ALTERNATIVE SERVICE DELIVERY MODELS FOR THE SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLIC SERVICE FOR THE YEAR 2020

RESEARCH REPORT

ZUBANE P 15921654
Research report presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Future Studies at the University of Stellenbosch

Supervisor: Professor A Roux

Degree of confidentiality: None

February 2011

ii Declaration

By submitting this research report electronically, I Patience Zubane, declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the owner of the copyright thereof (unless to the extent explicitly otherwise stated) and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification.

6208310449080 P Zubane February 2011

Copyright @ 2010 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved

iii

Acknowledgements

All my thanks to the Almighty Father for making it all possible and for being the indispensable hand that guided and kept me on track.

Many thanks for the encouragement, support and motivation so generously given by my colleagues (the Pretoria Future Studies class). That inspiration made me soldier on and now I have developed a better insight into the field of Future studies.

Many thanks to both the academic and non academic staff of the University Of Stellenbosch Business School for their support through this journey. A special thanks to my study leaders Professor Andre Roux and Professor Phillip Spies for guidance, patience and inspiration.

Special thanks to my family and friends for their prayers, love, patience and support.

iv Abstract

The aim of this research report is to identify the alternative service delivery models that could deliver effective and efficient services to the South African public in future. The current economic realities, the effects of globalisation, the potential for technological innovation and the publics demand for better services have led the South African government to reconsider the manner in which services are being rendered. A futures methodology tool that was employed in understanding the environment in which services are delivered in South Africa is the environmental scanning. Environmental scanning which took the form of literature review, analysis of statistics already produced by other researchers, official publications and correspondence, newspaper surveys, pamphlets and newsletters, dissertations and theses as well as information from the internet will be employed in this study. Constructive environmental scanning which encompasses both material monism (also known as pop-ism) and the transcendental monism (Naude.2008; 53) was employed to develop a sound understanding of the environment (factors and forces) which have a bearing on the futures of the public service delivery. This exercise revealed that in South Africa services delivery is influenced by the following driving forces (environments): cultural and social, political and legislative, technological and economic.

The environmental scanning also revealed that due to the importance attached to service delivery; government had to move away from the conventional approaches to public service delivery where government was the sole provider of services to the public and sought alternative ways of delivering services to the public. The following alternative service delivery models were adopted by government: contracting out, concession, leasing, privatization, management contract, and Electronic government as alternative models of service delivery.

Notwithstanding the success of most of the models, some of these proved to be a breeding ground for nepotism, corruption, fraud and a paradise for white collar criminals. Political interference, that masquerades as political oversight is the order of the day. All of these are taking place at the expense of services delivery and are costing the government dearly.

Government viewed this as an unhealthy state of affairs and also realised that this situation cannot be left to perpetuate into the future. Most importantly, government has awoken to the reality that the future can no longer be left to chance. Scenario planning was adopted as the research methodology employed in anticipating and preparing for the future. In the quest for

v seeking alternative service delivery models for the future, the research report adopted the six stages of scenario planning.

The chief value of scenario planning is that it allows policy-makers to make and learn from mistakes without risking career-limiting failures in real life. Further, policymakers can make these mistakes in a safe, unthreatening, game-like environment, while responding to a wide variety of concretely-presented situations based on facts. Scenario planning has an added benefit of allowing participants the latitude to think freely, allows creativity and encourages innovation.

vi TABLE OF CONTENT

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

1. 1.2.

Introduction and Background Definition of the Research Problem 1.2.1 1.2.2 1.2.3 1.2.4 Main Problem Subordinate Problems Delimitation of Study Definition of concepts and terms

1 1 1 2 2 2 5 5 6 6

1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6

Assumptions Survey of the related literature Research design and methodology Framework of the proposed study

CHAPTER 2: SCANNING THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH SERVICES ARE DELIVERED 2.1 2.2 2.3 Introduction Public Service THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH SERVICES ARE DELIVERED 2.3.1 2.3.2 2.3.3 2.3.4 2.4 The socio-cultural environment The statutory environment The technological environment The economic environment 8 9 10 10 14 17 20

FACTORS UNDERMINING GOVERNMENTS COMMITMENT TO EFFICIENT SERVICE DELIVERY 2.4.1 Skill shortage in the public service 2.4.2 Growing political interference 2.4.3 Government funding model 23 23 24 25 26

2.5

CONCLUSION

vii CHAPTER 3: AN EXAMINATION OF THE CURRENT SERVICE DELIVERY MODELS

3.1 3.2 3.3

Introduction Reasons for Alternative Models for Service Delivery The Current Service Delivery Models 3.3.1 Collaborations/Partnerships 3.3.1.1 Public- Public Collaboration /Shared Services 3.3.1.2 Public Not For Profiting Making Organisation Collaboration 3.3.1.3 Public-Private Collaborations 3.3.2 Contracting Out/Outsourcing 3.3.2.1 Service contracts

27 27 28 29 29

30 32 35 37 37 37 38 38 39 40 42 42 42 42 44 44 45 46 46

3.3.2.2 Management contracts 3.3.2.3 Asset lease 3.3.2.4 Concessions 3.3.3 Privatization 3.3.3.1 Views supporting privatization 3.3.3.2 Views against privatisation 3.3.4 Electronic Service Delivery Model 3.3.4.1 Benefits of electronic service delivery 3.3.4.1.1 Benefits to the public 3.3.4.1.2 Benefits to the government 3.5 Conclusion

CHAPTER 4: SERVICE DELIVERY MODELS OF THE FUTURE 4.1 4.2 INTRODUCTION DEFINITION OF SCENARIO PLANNING 4.2.1 4.3 Definition of scenario planning

THE APPLICATION OF THE SCENARIO PLANNING IN CREATING ALTERNATIVE SERVICE DELIVERY MODEL FOR

viii SOUTH AFRICA FOR 2020 4.3.1 4.3.2 4.3.3 4.3.4 Identification of the decision focus Forming the scenario team Identification of the driving forces Assessment of uncertainty of forces and drivers 47 47 50 50 52 55 57 58 58

4.3.5 Identification of axis and logics 4.3.6 Drafting of scenario 4.3.6.1 Better the devil you know future scenario 4.3.6.2 Fix your BIZ future scenario

4.3 6.3 The Agencification future scenario 4.3.6.4 The going back to my roots future scenario 4.3.4 4.5 IDENTIFICATION OF ISSUES ARISING FROM THE SCENARIOS CONCLUSION

58 59 61 63 64 64 65 65 66 68

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Introduction Summary of findings Conclusions Recommendation

REFERENCES

ix

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 2.1 Table 2.2 Estimated annual population growth HIV prevalence estimates and the number of people living with AIDS 2010-2011 Figure 3.1 ASD spectrum of options Figure 3.2 The process of outsourcing Figure 4.1 Project framework Figure 4.2 Impact/uncertainty matrixes Figure 4.3 Scenario Matrix 12 28 36 49 54 56 11

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

1.1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

The birth of the new and democratic South Africa in 1994 was met with great enthusiasm and great expectation by the majority of South Africans. To the majority of the people the emergence of the new dispensation meant better health and education facilities, elimination of poverty, provision of better housing, accessibility to water, electricity and sanitation and the improvement of the general quality of life. The excitement that accompanied the advent of the new dispensation was brief; it was soon replaced by growing signs of despair regarding the governments inability to render the basic services that were promised to the people and those that were anxiously waited for by the public. Poor service delivery has reached dystopic proportions. Dystopia is defined by Slaughter (2005:7) as the decline into primitive and violent world but can also be used to mean warnings of destinations to avoid or hazards on the future landscape. The publics frustration and impatience over slow and poor service delivery takes the form of protest marches, boycotts and strikes which are characterized by bloodshed and loss of life. 1.2 DEFINITION OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

1.2.1 Main Problem

Government institutions are often criticized for being bureaucratic, slow to respond, inefficient, ineffective and unimaginative. This has led to many communities losing patience and service delivery protests ensued. These protests are characterized by violence, destruction and loss of life. The government introduced numerous pieces of legislation, all aimed at improving the lives of the people and rendering quality service. Alternative methods of service delivery were tried and tested but none has produced the required quality and level of service delivery. Premised on the above, the research question for this study is:

2 WHAT OTHER SERVICE DELIVERY METHODS CAN BE EMPLOYED TO ENHANCE SERVICE DELIVERY? 1.2.2 Subordinate Problems/questions

The subordinate themes that arise from this study are as follows: Examination of how the environmental factors directly or indirectly affect public service delivery. An assessment of the causes of the poor delivery of services An identification of the models that are currently in place, this discussion will include their strengths and their shortcomings and An examination of how future studies methodologies would help to identify alternative service model(s) of the future.

