Patterns and Correlates of Dissatisfaction with Government Performance in the Gauteng City-Region, South Africa: A Comparison across Three Government Spheres

Abstract

With an increasing focus on the need to enhance government performance across the world, this paper explores dissatisfaction with the performance of three spheres of government in the Gauteng City-Region (GCR), South Africa. This paper uses the 2013 Quality of Life (QoL) survey data to examine spatial patterns and correlates of dissatisfaction with government performance as well as whether significant correlates that explain dissatisfaction with government performance vary across the three spheres of government. Results show significant spatial clustering in the levels of dissatisfaction across all three spheres of government, with more significant clustering in the local sphere, followed by the provincial and national spheres. The central core of Gauteng exhibits the lowest levels of dissatisfaction, whilst a clustering of high levels of dissatisfaction occurs in the southern areas. While spatial analysis revealed variation in the correlates across the three spheres, common correlates were also discernible. These include: the percentage of respondents dissatisfied with their dwelling, average sense of safety, average score access to services, percentage of respondents who agree politics is a waste of time, and percentage of respondents who agree that the country is going in the wrong direction. The disjuncture between perceptions of government performance and satisfaction with services is evident in this paper's results.