Explore the evidence.
Understand the reach.

Service delivery protests in the recent past demonstrate the dire state of local government in South Africa. The absence of public sector innovation can be linked to service delivery backlogs hence embracing digital innovations (Internet of Things (IoT), Big data and analytics, cloud, Biometrics, computers, mobile applications, 3D machines) in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is strategic for enhancing municipal service provision and uplifting the living standards of citizens in communities.  The study utilised an explorative qualitative case study design premised on an extensive literature and document review analysis to examine the barriers facing the City of Tshwane from adopting digital innovations in the 4IR. The analysis of documents revealed digital hesitancy, leadership void, lack of innovative research culture, weak municipal preparedness, and digital divide in adopting digital innovations are barriers to digital innovation adoption to enhance service delivery. The paper observes further the lack of systematic and evaluative studies to inform public sector innovation, or growth in digital innovations often led to implementation challenges in the City of Tshwane. Conclusions drawn for the article revealed that adopting digital innovations can be the panacea to accelerating urban service delivery in the City of Tshwane; hence institutional readiness, improved revenue streams, including a stable regulatory and policy environment, are imperatives in achieving a digitalised local government in the 4IR.

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.

To improve the delivery of services, municipalities in South Africa are implementing information and communication technology (ICT) initiatives. The use of digitalization thus demands municipalities to introduce e-government services. With adequate resources and training, some municipalities also aim to advance their status as smart cities. However, However, not all municipalities are equipped to operate ICT-based services.  The article aims to explore this situation in the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (herein referred to as CoE). The article is qualitative in nature and the data collected is analyzed descriptively. The article utilizes the triangulation of data (document review, literature review, interview) to strengthen validity and reliability in the research process. The findings explore the challenges related to leadership in the municipality that requires a willingness to adopt, adapt and implement ICT initiatives for smart governance; ICT infrastructure that requires a municipality to allocate adequate budget to smart governance platforms, training of employees to equip them to operate digitalized processes, to state a few. Overall, the study considers the status and implementation levels of ICT and smart governance in the CoE to be unsatisfactory and requires policy recommendations for effective realization to become a smart city. The article offers policy recommendations emphasizing incorporating ICT in municipal budgets to invest in digital infrastructure.

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) One aims to eradicate poverty in all its manifestations across the world. The key study question to be theoretically explored is "how can the South African government's commitment to the UN Post-2015 Agenda and the National Development Plan (NDP): Vision 2030 be realised to accomplish Sustainable Development Goal One?". The research method used in the article is qualitative. The data were gathered through literature and document reviews, and conceptual analysis was employed to analyze the data. The findings show that the government has put in place a variety of legal frameworks, including the NDP, as well as social protection actions, to address SDG One implementation. However, for poverty reduction programmes to be successfully executed, problems like the high unemployment rate, job losses brought on by COVID-19, corruption straining taxpayers' finances, and other difficulties need to be addressed. The article presents recommendations in a country-specific context based on the findings to eliminate poverty and achieve SDG One.

Domestic revenue mobilisation is fundamental if African countries are to fund investments in health, education, infrastructural development, economic growth, human capital development, security, and prosperity to attain the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Some goals focus on eradicating poverty, reducing inequalities, strengthening institutions, and providing decent work. This requires resources and investment, yet Sub-Saharan African countries continuously struggle to mobilise enough revenue to meet basic government objectives. Through a critical literature review, this paper focuses on sustainable tax revenue mobilisation in Sub-Saharan African Countries, discussing the challenges, opportunities, and prospects for possible amelioration of tax systems. Challenges identified to explain the ineffectiveness of revenue mobilisation in these countries include the presence of a significant informal sector, weak tax administration capacities, the growth in the digital economy, corruption, governance quality, and increased tax avoidance and evasion by multinational companies. Possible prospects include taxation of the digital economy, taxing the informal sector, the capacitation of tax authorities, and the broadening of tax bases.