1.2.3

Delimitation of Study

The following delimitations have been identified for the study: This study is a ground work of the subject matter a thorough research is required to fully explore the subject matter as this is a matter of national concern. The research is limited to the public service domain and therefore cannot be generalized to all other spheres. The results of the study will not serve as a compulsory method of practice for the public service but rather as a recommendation for the improvement of service delivery. 1.2.4 Definition of concepts and terms

For purposes of this study, the following terms are described, defined and are listed below.

1.2.4.1 Service delivery Fox & Meyer (1995:118) define service delivery as the provision of public activities, benefits, or satisfactions to citizen. This is actually the provision of a service or product by the government, to the citizens as expected by the citizens and mandated by Acts of Parliament. Therefore service delivery can either be tangible (products) or intangible (services).

3 The client or customer may be someone inside the organization or someone from outside. According to Flynn (1997:170) the term service delivery implies that user of the service is a passive recipient who has the services delivered to him. However, the recent spate of service delivery protest proves contrary to this popular belief. 1.2.4.2 South African Public service These are a group of public institutions operating under the auspices of the South African Public Service Administration, mandated by the Public Administration Act. Section 8 of the Public Service act (proclamation 103 of 19194) states that the South African Public Service constitutes all persons holding fixed positions or permanent additional appointments in the service, and the state educational institutions excluding members of the National Defence Force, the South African Security Agency and the South African Police Intelligence. The South African Public Service operates from an environment different from that of the private organizations. Fox, Schwella & Wissinki (1991:231) identify the differences between the two as follows: Public institutions are exposed to greater public scrutiny as well as unique public expectations. The environment of public institutions is more legal, formal and has more judicial restraints than private sector organizations. Public organizations function in an environment where there is lesser degree of market exposure and a greater degree of reliance on appropriations from authoritative bodies than with private organizations. 1.2.4.3 Batho Pele Principles The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) in 1998 published the White Paper on transforming Public Service Delivery and in it outlined the eight principles popularly known as Batho Pele Principle. Batho Pele literally means People First. The principles that underpin the Batho Pele are as follows: Consultation: the citizens/ consumers will be consulted on the level and quality of service that they receive and on matters that affect them. Service standard: Citizens shall be made aware of the level and quality of service that they will receive.

4 Access: All citizens shall have equal access to services and shall not be discriminated against on any grounds. Courtesy: All public officials shall behave in a polite and altruistic manner when interacting with and rendering service to the public. This can translate into a warm and caring attitude towards customers. Information: Citizen should be given information about the level and quality of service. Citizens should not only be given feedback when there is good news but they have to be kept abreast even when there are challenges. Openness and Transparency: All government operations should be undertaken in an open and transparent manner, unless if such undertakings are of a sensitive nature. This will ease the minds of citizens and minimize fraud and corruption. Redress: The Apartheid government rendered quality service to a particular segment of the population. The Black and rural communities remained underserviced. The Government of the day is committed in rectifying the inequalities of the past. This could be achieved by prioritizing the needs of the previously disadvantaged in the delivery of services. Value for Money: This principle emphasizes effectiveness and efficiency. Resources are never abundant; the available resources should be put to good use. This translates into better results and efficient service delivery at minimal costs. 1.2.4.4 Partnerships This is an arrangement and agreement between a government institution and one or more parties, these may be other government institutions, parastatals, nongovernment or private entities. These agreements are in accordance with the mandate and objectives of the government institution and should serve the best interest of the citizens. Partnerships with other stakeholders are regarded as strategies that harness capabilities that might not be available in a particular government institution. The following are examples of partnerships namely Public-Private Partnership, PublicPublic partnership also known as shared services, partnerships with non-

governmental organizations, leasing and franchising agreements and contracting.

5 1.2.4.5 Privatization Privatization means the systematic transfer of appropriate functions, activities or properties from the public to the private sector where service production and consumption can be regulated more efficiently by the market and price mechanisms 1.2.4.6 Scenario A scenario is a story with plausible cause and effect links that connects a future condition with the present, while illustrating key decisions, events, and consequences throughout the narrative. 1.3 Assumptions

An assumption also known as a hypothesis is a proposed answer to a research question which needs to be tested/ validated before it can be accepted as a fact. The assumptions underlying this study are the following: The service delivery levels and quality could be improved by employing alternate service delivery method. The environment within which services are rendered impacts directly or indirectly on the quality of service delivery and the method that will be employed. Scenario planning can lead to future alternative service delivery models

1.4

Survey of the related literature

A review of the literature shows that the service delivery problem is not a phenomenon that is unique to the South African situation; this is experienced by other developing and other developed countries as well. Governments in both developed and developing worlds are moving away from the traditional or conventional approaches of service delivery where government is solely responsible for the provision of services. There is a move to seek other service deliver options. The use of other service delivery options is seen as strategy to enhance service delivery through mobilization of resources, borrowing private sector approaches is seen as a way of revitalizing the public sector and it is believed that by attracting

6 private sector management into public sector will lead to an efficiently an effectively managed public service.( Nyamukachi, 2005:47). There are other reasons why government institutions are opting for alternative methods of service delivery are reducing complacency and encouraging innovation amongst the employees and rebuilding trust in the public service. 1.5 Research Design and Methodology A multi faceted approach will be employed in this study viz. Environmental scanning which will take the form of literature review, analysis of statistics already produced by other researchers, official publications and correspondence, newspaper surveys, pamphlets and newsletters,

dissertations and theses as well as information from the internet. This will shed some light into the perceptions of the public concerning the current state of affairs, the efforts made by the Government to better this dystopic state of affairs and the public and government aspirations for a model that would lead to a utopian state of affairs. Constructive environmental scanning which encompasses both material monism (also known as pop-ism) and the transcendental monism will be employed to develop a sound understanding of the real factors and forces which may have a bearing on the futures of the public service delivery. Scenario will be used to as stories with plausible cause and effect links that connects a future condition with the present, while illustrating key decisions, events, and consequences affecting service delivery and the future service delivery model. 1.6 Framework of the proposed study

Chapter 1: Introduction The objective of this chapter is to introduce the background of service delivery in South Africa, outline the research problem, the research question and the research methodology that will be applied.

7 Chapter 2: Scanning the environment in which services are rendered. The objective of this chapter is to define and describe the concept of service delivery in South Africa and describe the environment in which service delivery takes place. The following environments are described: the socio-cultural environment, the statutory environment, the technological environment and the economic environment. Furthermore the different schools of thought regarding factors undermining the governments commitment to efficient service delivery are outlined. Chapter 3: An investigation into the current service delivery models. The rationale for alternative service delivery models will be given and immediately the different options that are currently adopted by the South African government will be explained. Collaborations/Partnerships, outsourcing, privatization and the electronic service delivery model are discussed. The discussion on the benefits and the failures of each option forms part of the discussion. Chapter 4: Service delivery of the future Initially the concept of scenarios is defined in order to sufficiently describe and understand this methodology; this will be followed by the identification of the driving forces affecting service delivery. The remainder of the chapter will be devoted to the application the scenario planning in identifying/developing alternative service delivery models. Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations This chapter presents the research findings, the conclusions of this study and recommendations for further research.

