An analysis of the nature and role of leadership in service delivery at the City of Johannesburg metropolitan municipality in pursuit of strategic solutions

Abstract

The main objective of the research was to analyse the nature and role of leadership in service delivery at the City of Johannesburg metropolitan municipality in pursuit of strategic solutions. To attain this objective a logical evaluation of the nature and role of leadership in service delivery was undertaken. This involved tracing and evaluating the nature and role of leadership within precolonial, colonial and postcolonial governments and local government institutions in South Africa as well as the world over. A qualitative study was undertaken to evaluate the performance of leadership to provide answers to the questions which are pertinent to the causes of ineffective, inferior and unsustainable delivery of services to residents in the City of Johannesburg metropolitan municipality. A better understanding of how and what public leaders and functionaries in the local government institutions should do to facilitate and promote the delivery of services to the residents is required. The procedures of research included a thorough review of literature and structured face-to-face interviews with elected leaders, bureaucratic leaders, municipal trade union leaders, community leaders and residents working or living in the City of Johannesburg metropolitan municipality. The leadership at the City of Johannesburg metropolitan municipality was largely unaware of its natural role and lacked commitment in the application of full institutional capacity and human resources to support and accelerate quality and effective service delivery to all its residents, whether living in the informal settlements, townships and affluent suburbs. The leadership’s lack of determination to enforce the legislative and regulatory imperatives to compel functionaries to respect the rule of law for the facilitation and promotion of the delivery of quality and effective services was concerning. The high level of corruption and wastage of resources is of concern as this is worsened by the inability to implement budgeted projects and programmes as well as failure to reduce bottlenecks in the provision of low-cost houses for poor residents. In circumstances where some bureaucrats had skills and education to understand the dynamics of quality and effective service delivery, political interference and absence of political willpower to render such services to the residents hindered the intended progress. Of importance, the leadership at the City of Johannesburg metropolitan municipality, collaborating with the Gauteng province, should accomplish its roles, consult the communities, communicate and resolve community problems speedily, fulfill promises made during election campaigns, and improve visibility. The study, among other findings, discovered that public leaders and bureaucrats did not harness full capacity of their natural role to enforce legislative and regulatory imperatives to strengthen the rule of law, a situation exacerbated by endemic corruption. The leadership in the local government institutions and City of Johannesburg metropolitan municipality should develop and implement strategies to facilitate and stimulate effective and quality service delivery to all residents in order to alleviate the deteriorating circumstances.