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In African Public Administration, this article considers the subject of rethinking identity for indigenous public administration. It seeks to determine whether the lack of indigenous traditions as a foundation for current Public Administration will actually fulfil the essential knowledge demands of government by solving challenges that cannot be answered by public officials. This epistemic discrimination of indigenous public administration in Public Administration has been widely disseminated without taking into account the value systems of African societies that have established their own distinct administrative structures within their respective cultural settings. This has resulted in a plethora of misunderstandings and contradictions in contemporary public administration practices. This is due to P[p]ublic A[a]dministration modulating the influence of Africans, their processes and institutions in the development of the discipline. In light of this realization, this paper discusses how rethinking the issue of identity for indigenous public administration can and should serve as a foundational tool for promoting Africa's Public Administration. This paper employs Afrocentricity as an avant-garde to untangle this discourse based on the above-mentioned breakdown. The paper is conceptual in nature and is based on a review of literature from a variety of sources, including policies, popular media statements, and academic publications.

This study explored the challenges faced by municipalities in South Africa in the implementation of the Municipal Standard Chart of Accounts (mSCOA). The study adopted a qualitative approach, following an interpretive ontology, and a purposive sampling technique was used. The City of Tshwane in Gauteng Province was used as a unit of analysis; primary data was collected using virtual interviews as well as open-ended questionnaires, and secondary data was obtained in various documents on mSCOA implementation. The study revealed that there is a low mSCOA implementation level in the City of Tshwane. Furthermore, the study found that numerous challenges influenced the low implementation level. These challenges include resistance to change, a lack of adequate training on mSCOA implementation, a lack of personnel, a lack of pre-consultations, and poor system vendor skills transfer. The study recommends involving implementers in the concept and inception phases of any new reform.

Extant literature has addressed some components of community engagement with little or no connection with the dynamics of policymaking. Hence, the current paper explains the matrix of policy-making using the practice of community engagement with insights from Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality in South Africa. It discusses the theories of community engagement in policy formulation at the local level. An empirical nature of community engagement and policy formulation is subject to analysis with particular reference to the Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality in South Africa. Secondary data were sourced from the existing literature. The paper relies on the data suitability of extant studies. It reveals the policy-making matrix within the community engagement sphere. It therefore concludes that the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality should view community engagement in public policy formulation as a tool to increase the legitimacy, transparency, accountability, support, and responsiveness of a particular policy.

The present study undertakes an analysis of monitoring and evaluation as a pragmatic methodology for enhancing the efficacy of municipalities in the context of South Africa. Research findings indicate that a significant obstacle faced by South African municipalities is the issue of substandard performance. These aspects can be linked to several reasons, such as inadequate allocation of resources, limitations in capacity, and deficiencies in monitoring and assessment processes. This article posits that the use of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is crucial in addressing instances of suboptimal performance within municipalities. There exists a necessity to enhance the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems in order to attain efficient performance management and ensure the provision of high-quality service delivery. The research was conducted among three distinct municipalities, namely Amajuba, uThukela, and uMgungundlovu, located in the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The sample population comprised of municipal officials belonging to the Performance Management System (PMS) and Corporate Services units. The study employed a qualitative methodology and deliberately selected important participants who possessed knowledge and a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter under investigation. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the sample size consisted of 20 people. The researchers organized focus group conversations in order to gather data, which was subsequently controlled through the utilization of the NVivo software application. The findings of the study indicate that monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is a crucial component in enhancing the performance of local government. Its primary purpose is to establish the essential circumstances for achieving greater levels of performance that are sustainable over an extended period. Municipalities are required to demonstrate a firm dedication to the prioritization and adoption of municipal monitoring and evaluation (M&E) as an essential tool for facilitating progressive local governance. This commitment involves the institutionalization of M&E practices, the enforcement of mandatory adherence to established systems and procedures, the integration of information technology systems to enhance and fortify the implementation of M&E, and the utilization of participatory M&E approaches to assess the effectiveness of municipal functions and development endeavors.

