key takeaways include the use of social media platforms, like Facebook, and native/local language for effective risk/crisis communication which may, consequently, foster trust building between the LGUs and the public.

scholarly journals Factors Influencing Purchase Intention for Low-Sodium and Low-Sugar Products

Foods ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeowoon Park ◽  
Dongmin Lee ◽  
Seoyoung Park ◽  
Junghoon Moon
Keyword(s):  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Soy Sauce ◽  
Significant Variable ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Food Neophobia ◽  
Government Interventions ◽  
Low Sodium ◽  
Product Choices ◽  
The Government

As sodium and sugar intake in South Korea exceed recommended levels, the government and food industry have been attempting to reduce the amount of sodium and sugar in the food products. In line with these efforts, this study sought to examine how the purchase intention for low-sodium/low-sugar products vary based on consumers’ previous choices of low-sodium/low-sugar products and other consumer-related factors. For this study, two online survey-based experiments were conducted: one using soy sauce to represent a sodium-based product and the other using yogurt to represent a sugar-based product. The significant variables that influenced the purchase intention for both were the consumers’ previous low-sodium/low-sugar product choices and their propensity for food neophobia. Consumers who had previously selected regular products showed a lower intention to purchase low-sodium soy sauce or low-sugar yogurt. In addition, those who had a strong tendency toward food neophobia also had a significantly lower purchase intention for these products. Moreover, the lower the consumer′s unhealthy = tasty intuition (UTI), the higher the purchase intention for the low-sodium soy sauce, but UTI did not act as a significant variable for the low-sugar yogurt. These results demonstrate that government interventions for low-sodium products and low-sugar products should be differentiated.

Tax risks control and sustainable development: evidence from China

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanyi Chen
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Influencing Factors ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Stock Exchanges ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
The Government ◽  
New Perspective

Purpose Tax risks are common in China but often ignored by enterprises. Determining how to measure tax risks and effectively identify and control influencing factors is the key to the sustainable development of enterprises. This study aims to explore the key factors affecting corporate tax risks and analyze influencing factors from external and internal perspectives. Design/methodology/approach After selecting a data set comprising 11,503 firm-year observations of Chinese firms in the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2008–2017, this study applied a panel regression model to identify the factors’ impact. Findings The results indicate that the more standardized the institutional environment and stronger the tax supervision, the lower the tax risks. Taking into account the internal factors of a firm, private companies with political connections have lower tax risks than those without. Originality/value This study enriches the literature on the factors affecting tax risks. The conclusion provides significant insights for enterprises to effectively control tax risks and maintain sustainability. The research findings also provide a new perspective for the government to guard against corporate risks and maintain the stable development of the economy.

Mitigating Resource Management Related Factors Affecting Time and Cost Performance in Construction Projects

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-66
Author(s):  
Abdul Qadir Memon ◽  
Aftab Hameed Memon ◽  
Mohsin Ali Soomro
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Construction Time ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Cost Performance ◽  
Effective Measure ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Factors Affecting Performance

Construction time and cost are basic parameters for measuring project performance. Unfortunately, construction projects are facing poor time and cost performance globally. This poor performance is occurred due to several factors among which resource related factors play very important role. Hence, it is very essential to control the factors affecting performance of time and cost. This study assessed significance level of the resource related factors and determined effective measure to mitigate the factors. Gathering of data was done by questionnaire survey with the practitioners representing client, consultant and contractors involved in handling execution works. Statistical analysis of gathered responses revealed that High cost of machinery and its maintenance; and fluctuation of prices of materials on site are significant resource related factors affecting project cost performance while in affecting time performance, the significant factors are financial difficulties faced by contractors and high cost of machinery and its maintenance. This study also assessed the effectiveness level of the mitigation measures for improving time and cost performance. The findings of this study will be helpful for the practitioners to make necessary arrangement for improving time and cost performance.

scholarly journals Towards An Effective Legal And Regulatory Framework for Public-Private Partnerships in Malaysia: Lessons From the South African Experience

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mubarak T Adekilekun ◽  
C. C. Gan
Keyword(s):  
Private Sector ◽  
South African ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Private Investment ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
The South ◽  
Legal Regime ◽  
Investment Returns ◽  
The Government ◽  
Private Investors