CHAPTER 2 ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING: AN INSIGHT INTO THE ENIRONMENT OF SERVICE DELIVERY IN SOUTH AFRICA 2.1 INTRODUCTION

The current economic realities, the effects of globalisation, the potential for technological innovation and the publics demand for better services have led the South African Government to reconsider the manner in which services are being rendered. Public service are rendered within the realm of public administration which is described as the world in which government and its institutions functions to deliver services (Crouse, 2002:49). The services rendered and influenced by the economic environment, the technological environment, the socio-cultural environment and the statutory environment. These environments affect each other and impact either positively or negatively on service delivery. They are responsible for what kind of services can and will be delivered and the setting the standard of the services to be delivered. A futures methodology tool that was employed in understanding the environment in which services are delivered in South Africa is environmental scanning. Environmental scanning which took the form of literature review, analysis of statistics already produced by other researchers, official publications and correspondence, newspaper surveys, pamphlets and newsletters, dissertations and theses as well as information from the internet will be employed in this study. Constructive environmental scanning which encompasses both material monism (also known as pop-ism) and the transcendental monism (Naude.2008; 53) was employed to develop a sound understanding of the environment (factors and forces) which have a bearing on the futures of the public service delivery.

The objective of this chapter is to give a description of the environment within which the government services are rendered; emphasis will be placed on the influence that the environment has on service delivery. The chapter begins with the examination of the public service as the governments vehicle for service delivery. This will be followed by the different environments within which services are delivered and which influence service delivery. Attention will also be given to the factors undermining the governments commitment to efficient service delivery.

9 . 2.2 PUBLIC SERVICE

The delivery of public service by government requires a government administration. Such a system is generally called the public service. Nengwakhulu (2009:344) defines Public Service as an administrative vehicle by means of which governments deliver all kinds of services to their citizens. The services delivered to the public can either be tangible like the provision of water and intangible like provision of electricity. Central to the discussion of the public service is the discussion of the public administration. Du Toit and Van Der Waldt (2006:27) contend that public administration constitute the processes, organisations and individuals (the later acting in their official positions and role) that are associated with carrying out laws and other policy measures adopted by the legislature that translate into service delivered to the public. Bayat & Meyer (1994:117) differentiate between public service and public administration; they assert that public administration emphasises the what and the how of public service. It therefore, becomes important that the discussion of service delivery is not divorced from the discussion of public administration. It can be concluded that the quality of services delivered depends on the quality of administration practised by public institutions. The public service operates in an environment different from the environment in which the private organisations operate. There is greater public expectation on the part of the public service than on the private sector and the public institutions are exposed to greater public scrutiny as well as unique public expectations. It therefore becomes imperative that public service official know and understand the values and principles that govern public administration. When the new Government of National Unity took over, it had a new and different mandate, a new set of belief and practices and different expectations from the public. The need for a public service that will meet the demands of the new government and the expectation of the public was evident. This situation warranted that the government reshape the existing public service for its appointed role in the new dispensation. The white paper on the transformation of the public service was introduced. The aim of this White Paper was to establish a policy framework to guide the introduction and implementation of new policies and legislation aimed at transforming the South African public service. This was coupled with the introduction of the Public Service Act of 1994.

10 To be able to deliver on its mandate the government adopted the following vision (White Paper on the transformation of the Public Service, 1995(Notice1227 of 1995) : The Government is committed to continually improve the lives of the people of South Africa through a transformed public service which is representative, coherent, transparent, efficient, effective, accountable and responsive to the needs of all. To bring the vision into realization, the following mission was adopted (White Paper on the transformation of the Public Service, 1995(Notice1227 of 1995) : The creation of a people centred and people driven public service which is characterised by equity, quality, timeousness and a strong code of ethics.

2.3

THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH SERVICES ARE DELIVERED TO THE PUBLIC

Any attempt to demonstrate how any future might look like, necessitates the identification of key forces that are likely to influence the envisaged future. Service delivery in South Africa is delivered and is influenced by the following driving forces (environments): cultural and social, political and legislative, technological and economic. Each environment will be described in terms of how it will affect service delivery in South Africa. While the environmental scanning methodology primarily focuses on the current situation; it at the same time raises future related issues. This future orientation of environmental scanning is important as it highlights critical ideas about the future of the issues.

2.3.1

The socio- cultural environment

The different spheres of government exist to serve and meet the needs of the society or of the community in a specific geographical jurisdiction. The type of services that are being delivered to a specific community are being influenced by the social and societal factors, trends and changes that take place in that area. Higgins and Vincze (1986:147) confirm that social factors such as demographics, population growth, age distribution, life expectancies, birth rate, gender composition, employment and unemployment rates, education levels and lifestyle changes are important in prioritising the services to be delivered to different communities. The recent statistics (table 2.1) demonstrate a decline in the South African population growth. The growth rate of females is lower than that of males.

11

Table 2.1: Estimated annual population percentage growth rates, 2001-2010

20012002 MALE FEMALE TOTAL 1.53 1.29 1.40

20022003 1.43 1.18 1.30

20032004 1.34 1.08 1.30

20042005 1.30 1.03 1.16

20052006 1.27 1.00 1.13

20062007 1.25 0.99 1.11

20072008 125 1.01 1.12

20082009 1.25 1.01 1.12

20092010 1.18 0.94 1.06

Source: Statistics South Africa, 2010:7 Although the statistics show a decline in the population growth, the government still cannot cope with the demand for services. According to various estimates, the number of undocumented immigrants in South Africa may vary between 3-6 million. (2008-2009 Annual report). These are the people, who did not form part of the 2001census, but they are also the recipients of the public service for example should they need medical attention they will receive the type and care that would be afforded any citizen. This is the right enshrined in the Constitution. The public service should always be mindful of this fact during the

resources allocation processes. Government strategies should always be proactive as the decline in population growth cannot be guaranteed; this downward slope could change and the government need to be able to the needs of the people who voted them into power. Therefore the government through its public administration arm should be aware of the nature and needs of the population of its area, be open and responsive to those needs, adopt balanced policies of fairness and justice in all interest, avoid being prejudicial or sectional in delivering services. The greatest influences on service delivery from the social point of view would be poverty, unemployment and illiteracy. These three factors would greatly impede the delivery of services as these would affect the citizens ability to pay for services. The relationship between the citizens inability to pay for services and the poor delivery of services is what Ackoff (in Dostal, Cloete and Jaros, 2005:9) refer to as mess. This is the mutual effect that poor service delivery, inability of citizens to pay for their service, poverty, illiteracy and unemployment has on each other.

12 The geographic location also has an impact on the delivery of services. It is proven that citizens who are located in the rural areas are the ones hard hit by poor service delivery or no service delivery at all. This can be attributed to the unavailability of the necessary infrastructure and the expenses incurred when bringing services to the people. The other important social factor that affects service delivery is the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Although the HIV mother to child transmission has declined from an estimated 57 live birth per 1000 in 2001 to 47 per 1000 in 2010; the HIV prevalence is still on the increase (Statistics South Africa). . Table 2.2: HIV prevalence estimates and the number of people living with AIDS, 20012010

YEAR

POPULATION 15-49 YEARS PERCENTAGE WOMEN OF PECENTAGE OF THE POPULATION

PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL POULATION

TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOLE LIVING WITH HIV (IN MILLIONS)

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

18.7 19.2 19.4 19.6 19.7 19.7 19.7 19.7 19.6 19.7

15.4 15.8 16.1 16.3 16.5 16.6 16.7 16.9 17.0 17.3

9.4 9.6 9.8 9.9 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.3 10.5

4.10 4.38 4.53 4.64 4.74 4.85 4.93 5.02 5.11 5.24

Source: Statistics South Africa (2010) The table demonstrates that the total number of persons living with HIV in South Africa increased from an estimated 14.10 million in 2001 to 5.24 million in 2010. This release