A little over two years ago, from the 9th to the 18th of July 2021, South Africa experienced one of the worst incidents of civil unrest since the beginning of its democratic dispensation. Although the main catalyst for this unrest was not directly issues of service delivery or public participation, many observers, experts or not could not help but see the connection to issues of poverty, unemployment and overall lack of service delivery. Public participation has long been established as a vital tool in the hands of the government for efficient service delivery & development. The Newcastle Local Municipality (NLM) as an institution in South Africa, is governed by numerous public participation legislation which essentially states it must always consult & involve all its citizens on all issues that affect the community at large. Despite its adherence to these stipulations, this brief study, through a qualitative inquiry making use of an interview schedule, finds that NLM practices a type of participation strategy known as “Degrees of tokenism” where the result is the appeasement and placation of the masses as opposed to true participation that gives the masses real power. The results indicated that the officials entrusted with ensuring the implementation of the public participation mandate faced numerous challenges that rendered their stellar efforts inefficient. Issues such as a lack of understanding of the fundamental importance of good governance and public participation led to a shortage of resources and increased apathy toward municipal affairs. In investigating the nature of the public participation framework in NLM the researcher aimed at providing more insight into the complex issues at play responsible for the largely concerning state of local government in South Africa, thus possibly providing solutions in the process.

The African National Congress (ANC)-led government established a Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) policy in 1994, which included the introduction of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), with the goal of driving the economy and contributing to service delivery. SOEs are companies that are profit making, yet governments own them. As a result, SOEs are owned by the residents who elect their government and pay taxes to keep them functioning. These citizens are stakeholders in these enterprises through the government's administration. It can be argued that corruption, maladministration, and inadequate leadership accountability are the causes of the devaluation of state-owned enterprises. The 4th and 5th administration were thought to be corrupt, but the corruption appears to be immersed in the current 6th administration, with the SOEs being privatized. Corruption and similar corporate governance violations in state-owned Entities are becoming more common (SOEs). The purpose of this paper is to examine the position of State-Owned Entities and observe instances of incompetence, corruption and political interference in the operation of SOEs throughout the 4th, 5th and current 6th administration. Furthermore, this paper is a conceptual paper and it has relied heavily on secondary data and existing literatures for analysis and interpretation. The paper recommends that SOEs should be transparent to the public or stakeholders on its affairs, and the ANC to stop interfering in the administration and operation of SOEs.

This research aims to investigate how learning processes can be organized to create a model for effective leadership towards management. The study aims to compare the opinions of personnel in Wang Phong Sub-district Municipality regarding problems and obstacles in municipality administration and identify solutions to address these issues. The research methodology involved conducting in-depth interviews with key informants, and qualitative data analysis was used for data interpretation. The study's findings revealed that the former president of Wang Phong Sub-district Administrative Organization was a good leader who had a strong understanding of the principles of good governance and had effectively applied these principles in practice. Factors that contributed to the success of exemplary governance implementation included leadership, availability of resources and finances, and personnel numbers. Two important principles of good governance were identified: a system for awarding contests, and clear and transparent management principles for Sub-district Administrative Organizations.

The purpose of this study was to measure the Community Satisfaction Index on the Pontianak Drive Thru Land Service (PERDANA) and to analyze the results of the level of community satisfaction on the PERDANA at the Pontianak City Land Office. This research uses quantitative research methods. Data collection techniques using questionnaires and documentation studies. The data analysis technique used is descriptive analysis. The results of this study indicate that the Community Satisfaction Index with Pontianak Drive Thru Land Services at the Pontianak City Land Office has been implemented properly with a high variable criterion of 89. The highest index value is 94 on the cost/tariff indicator. The lowest index value of 75 is on the Completion Time indicator. With the innovations that have been issued by the Pontianak City Land Office, it proves that the PERDANA gives satisfaction to the community. The Pontianak City Land Office can improve service quality in terms of service completion time such as being able to add PERDANA implementing officers in terms of correcting files online so that files can be corrected accurately and quickly and can maintain exchange system solutions (applicants provide physical files and officers provide Deposit Orders (Surat Perintah Setor/SPS)) so that there are no file arrears caused by applicants who have made payments but did not deliver physical files, and can improve service quality in terms of facilities, namely minimizing server downtime by updating the PERDANA website to an application that can be uploaded.

