{"title":"Twinning arrangements and service delivery in Zimbabwe’s local authorities: The case of Bulawayo City Council (Zimbabwe) and eThekwini Municipality (South Africa)","authors":"Alouis Chilunjika, S. Chilunjika","doi":"10.4102/jolgri.v2i0.37","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/jolgri.v2i0.37","url":null,"abstract":"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.","PeriodicalId":34771,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Local Government Research and Innovation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43453221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A proposed citizen participation–public trust model in the context of service delivery protests in South African local government","authors":"Pumlani Msenge, O. Nzewi","doi":"10.4102/JOLGRI.V2I0.26","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/JOLGRI.V2I0.26","url":null,"abstract":"The South African local government context has been marred by persistent citizen protests that continue to jeopardise public administrators’ quest for effective service rendering. Such protests have been attributed to the disregard of citizen participation in local government and unresponsive service rendering, amongst other factors. Meaningful citizen participation is seen as a precondition for the establishment of trust between communities and public administrators. This article, delving into the empirical literature, presents a citizen participation and public trust model aimed at minimising service delivery protests in South Africa. It argues that whilst lack of community trust has been lauded as one of the factors that have brewed citizen protests over the years, there is evidence to show that between the core values of procedural justice and public trust, citizen perception of power to influence may be vital to minimise proclivity to protest. The article finds that in addition to the interactional and informational justice components of procedural justice, meaningful citizen participation can be measured as a combination of these justice areas with mechanisms that highlight citizens’ positive perceptions of their power to influence decisions. As recommendations, the article argues that indeed lack of community involvement in municipal processes has the potential to break down trust and explode into service delivery protests. However, the article concludes that ensuring meaningful participation in local government decision-making processes, as defined in this article, is a precondition for building community trust and limiting the outbreak of service delivery protests in the local government context.","PeriodicalId":34771,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Local Government Research and Innovation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45612564","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Table of Contents Vol 1 (2020)","authors":"Editorial Office","doi":"10.4102/jolgri.v1i0.29","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/jolgri.v1i0.29","url":null,"abstract":"No abstract available.","PeriodicalId":34771,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Local Government Research and Innovation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-12-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45615846","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Erratum: An analysis of the effects of equalisation funds on service delivery in selected local authorities in Zambia","authors":"Hanson Chishimba, E. Kazonga, Evaristo Nsenduluka","doi":"10.4102/JOLGRI.V2I0.35","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4102/JOLGRI.V2I0.35","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The government of the Republic of Zambia established the Local Government Equalisation Fund, to which each year parliament appropriates not less than 5% of the total amount of projected income taxes collected for the republic for that financial year. The purpose of the fund is to provide a source of financing for service delivery. Aim: The goal of this study was to analyse the effects of equalisation funds on service delivery in selected local authorities in Zambia. Setting: The study focused on Lusaka City Council, Luanshya Municipal Council and Chisamba and Luangwa town councils in Zambia. Methods: A concurrent mixed-methods approach was used. The population comprised registered property owners and council officials in the selected districts. The sample was drawn using stratified sampling. Data were collected using questionnaires and analysed by using descriptive statistics and regression analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Qualitative data were analysed using a narrative approach. Results: The expenditure composition of the equalisation funds shows that expenditure on personal emoluments accounts for a greater proportion than capital and service expenditure. There were similarities and differences in the methods of service delivery among local authorities: the use of local government enterprise, contracting out, franchises, volunteers, self-help groups and in-house provision. Conclusion: There is lack of satisfactory adherence to the guidelines on utilisation of equalisation funds for service delivery as espoused by the central government. The local authorities studied do not adhere to the prescribed guidelines on the utilisation of equalisation funds.","PeriodicalId":34771,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Local Government Research and Innovation","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45076978","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}