An evaluation of performance and management development systems: a case study of Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality

The primary aim of this study was to establish whether the Performance Management and Development Systems (PMDS) in public institutions, has an effect on service delivery, with specific reference to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM). This is pertinent because municipalities have become the focal points of service delivery and they tend to focus mainly on complying with the legislative frameworks of having an Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and Performance Management and Development Systems (PMDS) rather than implementing the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and the Performance Management and Development Systems (PMDS) to enhance service delivery to communities. The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGta), introduces the Performance Management framework to municipalities with the aim of empowering the communities to demand better services and to hold municipalities accountable. This study provides an in-depth theoretical review on PMDS and service delivery. It is evident that one of the biggest challenges that are being faced by most municipalities in South Africa, is the lack of universal access to services such as water and electricity, sanitation, refuse removal systems and local economic development. This study employed the qualitative research approach to validate the research questions as well as to address the research objectives and data was collected through documentary sources of annual reports, Integrated Development Plan (IDP), Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plan (SDBIP), articles, journals text books and legislation. Further findings in this study indicate that Performance Management and Development Systems (PDMS) in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM), has not led to positive changes in service delivery and this is identified by violent service delivery protests. This study also identified that the system is currently flawed because, amongst other things, there is minimal employee involvement in the planning of performance management, including a lack of training opportunities to address identified weaknesses and the non-payment of performance bonuses to good performing employees, similarly majority of employees do not know their performance targets as reflected in the Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plan (SDBIP). Recommendations emanating from the literature review are presented to enhance service delivery for the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) through Performance Management and Development Systems (PMDS) and they include cascading PMDS to all employees, furthering issues of alignment and integration of the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) processes, budget, PMDS, monitoring, evaluation and training on the formulation of Key Performance Areas (KPAs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). If these recommendations are adopted, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) will be able to deal with the current developmental obstacles that are being faced, in a more effective and efficient manner

Image of Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB): an external stakeholder's perspective

A distinctive destination image is required in order to compete with other destinations for tourists and investors alike. This main objective of this study is to develop a model for destination image formation for Nelson Mandela Bay as a secondary economy to boost its global competitiveness. Several researchers have studied destination image and based on the fact that tourists and investors usually have a limited knowledge of destinations they have not previously visited, destination image fulfils an important function insofar as destinations with strong, positive, discriminatory and recognisable images. A literature study was conducted to identify the key influencers on destination image as well as to identify which forces are likely to influence the destination image of Nelson Mandela Bay. The different factors of destination image were identified from the literature sources and these factors provided a basis for an empirical study that was conducted amongst external stakeholders. The primary research objective was to create a model of destination image for Nelson Mandela Bay and to explain the cause and effect relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Added to the primary research objective, eight secondary research objectives were identified. The primary research question for this study was to identify what influences the destination image of Nelson Mandela Bay. Added to the primary research question, the researcher also identified eight research questions as part of the study. The empirical analysis was used to test the hypotheses and ultimately develop a model for destination image formation for Nelson Mandela Bay. This study was exploratory in nature and thus used a limited sample to gain insights for further research. Data were obtained through questionnaires that were distributed electronically to 120 respondents. This study concluded with the development of a destination image model for Nelson Mandela Bay that can be expanded upon with further research. The results indicate that general infrastructure and social environment; leisure and recreation; and culture influence the Affective component of Nelson Mandela Bay. Information sources and Political stability and risk influence the Cognitive component of Nelson Mandela Bay. Together the Affective and Cognitive component makes up the overall image of Nelson Mandela Bay