13 assumed the median time from HIV infection to death in line with the UNAIDS Reference Group recommendation of 10.5 years for men and 11.5 years for women. Life expectancy at birth had declined between 2001 and 2005 but had since increased partly due to the roll- out of the antiretroviral (ARV) drugs. The increase in the life expectancy of people living with HIV is expected to continue; this is attributed to the possibility of more people accessing the ARVs. Although the improved life expectancy is welcome; this has different implications for service delivery. The government need to design new strategies to address the challenges posed by the people aging with the disease. This is yet another confirmation of the multifaceted nature of this disease. The disease is creating another angle, the onus lies with the government through its administrative arm to become more proactive and design strategies to deal with this probable challenge. This, for example demands the training or retraining of more geriatrics in HIV/AIDS or vice versa. Civil servants are part of the larger community and they too are being infected and affected by the virus. The consequence of AIDS in the workplace is lost production, increased spending on health care and insurance. This is also confirmed by Barker (1999:57-58) who contends that there will be reduced productivity, increased absenteeism, loss of experienced staff and costs such as retraining, replacement of workers as a result of AIDS. All these impact directly on the quality of services rendered to the public. This calls for government to adopt more flexible strategies and policies in rendering services to its constituencies. The high rate of crime is one of the realities of the South African social environment. South Africa is amongst the countries that experience the highest rate of crime. This is attributed amongst the others to low levels of literacy, poverty and high levels of unemployment. The 2008/2009 SAPS annual report distinguishes between contact related crimes and contact crimes. The contact crimes are described as crimes that involve physical contact between (usually of a violent or coercive nature) between the victim and the perpetrator; these would include attempted murder, murder, sexual offences, common assault, assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, aggravated robbery and other robbery. The same report records a general decrease in these categories of offences. The decrease ranges from 3.4% for murder and -10.4% for robbery. The contact related crime are described would include malicious damage to property and arson. There decrease in these category of crimes ranges between -9.0% and -3.6%. Other serious crime relate to all types of theft excluding theft of motor vehicle and motorcycles, theft out of or from motor vehicles, housebreaking at both residential and non-

14 residential premises and stock theft. This category of crime is one could describe as petty theft and includes amongst the others shoplifting. The SAPS 2008/2009 Annual report records a general decline in the reported cases of many categories; however the report also records an increase in the reported cases of shoplifting, burglary at non residential premises, stock theft, and sexual offences. The recorded decline in the serious crime cases is welcome but it is still below the 7-10% crime reduction target which was set in 2004. The government decided in January 2004 that act ive steps were needed to reduce the prevalence of the crime rate in the country. The objective remains that each category of contact crime should be reduced by 7-10% per annum, starting with the 2004/2005 financial year. The targets were established on the basis of broad comparison with the crime ratios recorded by other Interpol member countries. Closely related to the social aspect is the question of culture, most of the service delivery projects which did not see the light of day overlooked this important aspect of the communities they service. Although South Africa has grown to become part of the global community, cultural values, morals and beliefs remain a dominant part of the citizens. For successful implementation of service delivery projects the government should understand the following cultural factors: The role of women and men within the society. This will give an indication of whether women can participate in decision making and in leadership positions. The societys religious beliefs and practices. Pace of life which provides an idea of the value given to time. The social liberalism or conservatism. The language and insignia that are of importance to that society.

These aspects shape the communities goals, needs and aspirations. If these are not well taken care of the service delivery protest will be the order of the day. 2.3. 2 The statutory environment South Africa is a democratic sovereign state that recognises the supremacy of the Constitution. Section 195 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, makes provision for the establishment of a public administration governed by democratic values and principles. These principles are:

15 A high standard of professional ethics; Efficient , economic and effective use of resources; Development- oriented services to be provided in an impartial fair, equitable and unbiased manner; Responding to peoples needs entailing the participation by the public in policy making; Accountable public administration; Transparency; Good human management and career development practices; Representativity of the South African people.

It therefore becomes paramount that in delivering services to the people the provision of the Constitution should be upheld. The discussion of service delivery cannot be divorced from the politics of the country; therefore the public service is not a depoliticised or a politically neutral institution. The shape, the structure and the content of the public service are the results of the political activity. This opinion is supported by Nengwakhulu (2009:345) who writes: The notion of political neutrality of the public service is a distant mirage in relation to senior public servants. Those in political control of the country would therefore want to employ in higher public service positions individuals they consider supportive of the political and ideological direction of the government they head. The public service should therefore mirror the ethos, ideology and the culture of the government of the day. It is the responsibility of the political principal responsible for the department to ensure that the ideology of the government is upheld. Unfortunately this is misconstrued as or it leads to political interference. The statutory environment in which services are to be delivered to the public is constituted by different pieces of legislation, policies, regulations, procedures and standards. These laws, regulations, and policies consist of: Trade laws relating to branding, competition, and foreign trade; laws regulating technological transfers, contracts and business collaborations. Laws regulating property ownership, foreign property ownership, intellectual property rights, patents, licenses and copy rights.

16 Laws dealing with citizens rights such as human rights chatters, laws regulating interest groups, protection of private information, electronic document identification and authentication. Procurement laws or laws dealing with public contracts Level of enforcement and Other types of government intervention, including taxes, grants and reforms. (Prefontaine, Ricard, Sicotte, Turcotte and Dawes, 2000:11). There are however, fundamental pieces of legislation that are paramount in the Public service delivery discussion, namely: the Public Finance Management Act, the Public Service Act and the White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery. The white Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery (Batho Pele); which is regarded as the cornerstone of service delivery provides for the following service delivery principles namely consultation, service standard, access, Information, courtesy, openness and transparency, redress and value for money. Although the Act (and the accompanying principles) has good intent and is still relevant, it appears as if it is not observed or implemented by all civil servants. The main limitation of this Act is the failure to impose sanctions for non-compliance. The legislative environment affects the type of service delivery and impacts on the risks associated with specific projects. Despite the fact that the government is the architect of the legal frame work; the governments interventions in the different services delivery activities is regulated by the same framework. The government employs a greater percentage of the South African workforce; they are the critical in ensuring that the government deliver effective and efficient services. It is for these reasons that the government took time to craft legislation that would safeguard the rights of the workers and at the same time ensures that the government at all levels perform optimally. These include: the Employment Equity Act (Act 66 of 1995), the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (Act 75 of 1997), the Labour Relations Act (Act 66 of 1995), the Skills Development Act (Act 97 of 1998) and the occupational Health and Safety Act (Act No.85 of 1993). Much effort has been made in creating a favourable work environment for public servants to execute their duties efficiently and contribute to the delivery of services. Civil servants should, however, be mindful of certain political responsibilities as they execute their everyday duties including: implementing political guidance, ideology and policy; nation

17 building; affirmative action; promoting economic growth; communicating with the public; and legitimisation of all processes. (Van der Waldt & Du Toit, 1997:111) Hannekom, Rowland & Bain, (1987:160) have the following to say about the civil servants in relation to the rights that they enjoy: Those employed in the South African Public Service are supposed to devote their attention to the promotion of the general welfare, and not to their personal benefit. Public officials should also take into cognisance of the values of the society and its communities and not substitute their own value choices for those of the society; in other words, they should in all respects be publicly accountable for their action. The public service is greatly influenced by legislation. This result in the perception that there public service lacks innovation and creativity which result in poor service delivery or no delivery at all.

2.3.3

The technological environment

The technological environment plays a major role in the service delivery in South Africa. The term technology is often confused to imply some or other technologic al gadget or only the information and communication side of technology. According to Robbins (1980:176) technology can be defined as information, equipment, techniques and process, required to transform inputs such as finances, human effort into outputs like the removal of waste, provision of water and electricity. This view is being supported by Stilwell (in Bush; 2005:4-5) who writes: Technology is the systematic application of knowledge to resources to produce goods or services. Here resources are physical resources such as raw material and land, and human resources such as management and labour. He further explains that technology consist of three levels namely: The physical technology, usually the technological artefact, e.g. airliner The skills to use the technology; e.g. human resources such as The organisation surrounding the technology itself, e.g. airports or navigation system. From the above definitions it can deduced that technology is mans efforts that are aimed at improving the quality of life and (in case of medical technology) reduce human suffering and increase life expectancy.