The teaching of life sciences within the Islamic culture was observed in this investigation by instructors at the Association of Muslim Schools in the KZN region. The following question served as the basis for the investigation: Do Islamic schools teach life sciences from an Islamic perspective? The Association of Muslim Schools gave its approval after receiving ethical scrutiny. A questionnaire, interviews, and observations were used to gather data. The analysis of the data was conducted using an inductive methodology. The philosophy of Islam and its approaches to teaching the required Life Sciences curriculum served as the study's conceptual foundation. The results show that there is a problem with integrating religious knowledge into science teaching in Muslim ethos schools in South Africa. The Professional Teaching Model was an initiative to close the gap caused by educational dualism.

A study investigated how normative commitment leads to employee commitment in a South African University. The literature review was conducted on the concepts of employee commitment, normative commitment, and employee commitment in a university setting. An explanatory research design was adopted together with a deductive research approach. Quantitative methodological was chosen to determine the common characteristics of the respondents, and a survey by means of a questionnaire was used to collect data, while descriptive statistics, t-test, and ANOVA (analysis of variance) were conducted on IBM SPSS, Version 26.  Findings suggest that none of the tested variables (gender, age, qualification as well as years in an organisation) influences commitment. This led to the conclusion that normative commitment does not influence employee commitment in that institution. Recommendations to include different variables to test normative commitment have been formulated, involving many other higher learning institutions. 

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)

The study presents a burden on theory and practice for discovering a reward criterion that achieves workspace morale in a hyperinflationary context. It aimed to determine the relationship between the individual components of rewards (extrinsic, intrinsic, and social) and workspace morale and the mediating role of employee engagement in a hyperinflationary context. The study applied a cross-sectional study. It employed a structured questionnaire as a study instrument. The target population for the study comprised 900 employees and managers of Bindura municipality in Zimbabwe. The study employed a sample of 269 employees and managers, and the methodology used was a case study. A total of 269 questionnaires were hand delivered after administering the ethical consent form. A total of 214 questionnaires were returned, and after preliminary review and cleaning, 17 questionnaires were found with missing values leaving 197 analyzable questionnaires thus, achieving a 73.2% response rate. The study used multiple regression analysis. The results reveal a significant direct effect of total reward, intrinsic reward, and social reward on workspace morale. The direct effect of extrinsic reward on workspace morale was statistically insignificant. It also reveals that the effects of total reward on workspace morale are mediated only partially by employee engagement. The study viewed employee engagement as a mediating force between rewards and workspace morale but did not examine the bond longitudinally. The study recommends exploring reward options, specifically supportive supervisory relations, work autonomy, role clarity, skill variety and regular feedback to improve workspace morale in hyperinflation. The results demonstrate the importance of practices that win employee hearts to enhance commitment instead of external motivation in an inflationary environment.

This paper evaluates the impacts of self-efficacy, employee attitude towards organizational change, Leadership 4.0, and perceived organizational support (POS) on employee acceptance of the organizational change (EAOC) within businesses in the 4IR era. The study’s sample was taken from ten (10) businesses in the Lagos and Oyo States of Nigeria. This paper applied a cross-sectional survey method, and questionnaires were randomly disseminated. However, out of the 250 questionnaires distributed, 246 were recovered, suitable for use, and analyzed with the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS version 28). This paper showed that self-efficacy, attitudes towards organizational change, Leadership 4.0, and perceived organizational support significantly, jointly, and independently influence the sustainability of employee acceptance of organizational change within Nigeria’s work organizations in the 4IR era. Work organizations are urged to provide training and exposure to higher responsibilities via delegation of authority. This would help employees within Nigeria’s business organizations gain better self-competence and serve as proof of organizational support, leading to accepting change without much struggle. They should also ensure that employees know the need for these changes in the 4IR era. Further, the management needs to train and support employees in dealing with the challenges inspired by the 4IR. Besides, the management should adopt a leadership style, such as Leadership 4.0, for the conditions and contests from the 4IR