Access to Technology and Data in Smart Cities for South African Digital Citizens

Lack of access to technologies and quality data are key challenges for reducing the digital divide and developing digital citizens to support Smart City initiatives. This paper reviews efforts towards Smart Cities and access to smart technology and Open Data in developed economies globally and in South Africa. Reviews of literature and websites were conducted and the Qualitative Content Analysis method was used to analyse the data. The contributions are the commonalities and differences between Smart City initiatives in developed economies and in South Africa. The findings revealed that in developed countries the focus was mainly on e-services, citizen engagement, Intelligent Transport Systems and energy systems. They provided city-wide connectivity and addressed integration and interoperability challenges. The technologies included large IoT sensors and WiFi in-motion networks incorporating internationally accepted standards. Initiatives in South Africa were less mature, mostly in the initial stages and are not addressing other more urgent needs of the country such as water, food, shelter and education. Collaboration with best practice Smart Cities is needed to provide support to current and future initiatives in South Africa and for the development of African digital citizens

"Laws of Forgiveness: Obama, Mandela, Derrida"

Excerpt from Routledge Companion to Transnational American Studies, edited by Nina Morgan, Alfred Hornung, and Takayuki Tatsum

Knowledge of midwives at Community Health Centres and Midwife Obstetrics Units in the Nelson Mandela Bay regarding the use of the Road-to-Health Chart

The challenge of child mortality between the ages of 0 and 5 years has extensively increased over the past few years. Furthermore, the ever-evolving and complex consequences of ineffective monitoring of children’s growth and development have been identified as one of the reasons for this increase in child mortality. The Road-to-Health Chart was developed and redesigned for use by child nurses and midwives to monitor children’s growth and development. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the midwives at community healthcare centres in the Nelson Mandela Bay area had the necessary knowledge to utilise the Road-to-Health Chart effectively. Permission to conduct the study was sought from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, the Department of Health and the participants. A quantitative, non-experimental descriptive survey was used in this research. The population consisted of all the midwives working in the Midwife Obstetric Unit and community healthcare centres within the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipal area. The sample was extracted from the targeted population but from willing participants that met the inclusion criteria. The research data-collection method was a self-developed questionnaire with closed-ended statements to measure the knowledge of how effectively the midwives in the Nelson Mandela Bay area were using the RTHC. The researcher ensured the validity of the questionnaire by focusing on the instrument’s validity, construct validity, content validity and face validity. Ethical considerations, including permission, informed consent, confidentiality and anonymity, were adhered to. The most significant findings showed that midwives at CHCs and MOUs in the Nelson Mandel Bay area were knowledgeable about the importance of the RTHC to the mother and child and the use of the RTHC. These findings may assist in the identification of measures to enhance the knowledge of midwives about the use of the RTHC thus ultimately facilitating the use of the RTHC by mothers as intended

The design of an archive and memorial park in South End, Port Elizabeth: an interactive community educational project

This treatise addresses the current lack in concern for acknowledging and preserving the memories and historical elements of a once thriving place: South End, Port Elizabeth (fig. 11, p. 20). The Group Areas Act of 19501 (Y. Agherdien, A. C George, S. Hendricks, 1997) resulted in expropriation of land and the demolision of buildings and roads which started to take place in South End during the 1970’s, forcefully removing the residents from their home neighbourhood and home. The treatise focuses on the traces of what is left of South End (fig. 02, in red) and how these elements can be acknowledged and preserved for the future generations. Theories on the discourse of memory, specifically collective memory, are investigated to establish an understanding on different methods to capture, record and preserve these traces and memories of South End. This investigation will be followed by principle explorations to establish how these theories can be implemented and manifested in the historical landscape. It is proposed to design an archive next to St. Peter’s Church, above St. Mary’s Cemetery in South End and a memorial park on the “triangular site” across from the cemetery, addressing the existing conditions of the landscape and the memories of the ex-residents of South End (figs. 16-18, p. 24). The archive will consist of a conventional archive (static element) housing the maps and documentation related to the city of Port Elizabeth, and an oral archive (dynamic element) consisting of a recording studio that collects and records the stories of the ex-residents of South End, constantly changing and adding to the archive. The memorial park will resemble a “living archive” which constantly changes and re-evokes the memories of the original inhabitants of South End. The proposed project is intended to act as an educative catalyst to the visitors, citizens of Nelson Mandela Bay and the future generations

Strategies to reduce poverty: a case study of two projects in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality

Poverty levels in South Africa remain high, and have not been significantly reduced since1994. This is associated with grass root challenges such as asset distribution, inequality, unemployment, high rate of HIV/AIDS, insufficient pro-poor economic growth, corruption, and bad governance. The problems of poverty and non-sustainable livelihoods in South Africa are still very persistent and can be attributed to significant lags in investment in human resource development and in the provision of basic social services, such as education, health and inequality growth and development. In view of the above, the necessity for improved standards of living is viewed as a vital issue in addressing poverty and has triggered the introduction of Integrated Development Planning (IDP) and Local Economic Development (LED) by municipalities. This has triggered the implementation of various projects by private and public sectors amongst which are The Institute for Youth Development in South Africa (IYDSA) and The Golden Stitches Trust, which aim to address poverty at the local level. Even though the effort of the local government to look into the immediate challenges affecting the community of NMBMM the influence of apartheid cannot be undermined. A need for pro-active developmental measures is imperative which will engage the entire citizenry on informing and educating them about steps to achieving a better improved life style. This study discussed the literature regarding poverty, the causes, and most importantly two programs undertaken in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality as a mechanism to alleviate poverty. With a view to actualize optimum desired result in the research, a qualitative and quantitative measure was designed for accurate assertions and verification. Data was collected from members of the projects by making use of questionnaires. It is a clear indication that many people are still very much far from development. They are however overwhelmed by low volume of qualitative education, primary health care and social amenities. The need for the local government to intensify their approach to reduce poverty is crucial. The findings of the study revealed that the Golden Stitches Trust lacks funding and faces shortage of members. However the IYDSA is quite successful but have some issues with the DSD pertaining to its name and as well needs more funds to be able to touch more lives

Role of water as a resource in hygiene and sanitation

Magister Philosophiae (Land and Agrarian Studies) - MPhil(LAS)Water supply and sanitation remain a huge problem in townships and rural areas of South Africa, in effect affecting the water supply, hygiene and health of marginalized communities. Following democracy in 1994, South Africa’s new government embarked on a program of eradicating backlogs in water supply and sanitation that had become endemic under apartheid in townships and rural areas. In addition, South Africa’s constitution categorically states that every citizen has a right to a minimum of basic water supply and sanitation. Internationally, access to basic water supply and sanitation are fundamental human rights. Thus the South African government aims is to ensure that all South Africans have access to basic water and sanitation services. This study investigated the quantity and quality of water and how these effect sanitation and hygiene of communities using Walmer Township in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality as a case study. The study used a multi-pronged methodological approach including structured interviews with a sample of households, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, observations and secondary information. Although the Walmer Community felt that they had access to sufficient quantity of water for their daily use and that the quality of the water was fine, the reality was that most households use less than the daily minimum amount of water per person as required in the constitution because of the distance where they have to fetch the water, which is too far to collect more water than they absolutely need. There is need for municipality to provide more stand pipes in order to reduce the distance that most households have to walk to fetch water. 80% of Walmer residents still use the bucket system, which is the issue that the community is more aggrieved about. One of the reasons the bucket system persists is the unplanned development of the Township and the type of dwellings (mostly shacks) that people still use. Also, the Township has grown and mushroomed organically as a result of the constant influx of people looking for better economic opportunities from rural areas or other urban areas. This makes it very difficult for the municipality to plan for and provide services and infrastructure as the Municipality is always playing catch-up. Worse still, the average number of people that use each bucket toilet (over 80) makes it extremely difficult to maintain the toilets clean and in functional and usable state at all times. Another problem is that the buckets, in particular those managed by the municipality, are not collected as scheduled resulting in spill-over of the toilets. Most of all, there are currently no clear arrangements around management and maintenance of the bucket toilets. Therefore the impact that the bucket system has on the residents’ health and hygiene, and the general Township environment is dire. The uncontrolled and continuing influx of people into Walmer Township has led to very high population density, with the average number of people per household up to ten. Most people of working age in these households are unemployed, which means that most households in the Township depend on social grants for survival. The high unemployment rate and dependency on social grants by most households in Walmer Township means that the community cannot afford to pay for services and therefore depend on amenities provided by the Municipality. The majority of the population of Walmer Township depends on basic services provided by the Municipality. These are provided as public amenities available to all Walmer residents, which makes them largely ‘open access’. This has resulted in poor management and poor maintenance of these amenities. The unhygienic state of most of the bucket toilets and the poor state of water stand taps is as a result of this current management arrangement. It would improve management of these public amenities if a system of locating stand taps and bucket toilets to specific households that could limit access and use to these defined groups of households was introduced. These households would then be responsible for maintaining and managing use of the specific and allocated amenities. The current management arrangements for these public amenities point to the fact that there is currently lack of participatory planning and management between the Municipality and the community. The Municipality takes top-down decisions resulting in disjuncture between the Municipality and the Community in terms of real community needs, provision of these needs, and how they should be serviced and managed