18 When the new government took over they realised the important role played by technology; this was coupled by the need to improve the service delivery and also to deliver on its mandate of a better life for all. There was a need for the government to reposition itself properly to take advantage of the benefits of technology. The following are notable steps: The former Department of arts, culture, science and technology was split into two giving birth to the Department of Science and Technology (DST). This Department would focus only on science and technology matters in 2002. A separate ministry of science and technology was established. In 2004 this was a separate entity from the Minister of arts, culture, science and technology. The formation of the National science and technology forum in 1995. The tabling of the White Paper on Science and Technology; Preparing for the 21 st Century in 1996. The establishment of the National Advisory Council on innovation (NACI) in 1997. The establishment of the Innovation Fund, which promotes research and development in certain key areas. The establishment of the Research Foundation in 1999 which provides services and grants to support research and postgraduate research training. A National Research and Technology Foresight programme was completed in 2002.(Korsten;2001) To better equip itself for the challenges of service delivery and to realise the governments commitment of people first (Batho Pele) partnerships were established with the following statutory bodies namely the Human Sciences and Research Council (HSRC), Centre for Scientific Industrial Research, South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), the Agricultural research council, Medical research council, MINTECH, National Research foundation and the Council for Geoscience and the Africa Institute of South Africa. Major technological developments have taken place in the Public Sector in the past fifteen (15) years i.e. from 1994- 2009 that were all aimed at increasing the pace of service delivery and the alignment with the Batho Pele principles. They are as follows: All government departments have abandoned the traditional methods of

communication and now communication is through telephones, faxes, the internet, the World Wide Web. Some departments are already taking advantage of the videoconferencing facilities. Technology is being used for access control and security of all government departments.

19 The electronic payment of salary and the electronic salary advice system. The electronic payment system is also used for the payment of maintenance orders and all social security grants. The electronic filing systems and data bases that can be easily accessed and reduce the waiting times at the hospitals, clinics and police stations. These are just a few technology features used in the public service. A more in depth discussion on these and the others will be dealt with in the following chapters of this dissertation. Central to the definition of technology is the question of skill or human resources; the government realised that at the core of poor service delivery lays the lack of expertise in the field of science and technology. This was acknowledged by the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (AgiSA) For both the public infrastructure and the private investment programmes, the single greatest impediment is shortage of skills including professional skill such as engineers and scientists, managers such as financial, personnel and project managers; and skilled technical employees such as artisans and IT technicians in an effort to deal with this challenge the government initiated the following programmes: The Dinaledi School Project which is aimed at improving the Grade 12 mathematics and science pass rate. The creation of scarce skills data bases and monitor the scarce skills; these would include scientists and engineers and the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition.

From the above discussion it is evident that the technology environment is changing at a very rapid pace, for the public sector to be able to benefit from these changes in technology is to embrace technology and forge strong partnerships with the private sector. Public Private Partnerships have proved to be beneficial as the public sector will have to learn from the private sector initiatives; as most of the expertise rest with them. The demand for services by the public forces the government to look at the technological environment for solutions. It is understood why measures are being put in place to improve the technological environment. The technological environment is also receiving priority attention because of its wealth creating capabilities. Special care has to be taken, however, that technology does not alienate the very people it intends to assist and develop for example people who might forfeit their social pensions due to the inability to utilize automated teller machines (ATM).

20 2.3.4 The economic environment

The economic environment has considerable implications for service delivery in South Africa. The following are some factors of the economic environment that are worth noting because of their impact on service delivery: Employment and unemployment rates; Gross national products trends, growth rate and inflation rate; Debt ratio and capital structure; Money supply and wage or price controls Interest rates, employment trends and inflation determine income levels have direct impact on service delivery as they determine the citizens capacity to pay for services. (Prefontaine, et al, 2000:12) The new democratic dispensation brought with it the recognition of the link between the economical, the efficient use of resources and service delivery. However, there was a need to do away with lengthy and bureaucratic procedures and processes which were not designed for a customer oriented public service, expenditure controls which focused on inputs and did not take value for money into account and the rule driven approach. The need to change warranted passing new pieces of legislation that were aimed at transforming the economic environment, introduce customer orientated legislation and thus improve service delivery. Coupled with the White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service the following pieces of legislation were passed: The Public Finance Management Act, (Act 1 of 1999) The discussion of public service delivery cannot be complete without the discussion of the public finances; services cannot be delivered unless there are funds involved. These would include the purchasing of material to develop/ build infrastructure or purchase material for the renovation/ repair of the existing infrastructure, etc. Public finances are mainly regulated by the Public Finance Management Act (Act no 1 of 1999). Crouse (2002:62) is of the view that the PFMA, 1999 adopts an approach to financial management that focuses on outputs and responsibilities, rather than the rule-driven approach followed in the past. This Act promotes accountability and serves as fertile ground for efficient and effective service delivery as it places emphasis on value for money and return on investment.

21 The Public Finance Management Act and the Treasury Regulations 16 at National and Provincial level regulate the Private Public Partnerships, which are considered to be vehicles of service delivery. At the local (Municipality) level these collaborations are governed by the Municipality Finance Management Act (MFMA, 2003), the Municipal Systems Act (2003) and the Municipal Public- Private Partnership Regulations. In 2002 Treasury issued regulations in terms of the Public Finance Management Act that govern the Public-Private Partnership (PPP). The Treasury Manual directs all aspects of the PPP cycle and how the partnership should be managed. Government departments can only enter into these partnerships if these will meet the following requirements (South Africa, 2001): PPP will provide value for money; PPP must be affordable for the Government Department; and PPP will transfer appropriate technical operational and financial risks to the private party. The Act further stipulates sanctions for contravening sections of the Act. These transgressions are mostly dealt with internally and at the discretion of the departmental heads. The noted transgressions are not elevated to the next level as they sometime highlights managements inadequacies. action and continue to spread like wildfire. However, most departments under-spend their allocations which then go back to the national Treasury and are lost to the public. Given the levels of poverty in many communities in our province, it is almost criminal that money allocated for development is not spent. These transgressions never receive appropriate

The Revenue Collection Act, (Act No 54 of 1999) Makes provision for the equitable and fair collection of revenue from the public by way of tax. Revenue collection is the major source of financial resources for the South African government. The collection of revenue is grounded on the Value Added Tax (VAT) and is also effected through several streams namely customs, personal income tax, capital gains tax and company tax. It is important for the government to collect enough revenue that is due as this will stimulate economic growth, reduce unemployment and increase the capacity of paying for services.

22 The Annual Division of Revenue Act, (Act No 12 of 2009) The Division of Revenue Act makes provision for: The equitable division of revenue raised nationally among the national, provincial and local spheres of government; The promotion of better coordination between policy, planning, budget preparation and execution processes between and within the different spheres of government; The promotion of predictability and certainty in respect of all allocations to provinces and municipalities in order that such government may plan their budgets over a multi year period. The promotion of transparency and equity in the resource allocation process and The promotion of accountability by ensuring that all allocations are reflected on the budgets of receiving provinces and municipalities.

In addition to these pieces of legislation, South Africa has a diverse range of agencies in place to strengthen the arms of government in service delivery. These include statutory bodies such as Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC), Auditor-General, State Tender Board, Public Protector, Presidents Co-ordinating Council, Interdepartmental forums, Intergovernmental forums, SALGA, National Council of Provinces (NCOP), and Ministerial forums (MINMECS). South Africa has become part of the global village and therefore it is affected by the international events and/trends. The sub-prime crisis in the US affected the global financial systems and markets. Fortunately the South African economy was not greatly affected as it was cushioned by the stringent financial and fiscal policies. The economic environment is dynamic; any changes therein environment influence other spheres of government and the private sector. The relationship between poor service delivery and the economy of the country has been a subject of much debate. In some quarters poor service delivery is attributed to the countrys struggling economy, a different school of thought attributes the poor delivery of service to the government funding model, whilst the other would put the blame squarely on the skills and expertise of the public servants.