In order to ensure a sustained cooperation with both the local and international private investors in Malaysia especially in the provision of public infrastructure, the government needs to develop very strong legal and regulatory capabilities which will help in providing stable institutional environment for private investment. At the same time, there is the need for commitment on the part of government to the regulatory rules so that they are perceived as credible by investors. Where the legal regime is weak or non-existent, private investment decisions will be adversely affected. No doubt, South Africa has developed one of the best legal and regulatory regimes for efficient procurement systems in the world and the project pipelines have greatly increased in recent times. This article therefore, examines the existing legal framework for Public-Private Partnership procurement in Malaysia and draws lessons from the South African legal regime. The article finally argues that for Malaysia to continue to attract and expand its investment atmosphere for the private sector there is the need for a clear and transparent legal and regulatory procurement framework which can seriously help in building confidence in the private sector and also guarantee their investment returns.

scholarly journals Zupta's Next Nightmare: The South African Local Government Elections of 3 August 2016

2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulf Engel
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
South African ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
African National Congress ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Coalition Politics ◽  
Freedom Fighters ◽  
South African Politics ◽  
Metropolitan Municipalities

On 3 August 2016 South Africa held its fifth local government elections (LGE) since the end of Apartheid in 1994. Against a backdrop of increasing political frustration with the ruling party's poor performance and continued debates about corruption and cronyism in the highest government circles, the African National Congress (ANC) maintained its dominant position but lost 8 per cent of the aggregate vote (53.91 per cent). The Democratic Alliance (DA) gained some 3 per cent (26.89 per cent) of the vote, and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), first-time LGE campaigners, garnered 8.02 per cent. Importantly, the ANC lost control of three of the seven big metropolitan municipalities it had previously held. Since there was no clear-cut majority in four of the eight metros, coalition politics and the art of compromise will become a major feature of South African politics in the coming years. The elections were highly competitive and considered free and fair. At 57.97 per cent, voter turnout was slightly higher than in 2011.

Spatial variation in gender-biased parasitism: host-related, parasite-related and environment-related effects

Parasitology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 137 (10) ◽  
pp. 1527-1536 ◽  
Author(s):  
BORIS R. KRASNOV ◽  
SONJA MATTHEE
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Spatial Variation ◽  
South African ◽  
Ixodid Ticks ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Rhabdomys Pumilio ◽  
Total Species Richness ◽  
Parasite Infestation

SUMMARYThe gender-biased pattern of parasite infestation has been shown to be a complicated phenomenon that cannot be explained by a single mechanism but rather involves several different mechanisms. We asked what are the factors that affect the manifestation and extent of gender-biased parasitism and studied the relationship between parasite-related (mean abundance, mean species richness and total species richness of all parasites), host-related (rodent density and proportion of reproductive males and females both separately and together) and environment-related (mean daily maximal and minimal temperatures, rainfall and relative humidity) factors and the magnitude of gender-biased infestation of a South African rodent Rhabdomys pumilio by ixodid ticks, gamasid mites, lice and fleas. We found that spatial variation in gender differences in parasite infestation was affected by parasite-, host- and environment-related factors, although the set of factors affecting gender differences in infestation differed among higher taxa of ectoparasites. Gender differences in infestation by fleas and lice were affected mainly by parasite-related factors, whereas gender differences in infestation by ticks and, in part, by mites were affected mainly by host-related and environmental factors. In addition, spatial variation in most measures of gender difference in mite infestation remained unexplained.

scholarly journals Determnants of Revenue Collection Efficiency and Administration: The Case of Local Government Authorties in Wolaita fZone, Ethiopia

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 5249-5253
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Tax Evasion ◽  
Collection Efficiency ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Revenue Collection ◽  
Tax Education ◽  
Ethiopian Government ◽  
The Government ◽  
Tax Payers

Tax is a pervasive element of economic life around the world. The principal objective of tax is to finance government activity. A relative objective is to accomplish certain social goals. Government use tax as a device to extract money or other valuable things from people and organizations by use of law. The Ethiopian government is no exception. The government of Ethiopia uses the revenues derived from taxation in order to maintain the federal and regional governments’ budgets. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors affecting revenue collection efficiency and administration, the case of local government authorities in Wolaita zone, Ethiopia. The study used descrptive research design to collect and analyze the data. The data collected through structured questionnaires from 110 randomly selected respondents from local government authorities in the study area and the data was analyzed by using multiple regressions. The study concluded that the factors concerned with weak revenue collection efficiency and administration in local government authorities were, low revenue collection efficiency level, weak administration system, the effect of tax evasion and weak enforcement mechanism. Therefore, the study recommended for the local government authorities to improve the revenue collection and administration efficiency by ensuring all eligible tax payers file returns, have tax education programs, register and upgrade individual business, audit, and receivable administer them fairly and manage the associated risk, Enforcement existing law and in this Local government authorities must produce an enforcement procedure and practice manual.

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