An investigation of the causes of the housing backlog in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality: 2000 - 2014

The aim of this study was to investigate the causes of the housing backlog in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality from 2000 to 2014. Fifty participants which were two ward councilors and two PR councilors, four community development members, four ward committee members , twenty backyard dwellers from ward 17 and ward 18 and eighteen senior officials (project managers) from the Department of Human Settlement in the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality were purposively sampled for the study. A qualitative design was used. In-depth interviews were conducted to collect data to enable the researcher to ask open ended questions and explore the participants’ perspectives about the causes of housing backlog. The study revealed that the factors which are playing a role in this regard include the role played by the Eastern Cape Province in housing, the large portion of land which is privately owned, beneficiary management by municipal officials and political interference on the waiting list Metropolitan subsequently, recommendations for further research were made

Factors that influence business success in the Schauderville, Korsten and Gelvandale township areas of the Nelson Mandela Bay

Presently, all South African businesses, including South African township small businesses, are required to be agile, innovative and highly adaptive in order to survive in a tough retail-trading environment. The reasons for having to adapt their strategies are due to the poor economic conditions and political uncertainty that South Africans are currently experiencing. Businesses owners are facing various challenges and have to mitigate and even eliminate numerous negative influences that potentially impede the growth and the sustainability of their businesses. The purpose for undertaking this research study was to establish a deeper understanding of township small businesses that operate in the township setting in South Africa. Many residents of the Schauderville, Korsten and Gelvandale townships areas in the Nelson Mandela Bay are unemployed. Some unemployed residents and those who were retrenched due to the tough South African economic environment started their own businesses, with the expectation of earning a sustainable income. However, the majority of these businesses were not able to establish themselves successfully. The question addressed in this study was therefore: what factors influence the success of small businesses in the Schauderville, Korsten and Gelvandale townships situated of the Nelson Mandela Bay? Thereafter, the researcher recommended strategies that the township small business owners should implement to improve their chances of operating more successful businesses. The selected factors that could negatively impact township small business success are mentioned below. The influencing factors that were discussed are: Competition; The formal and informal education levels of business owners and the township communities; The unemployment rate of township dwellers; Crime; and the disposable income levels of township communities. The research findings indicate that the majority of the township small businesses are influenced by the mentioned factors, especially crime. This conclusion was made after a sample of 50 respondents had completed structured interview questionnaires and after the results of the questionnaires had been analysed. This research study targeted township small business owners who operate in the Schauderville, Korsten and Gelvandale townships of the Nelson Mandela Bay. The researcher’s intention was to assist the township small business owners with strategies to mitigate the influences that competition (from locally owned township small businesses, foreign shopkeepers and township shopping malls), formal and informal education levels, unemployment, crime and disposable income levels of township communities have on their small businesses. In conclusion, the results of the research study show that the small business owners, together with government, should implement the recommendations that were made by the researcher in order to improve the success rate of their township small businesses. More vibrant and successful township small businesses will ultimately lead to better job opportunities and eventually to a flourishing South African economy