23 2.4 FACTORS UNDERMINING GOVERNMENTS COMMITMENT TO EFFICIENT SERVICE DELIVERY There are instances where the government through its service delivery vehicles have managed to deliver quality service at the right time. In most instances this has not been the case. Nyamukachi (2009:352) describes three ways in which government failure to deliver services can be interpreted: Inability to achieve the goals that government has planned and budgeted for; Failure to deliver on unplanned and unbudgeted goals; this becomes difficult to achieve as governments plans are linked to the budget. If not planned for, it means it is not budgeted for and therefore it will not be realised during that time. This however, reflects on the governments planning process and the level of community involvement. Inability to render quality service. This is evident by the number of poor quality RDP houses, the number of clinics that are not properly equipped and the quality of roads that are constructed. There are various factors that either cause or contribute to poor service delivery this co causation is referred to as co producing factors. (Dostal 2005:8) Dostal further explains that problems are co produced by a variety of factors and that there is never a single cause of a problem. This seeks to explain that factors that undermine service delivery are diverse and cannot be exhausted in this report. However, this report will examine the three major co-producing factors namely skills shortage in the public service, growing political interference and the governments financing model.

2.4.1 Skills shortage in the public service The shortage of skills has an impact on the provision of services to the public. As mentioned earlier, the type of the public service determines the quality of services that will be delivered to the public. The challenge of shortage of skills is not only limited to numerical shortage. The quality of the matriculants and graduates (both undergraduate and post graduate) are also a cause for concern. This situation has resulted in most companies not employing or recruiting graduates from certain training institution. (Nyamukachi, 2009: 352) Almost all state departments are or have experienced the skills shortage at some point; this has resulted in the departments failing to deliver on their mandates and if they do deliver; the quality of services rendered is questionable. The shortage of skills is more pronounced in the

24 technical, engineering, financial and medical fields. There is shortage of skills in other areas other than the ones mentioned. The other factor that should be taken into cognisance and affects the quality of service delivery is the distribution of skills and expertise. The highly skilled, qualified and experienced personnel are overcrowded in urban areas, which leave the rural areas with limited or no skilled and qualified personnel at all. These are the areas hardest hit by poor service delivery. In some instances, there challenge is not the unavailability of expert knowledge or skill but the issue is how this expertise is managed. The reality in almost all departments is that there is a lack of managerial expertise and skill. The managerial cadre that exist in state departments is either, under qualified for their current position, or their expertise lies elsewhere other in the management landscape, or manage areas where they have little or no expert knowledge of. The Dinaledi School Project which is aimed at improving the Grade 12 mathematics and science pass rate, the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (AsgiSA), Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA), the Sector Education and Training Authority system (SETA) and the PALAMA are amongst the initiatives undertaken by government to address the skills shortage and thus improve service delivery. It would be inaccurate to blame poor service delivery on the shortage of skills. It is well known, that some of the public servants who are failing to meet their targets are amongst the best qualified and highly skilled. This goes to say that there are other factors other than skills shortage that can be attributed to poor service delivery. 2.4.2 Growing political interference Interference in the management and supervision of departments by the political heavyweights has in many instances compromised service delivery. Although general control and oversight are inbuilt in the responsibilities of the political head of the department; sometimes this control is exaggerated. Nyamukachi (2009:357) describe the following as political interference: Political heads of departments instructing accounting officers to take decisions that are in contravention of the legislative prescripts. This usually involves tender allocation and / appointment of certain individuals in certain strategic positions. These practices serve as breeding ground for incompetence and sub standard services. Individuals or companies without the required expertise spend more time

25 and money trying to learn or acquire the necessary expertise whilst the public remains without the necessary services Political principals converting the ministerial support services into a parallel administration competing with the main department. This lead to civil servants receiving instructions from two centres. Valuable time and resources are expended on dealing with internal conflicts at the expense of service delivery. The PFMA (chapter 63 and 64) makes provision for the political principals to intervene in the expenditure of the department. The conditions under which such intervention can be undertaken are always ignored. 2.4.3 Government funding model

The governments socio-economic policies are conditioned by the logic of capitalism. This will therefore mean some of the demands for public services cannot be met by the state and its institutions because the laws of capitalism make no room for the provision of such services. The maximization of profit is at the centre of the capitalist ideology which defeats the principles upon which services are to be delivered in South Africa. It should however, be taken into cognisance that no country has unlimited resources.

The advent of the democratic order saw the government moving away from activity budgeting to programme budgeting. This entailed that services will only be delivered if they are planned and budgeted for. If services were not planned they will therefore not be delivered. Failure to satisfy unplanned and unbudgeted expectations in service delivery, demands is beyond the realm of public service performance. It is something that rests on the shoulders of the governments political leadership. For public servants cannot and are not allowed by law to deliver or attempt to deliver public services, not budgeted for by Parliament. Thus whilst the demands and expectations on government to deliver public services are unlimited, government resources to meet and satisfy these demands are not limitless. For people who spent decades living in shacks, houses without electricity and running water, this kind of explanation is seen as political and managerial gymnastics. But this is the reality. Nyamukachi (2009:359)

26 2.5. CONCLUSION

The South African government has been undergoing major changes and transformation since 1994. These changes have been happening in all spheres of government. The

different environments within which the services are delivered are discussed separately for academic and analytic purposes. In essence these are interrelated and intertwined. From the above discussion it is evident that environmental changes experienced by governments will have a profound influence on the manner in which services are rendered to citizens. Sometimes the service delivery problems are the direct results of the governments inability to attune the service delivery strategies and policies to the ever changing environment. The different environments were interrogated but particular attention was paid to the legislative and economic environments. The legislative environment becomes important in the quest for government to render fair and equitable services. The choice of the option model of service delivery and rendering of services in general should be within the ambit of the law. The public service reliance on and vulnerability to the statute cannot be overemphasized. The economic environment is also central in the rendering of public service. The governments ability to render quality services is dependent on the public to pay for the services they utilise. The legislation guiding government in the collection and redistribution of revenue received attention. The governments ability to collect and redistribute revenue affects the quality of services to be rendered. It would be of no use for the country to collect sufficient revenue and not use it for the intended purpose. As much as these two environmental factors received attention, the importance of the other environmental influence cannot be downplayed. Technology has played an important role in improving service delivery to date. The environmental scanning proved to be efficient as it assisted in developing an understanding of the environment within which services are delivered and the forces and factors which may have an impact on the way futures take shape. The discussion of the environment within which public services are rendered becomes important at stage as it provides a fertile ground for the discussion of the different models of services delivery which is the subject of the next chapter.

27 CHAPTER 3 AN EXAMINATION OF THE CURRENT ALTERNATIVE SERVICE DELIVERY MODELS

3.1

INTRODUCTION

This chapter will continue with scanning the environment within which services are delivered with specific reference to the current alternative service delivery models. The environmental scanning of the existing models of service delivery is undertaken in order to collect as much information about the existing models, analyse these and create a shared understanding of issues before creating future alternative service delivery models. Inayatullahs (2007) mapping the future (pillar 1) which encompasses the environmental scanning principles will be employed. This will share some light on what is in place, what has been achieved and identify the challenges.) The progress made in terms of alternative service delivery models and emerging issues concerning the existing models will be observed with the futures tool of anticipating the future (pillar 2) in mind. This is important because causal layered analysis is more concerned about the present and the past in creating alternative futures.

Initially the rationale for alternative service delivery models will be given and immediately the different options that are currently adopted by the South African government will be explained. The discussion on the benefits and their failures of each option will ensue. 3.2 REASONS FOR ALTERNATIVE MODELS OF SERVICE DELIVERY

Governments services are described (Harsch, 2008:3; Nyamukachi, 2004:47 Kroukamp, 2005:74) as inefficient, ineffective, never meet the clients on time. When the new government came into power, it had vowed to change the lives of the citizens of the country for the better. It became necessary to change the method/s of delivering services to the people. For the government to be able to bring this ideal to reality; it was then urgent to move away from the conventional approaches to public service delivery where government was the sole provider of services to the public and seek alternative, cost effective and efficient ways of delivering services to the public in a manner prescribed by the Constitution. After the successful 1994 elections the South Africa became home not only to its citizens, foreign nationals also came to live in South Africa for various reasons, movement within and between provinces became uncomplicated. The government was, all of a sudden expected

28 to deliver services better services to a larger population with same financial resources. Alternative means of delivering services to the public was becoming a matter of urgency.