Recently, development has taken center stage as it encapsulates an intrinsic aspect of human life. Development is a fundamental requirement for improving the material conditions of communities that contend with abject poverty across all spheres of their lives. It is conversely justifiable that understanding development within the context of service delivery is indispensable and could be considered the backbone towards socioeconomic and political upliftment of the masses. This social science research study examines the frigidity of the district municipalities towards improving the needs of society. This study seeks to closely unpack the challenges that negatively impact ordinary citizens' livelihoods to access the services as their fundamental and constitutional rights. The frigidity of district municipalities to render services violates the citizens' fundamental human rights and undermines constitutional supremacy. The primary focus of this study is on disentangling the issues which have a negative bearing on development initiatives to be undertaken by the district municipalities. This study further navigates the social ills through a lens that would, in turn, reveal and expose the key stumbling blocks which deter infrastructure and socio-economic development by district municipalities. This qualitative study embraces a phenomenological approach to fulfill the descriptive observation of the phenomenon under investigation. Data was collected through phenomenological observations and focus groups among the respondents. This study postulates the essential recommendations that would inform policy shift and policy reform as fundamental approaches to development that respond squarely to service delivery.

This study aims to shed light on the continued difficulties municipalities in South Africa are having in achieving SDG 6 and also explore the impacts of effective governance principles on ensuring sustainable development. To explore this, the study adopted a qualitative research methodology in a form of a conceptual research design to gather secondary data. The secondary data covering SDG 6 challenges and effective governance principles were reviewed and synthesized. Different databases were used to review data from July through October 2022, such as Google Scholar, Google, Sabinet, Scopus, and other online platforms. Different keywords were used to guide and search the existing relevant literature. Secondary data was analyzed using a critical discourse analysis approach. Because of South Africa's lax governance standards, the theoretical findings of this study demonstrate that there are growing concerns about achieving SDG 6 in the near future. However, it can be agreed that progress toward effective governance has been encouraged and promoted, but the challenges remain. Therefore, the study recommends effective and inclusive governance because, without it, South Africa will not achieve its socio-economic goals, like SDG 6. South Africa should put in place structures that support constitutionalism, accountability, democracy, and good governance if it is to meet its development objectives. It is important to overcome lax governance, which is characterized by mismanagement, fraud, bribery, corruption, and a lack of accountability, transparency, and public participation. Again, South Africa should have an efficient government that works to fulfil the localized SDGs and responds to community desires and aspirations enshrined in the Municipal Systems Act (Act 32 of 2000)

This article intends to uncover the ongoing challenges that South African municipalities are confronted with in realizing SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation) and also explore common good governance principles for sustainable development. To realize SDG 6, good governance principles should be promoted and pragmatically implemented. This is a conceptual article which assesses secondary data covering SDG 6 challenges and good governance principles. Existing literature was systematically reviewed from Google Scholar, online newsletters, and other databases from May–July 2022. Secondary data was analyzed using a Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) approach. The theoretical findings of this article show that there is growing concern about attaining SDG 6 due to the bad or weak governance practices in SA. In SA, progress on good governance has been encouraging, but challenges remain. Thus, this article recommends good and inclusive governance because, without it, SA will not achieve its socio-economic goals, like SDG 6. If SA is to achieve its development goals, it must establish mechanisms that promote constitutionalism, accountability, democracy, and good governance. Weak governance, which is characterized by corruption, bribery, mismanagement, and lack of public involvement, transparency, and accountability, should be addressed. SA should have sound governance that is responsive to community needs and fights toward the achievement of the localized SDGs.

This article aims to assess the Integrated Development Planning (IDP) process for improved community participation. The IDP process was developed to improve strategic planning and community participation at the municipal level. Many South African municipalities have been struggling to use the IDP process to improve community participation. The methodology included 400 respondents who were chosen through a probability sampling technique and probed to complete the online survey using a closed-ended questionnaire guide, and ten respondents were also chosen through a non-probability sampling technique and were face-to-face interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. The key findings revealed that poor community participation exists in the study area due to a lack of encouragement from responsible authorities. The Tzaneen municipality does not provide adequate feedback to the communities, and the inputs of the communities are not considered. There is a continuous lack of community consultation during the annual review of the IDP. The ineffective IDP process for improved community participation presents several challenges. Thus, this article concluded by providing a few recommendations to enhance the application of the IDP process and community participation. The Tzaneen municipal area should at all times uphold democratic principles by ensuring active public participation, transparency, and openness in municipal affairs. It also recommends making it easier for marginalised and previously disadvantaged people to participate in municipal policy and decision-making without prejudice. South African municipalities, including Tzaneen municipality, should develop and innovate institutional, and organisational capabilities to better utilise their resources, mitigate socio-economic challenges and enhance service delivery.

The article was based on an interpretive paradigm, which adopts a qualitative desktop review approach. Various document sources that inform 4IR and talent management within the local government context in South Africa were employed. The two cities of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni were used as case studies to examine their talent management strategies in the 4IR. The analysis of documents has shown that the 4IR can enable accelerated delivery of services; increase access to services; improve community participation; and more significant social accountability. Nevertheless, some municipalities in South Africa do not have enough resources and skills capacity to implement ICT/4IR measures to improve services; hence managing talent in key technical jobs has become an impediment. The absence of institutional readiness among local municipalities is a huge deterrent to managing talent needed to drive service delivery in the 4IR. The study concludes that to achieve efficient public service delivery within the 4IR, local municipalities should retain talent to manage the digital technologies that demand skilled expertise. The article recommends the government develop policies that offer guidance to local municipalities on managing specified sets of talents that are deemed crucial to enhancing socio-economic development in the 4IR.

This paper examines how employee empowerment impacted the South African public sector. A qualitative research approach was utilised based on the narratives and stories of seven employees operating in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa from the Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affair Tourism (DEDEAT) and East London Industrial Development Zone (ELIDZ) gathered through the use of in-depth interviews. It was found that the concept of empowerment has not been fully institutionalised in the Public sector. The research suggests strategies that managers can adopt to assist instutionalise Employee empowerment in the Public sector. This study extends and advances the literature on employee empowerment and more particularly psychological empowerment. The study found employee empowerment to be a vital tool to improve service delivery in the Public sector. However, it was found that more personalised approaches like delegation and mentorship can be institutionalised for psychological empowerment purposes. In general, the findings indicated that Employee empowerment has a positive influence on organisational performance and service delivery.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the Key Success Factors in the operationalization of BP. Tapera (Public Housing Savings Implementing Agency), so that solutions to the challenges faced by institutions in the future will be found, as well as ways to achieve successful performance.  As results of external analysis research, showing several key success factors, including high economic growth, large population, implementation of mandatory Tapera membership, high yielding Tapera fund accumulation, transparent and accountable Tapera administration principles, the culture of mutual cooperation and humanity, availability of adequate office/branch services, availability of integrated IT, Decrease Termination of Employment, Employment Increase, Price Stability, Equitable Development Results, Participant Awareness and Trust, Employer Support, Land Bank Availability. As a follow-up study, BP. Tapera must immediately develop and perform strategies to implement these key success factors.

This study aims to identify and analyze and formulate a model for implementing the Apparatus Performance Assessment System Policy (Sikerja) at the IPDN Cilandak Jakarta Campus. The type of research used is descriptive with a qualitative approach. To formulate a model for the implementation of the apparatus performance appraisal system policy (Sikerja) at the IPDN Cilandak Jakarta campus, researchers used Soft System Methodology (SSM). In this study, an analysis of the implementation of the Sikerja policy was carried out with the dimensions studied were communication, resources, disposition and bureaucratic structure. The results showed that the implementation of the Sikerja policy at IPDN CIlandak Jakarta campus has been carried out quite well in the disposition and bureaucratic structure dimensions, however in the communication and resource dimensions there are still obstacles. The Implementation Model of the Apparatus Performance Appraisal System (Sikerja) policy at the IPDN Cilandak Jakarta Campus is a model that adds a dimension of commitment as an additional dimension in implementing the Sikerja policy. 