3.3

THE CURRENT SERVICE DELIVERY MODELS

Nyamukachi (2004) refers to contracting out, concession, leasing, privatization, management contract, and Electronic government as alternative models of service delivery; Ngowi (2005; 37) on the other hand refers to these as various PPPs management systems and techniques that can be used in service production and delivery. Wilkins (2001) in contrast views these as spectrum of options of alternative service delivery as demonstrated below:

Independent
Not for profit Agencies
Self help groups

Other governments
Volunteers

Privatization
ETQA Devolutions Regulated enterprises Divesture

Private sector

Public Partnerships

Crown corporations

Shared services SOAs

Departmenta l corporations

Public /Private partnershi ps

Public sector

Utilities

Contracting out
licensing es Franchises

Line organizations

Controlled by government

Figure 3.1: ASD spectrum of options

Source: Wilkinson, 2001:175

29 Clearly, these categories and differentiations are for analysis purposes only; what is important is that the option/model of service delivery should serve the intended purpose and not compromise the governments intention of rendering/ delivering quality and quantity services to the citizens.

3.3.1

Collaborations/partnerships

The service delivery collaborations also known as partnerships are agreements between the government and the private organisations also referred to as service providers to render/ provide services to the citizens on behalf of the government within specified timeframes, budget and for particular targets. These agreements are reduced to formal, legal contracts which have penalties. The penalties could include the withholding of payments or the termination of contracts. Under PPPs, accountability for delivery of the public service is retained by the public sector whereas under a privatization, accountability moves across to the private sector (the public sector might retain some regulatory price control). Under PPPs, there is no transfer of ownership and the public sector remains accountable. A service provider may be another public institution or parastatal where a Public-Public Partnership will be formed, the government can contract with a private company where a Public-Private Partnership can be formed and a non governmental organisation (NGO) or a community based organisation, which will result into a Public-not for profit making organisation Partnership.

3.3.1.1 Public- public collaboration/Shared service delivery Publicpublic partnerships occur when government departments enter into contractual agreements in order to deliver a certain service. This can happen between different levels of governments including the municipalities. This type of partnership is encouraged by the principle of cooperative governance as outline in Chapter 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996(Act 108 of 1996). According to Section 41(1) (i) of Chapter 3 of the Constitution, all spheres of government should co-operate with one another in good faith by nurturing open and pleasant relations and supporting one another through consulting one another on matters of common interest, and also aligning their actions and legislation with one another and adhering to legislated procedures. In addition to the constitutional mandate, the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act (Act 13 of 2005) also dictates the collaboration of departments in order to improve the quality

30 of services. The framework states that all three spheres of government, as well as the private sector and communities, have a role to play in service delivery. The objective of the Act is to facilitate coordination in the implementation of policy and legislation. This Act makes provision for the following intergovernmental structures viz. the Presidential Co-ordinating Council, the National intergovernmental forums, Provincial intergovernmental forums, Municipal intergovernmental forums. These structures may in terms of Section 30(10) of Act 13 of 2005 establish intergovernmental technical support structures depending on the identified need and the expertise required. Public-public partnerships as an alternative service delivery model also serve to ensure better coordination of services, improve communication between the different organs of state, to minimise or eradicate duplication of services and ensure better utilization of resources. These partnerships have an added advantage of serving as oversight bodies for each other thus minimising fraud and corruption. Public-public partnerships can be valuable because there may be a number of causes linked to a problem, and a single government department or community structure may not be able to handle them each partner can contribute resources, skills and knowledge to develop a strategy to deal effectively with the problem.

3.3.1.2 Public Not for profiting making organisation collaboration The roots of the not for- profit organisations date as far back as the early nineteen hundreds. These were born out of a wish of meeting a particular community need and extending a helping hand to the needy. Profit making was never a central part of their operations. The main characteristic of this type of collaboration is fee for a service meaning the not for profit organisation will render a particular service on behalf of the government and the government will pay for the services rendered. This is a formalised and legal relationship, which has clear guidelines or specifications that outlines what is expected of the involved parties. The relationship between the Non Governmental Organisation and the clients is a different one; it is a no- fee for service type of relationship. NGOs are more flexible than government, can respond faster to changing circumstances and have more decentralised decision-making. They often have ties to local communities or experience of specific services, which enable them to scale up or intensify their activities. NGOs can also more

31 easily modify the type, location and staffing of services they offer as needs and available resources change. There are visible features of the not for profit making organisations that benefit service delivery in South Africa: They are headed by boards. Members of these boards volunteer their services and expertise. These not-for profit making organisations also known as Non Governmental Organisations (NGO)/community-based organisation (CBO) are tailored to meet a specific need in the community. The organisations expertise will be in a particular area for exa mple childrens needs where organisations like the Child Welfare Movement. The South African Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse (SASPICAN) which plays a leading role in the prevention and awareness on child abuse; the Society for Prevention of Cruelty of Animals which focuses on the general welfare of animals; Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA); South African Non- Governmental-Organisation Coalition (SANGOCO), FAMSA, National Institute for Crime Prevention, the Rehabilitation of Offenders (NICRO), to mention just a few. The faith-based organisations role is of equal importance in service delivery. There are Non Government Organisations that operate internationally namely the development and aid organizations (the World Vision, OXFAM, the Make a wish Foundation, Red Cross, Save the Children, to name just a few), federation of associations, linguistic organisation and translation organizations. From the above discussion, it is evident that NGOs operate both at local, national and international level. These organisations operate on a delegated mandate and operate within the confines of legislation that govern the area of specialisation. By virtue of their make-up, such organisations are able to undertake research, develop and implement need-based programmes in their area of specialisation. Their position in the community encourages community involvement and participation. The spirit of volunteerism is deeply embedded in these organisations. All these factors enable the NGOs and CBOs to perfect their craft and render a better service. The NGOs and CBOs are not entirely dependent on the state for funding. They also receive funding from those individual or companies who are sympathetic to their course and have the right to raise funds nationally and internationally. This unique feature of the NGOs and the CBOs strengthens their financial muscle and put them at a better service delivery pedestal. In South Africa the NGOs structures are largely (70%) dependent on government

32 for funding. The remaining 30% is from fundraising drives and local and international donors. (Tshwane Child Welfare Society) Some NGOs would render services for a very nominal fee. This is meant to augment the organizations income and to ensure that clients value their services. This model of service delivery has the following shortcomings: These organizations cannot undertake very large projects due to their size. Government allocations are never enough to service the identified needs and the private donors have strict instructions of how the donated funds should be utilised. As much as this practise is intended to safeguard the interest of the donors, this restricts, stifles the innovation of such organisation. . 3.3.1.3 Public-Private collaborations PPPs in South Africa are an important service delivery mechanism; these collaborations are also known as the P3. The PPP are long-term contracts between the Public and Private sector. The main objective of the PPP is to ensure the delivery of well-maintained, cost effective public infrastructure or services, by leveraging private sector expertise and transferring risk to the private sector. (National Treasury PPP Unit, 2007:4). Once the agreement has been signed, the public sector will pay after the completion of the project or when services have been completed. The private sector has to secure loans and putting its capital at risk. Due to the risks involved the private sector has to double their efforts to keep to the contractual agreement so as to receive the return on their investment. Contrary to popular belief, PPPs is not a method of government to abdicate its responsibility to the private sector. Government remains responsible for service delivery and accountable to the public that has put them in power. In South Africa the Private Public Partnerships are regulated at National and Provincial level by the Public Finance Management Act and the Treasury Regulations 16. At the local (Municipality) level these collaborations are governed by the Municipality Finance Management Act (MFMA, 2003), the Municipal Systems Act (2003) and the Municipal Public- Private Partnership Regulations. All these pieces of legislation are meant to ensure that these partnerships are in line with the overall goals of improving the quality of services, extending services to residents who could not access these services before, and provide the services at an affordable cost. Most

33 importantly, these collaborations should create an opportunity for the transfer of skills from the private sector to the public sector. Benefits of Public-Private Partnership are as follows: Cost savings: With Public- Private Partnership; government may be able to realise cost saving for capital projects as well as the operation and maintenance of service by using innovative technologies, implementing

flexible procurement approaches or by reducing overheads costs.