This study aims to examine the effect of professionalism, accountability, transparency, excellent service, participation, and rule of law on the regional financial performance of East Tanjung Jabung regency moderated by human resource knowledge. This research was conducted on 89 respondents in 28 OPDs of the Government of East Tanjung Jabung Regency. The data analysis method used SEM-PLS with the WarpPLS 7.0 application. The results of this study indicated that the principles of good governance which referred to Government Regulation Number 101 of 2000 concerning Education and Training for Civil Servant Positions that can positively affect the regional financial performance of East Tanjung Jabung Regency include professionalism, accountability, and participation. Meanwhile, the principles of transparency, excellent service, and rule of law have not been able to maximally affect the regional financial performance of East Tanjung Jabung Regency. Human resource knowledge as a moderating variable was able to strengthen several variables from the principles of good governance, namely human resource knowledge was able to strengthen the effect of professionalism, accountability, transparency, and excellent service. However, the result of research on human resource knowledge was also unable to moderate the effect of participation and rule of law on regional financial performance.

In order to push development to the grassroots and ensure citizens contribute meaningfully to development, many African countries have adopted the devolved governance system.  However, it has been observed that the devolution of political powers has not translated equally to envisioned overall development. In Kenya County governments have achieved various milestones towards development demonstrated through the infrastructure, social amenities, and standards of living. However, corruption has been increasing mainly due to a lack of transparency. This paper sought to examine the contribution of transparency levels in County government service delivery.  The study adopted mixed method approach using survey and in-depth interviews concurrently.  Stratified multi stage cluster sampling was deployed. Quantitative data was collected using questionnaires and qualitative data using interview schedules. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and a typological theory developed to explain the study results. The study findings showed that the level of transparency in the counties was low which affected service delivery.  The study concluded that county governments should ensure that public participation and sharing of information is bidirectional to involve both users and management so as to improve service delivery.

The devolved system of governance was adopted to ensure development in all regions and effectiveness in service delivery for all Kenyans. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the consensus orientation practices on the performance of county governments in Kenya. The study used a descriptive and explanatory cross-sectional survey method. The unit of analysis was the county government. The counties in which data was collected helped in the generalization of findings to all the Kenyan 47 counties. For this study, a sample of 354 was arrived at. A simple random sampling method was adopted for selecting the respondents. The study used a questionnaire for the collection of primary data. Data analysis was done with the help of a statistical analysis program. Frequencies and descriptive statistics were obtained for the study’s variables and this information was presented in graphs and frequency tables. Inferential statistics included regression analysis that was used to test the significance between dependent and the independent variables. The researcher observed respondents’ rights to privacy and safety. The study established that consensus orientation had a significant influence on the performance of county governments in Kenya and concluded that consensus orientation influences the performance of county governments in Kenya. The study recommends that Governors need to sensitize county directors to work in consultation with other stakeholders to ensure that all feel part of the developmental agenda for the county. There is a need for county governments to set effective regulations through the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority to regulate and shape the county’s procurement procedures.

The purpose of this study is "Designing an excellent service model on Population and Civil Registration Service in the city of Metro ". The conclusions obtained from this study are (1) Problems in excellent service at Population and Civil Registration Service in the city of Metro based on their nature are divided into two types, which is uncontrolled (missed) and which is controlled (difficult). Uncontrolled problems are problems that should not need to exist, but they appear as an unavoidable problem whereas problems that are controlled are problems whose level of difficulty can be controlled. (2). The focus of service in population administration services in an institutional model emphasizes speed and convenience and does not pay attention to the simplicity of requirements and so to improve its quality it is necessary to pay attention to safety factors. (3) There are still many brokers in the services of the city of Metro Population and Civil Registration Service due to lack of supervision from the relevant agencies, not yet clear the application of Procedure Service Standards as well as the lack of socialization to the public about the service rates and service procedures.
 Keywords: Excellent Service Model; Soft Systems Methodology