With such partnerships, the norm is, the private sector will only get paid upon successful completion of the project/ when the services have been completed. Such projects run over a long period of time it is during this time that the public sector realise substantive savings from the interest accrued from the project capital. The private sector uses borrowed capital to secure such collaborations; they therefore undergo stringent screening process which demands that they perfect their strategy and be able to attract more business opportunities. Risk sharing: The main feature of the PPPs is the shared ownership; this translates into the sharing of both profits and risks. Once the agreement has been signed, substantial project risk (financial, operational and technical) is transferred to the private sector but the bigger risk remains with the public sector. Should the private sector not deliver on its promises; it is the public sectors reputation, which is at stake, and only the public sector will face the publics wrath. Poor handling of these collaborations can lose the government election votes. Vehicles of social objectives: PPPs serve as a vehicle of social objectives like the Black Economic Empowerment, the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa, the National Skills Development Strategy, the Employment Equity Programme and the Affirmative Action Programme to mention just a few. The BEE targets become an important feature in the bidding process. The possibility of the skills transfer counts in the bidders favour. Private Sector companies benefit from the National Skills funds rebates if there is sufficient proof that the company has spent money on skills development. (Seemela, 2008:485-486).

In other words, partnerships are ways of meeting different needs and objectives by encouraging business growth while at the same time meeting service delivery needs of the

34 community. The PPP processes are undertaken in line with the Batho Pele Principle by increasing accountability and transparency in projects and through these improving peoples livelihoods, especially the socially and economically disadvantaged.

While PPPs hold benefits, they also present formidable challenges; there is a perception that services will be expensive because of the profit motive of private companies. This state of affairs causes many misunderstandings, divisions and mistrust in interactions and exchanges between government and their stakeholders. Seemela (2008:490) further states that the partners inability to fulfil their contractual obligations is another disturbing trend. This includes failure to deliver required services in the provided duration and specification (for service providers) and failure to make payments as per agreements (for government departments). As a result, the public, which is poor, less informed and less influential, may not benefit as expected.

The PPP process requires coherent policies that lay down clear objectives and principles, identifies projects, sets realistic targets and the means of achieving them, with the overall aim of winning the support of the population for the PPP approach. In most instances, these policies are in place but are poorly implemented. The main reason for such failures is that the government does not always make the correct choice of partnerships. It is important that the type of partnership to be forged should match the project or the need to be met.

Many partnerships are plagued by clashing cultures and conflicting interest. If partners are not pulling together in the same direction or have not agreed on how to measure success, there will be problems. (Kroukamp; 2005; 79) The other concern regarding partnerships is that the rationale for public private partnership is cost saving, this ideal is never realised as the bulk of the money is expended on administration and transaction costs. The issues and difficulties regarding contract management cannot be over-emphasised. Normally the PPP contract management difficulties arise from:

- Lack of clearly specified public goods and service requirements; - Difficulty in maintaining technical competence in public administration to manage contracts properly.

35 It is important that the PPP process is subjected to strong, accountable and transparent guidelines. If the aforementioned prerequisites are not present there will be a virtual loss of accountability since without transparency control can be forfeited; fraud and corruption takes centre stage. This has been a major setback for service delivery. Another major shortcoming of PPPs in South Africa is that there has not been effective monitoring and evaluation of the partnerships to assess the benefits of their sustainability.

Partnerships are widely used by all departments, the differences occur in terms of the extent of use, type of partnerships used and the reasons for using the partnerships. 3.3.3 Contracting out/outsourcing

Outsourcing is often viewed as involving the contracting out of business function/s which were previously performed in-house to an external provider. In this case, two organizations enter into a contractual agreement involving an exchange of services and payments. According to Nyamukachi (2000;55) outsourcing refers to an arrangement where a government department or municipality contracts out the production and rendering of a given function or a service to an individual or outside agency but maintaining overall accountability of the function. In essence, outsourcing in the public service arena implies that government hand over the production /rendering of certain services to private individuals /companies but remains responsible for the management of the service. The private company is rendering services for a specified period and for a certain fee. The government cannot abdicate all its responsibilities to the private sector because it is directly accountable to the masses that have put them into power. The keys to a successful outsourcing relationship are transparency, trust and collaboration. Without this combination, the relationship will be fraught with frustration and the projects are bound to fail. Lewis (2008:290) states the following as the key benefits of outsourcing namely, increased productivity by optimally utilising resources; gain competitive edge by focusing on core business areas and control capital costs. Outsourcing is based on a competitive bidding/ tendering process, this is an added advantage for the government as they have an opportunity to select the company/individual with specialist knowledge and expertise. The outsourced relationship is contractual; an outsourcing services contract is also referred to as the Service Level Agreement (SLA).

36 Managing a poorly performing contractor can be costly in terms of both time and money. Once an outsourcing deal has been concluded, committed management of the outsourcing relationship is critical to its success. A successful outsourcing requires processes and procedures for managing the relationship between the customer and the service provider: for example, regular service meetings, agreed processes for reviewing the services, reporting procedures and a robust mechanism for escalating and resolving problems. The following diagram represent the process of contracting: (this is the procedure followed by most departments).

PHASE A DEVELOPING THE BUSINESS CASE

TASK TASK

PHASE B TENDERING & SELECTION

TASK

PHASE C MANAGING THE CONTRACT

SCOPE THE SERVICE ESTABLISH SERVICE LEVELS

CREATE DOCUMENTS TO APPROACH MARKETS & SET EVALUATION STANDARDS MANAGE THE TENDER PROCESS EVALUATE THE TENDER RESPONSES CONDUCT DUE DELIGENCE CHECKS NEGOTIATE THE CONTRACT

PREPARE FOR THE TRANSITION & HANDOVER

MONITOR SERVICE DELIVERY & MANAGE THE RELATIONSHIP ADMINISTER THE CONTRACT

IDENTIFY THE COST

IDENTIFY & ANALYSE POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS DEVELOP BUSINESS CASE & SERVICE ACQUISITION STRATEGY

MONITOR THE SAVINGS ACHIEVED CONDUCT REVIEW & RENEWALPROCESS

DELIVERABLES APPROVED BUSINESS CASE

DELIVERABLES SIGNED CONTRACT

OUTCOME SERVICES DELIVERED & PERFORMANCE MONITORED

Figure 3.2: The process of outsourcing Source :( www.eu.gov)

37 In South Africa, outsourcing takes the following forms: 3.3.3.1 Service contracts A service contract is an organ of state and a service provider to provide a particular service on a short-term basis. These are very brief contracts, their life span ranges between two to three years (Service Delivery Options: 2003). The government provides the budget and monitors the performance of the service provider; quality assures the service and ensures that the service provided is within budget. Service contracts are undertaken mainly for maintenance and repair of governments equipment, cleaning services, catering services, gardening and landscaping and laundry services. 3.3.3.2 Management contracts A management contract is an agreement between government and the service provider in terms of which the service provider is responsible for all aspects of a particular service. This type of agreement typically lasts between three and five years (Service Delivery Options: 2003). With this type of contract, government pays a fee to a service provider to assume full responsibility for operations and maintenance of the service. The service provider does not commit his/her own investment capital but just manages the operations. The difference between the service contract and the management contract is based on the level and extent of responsibility given to the service provider. 3.3.3.3 Asset leases An asset lease is a form of outsourcing that involves the government leasing those assets to a private entity in order to allow the private company to use the assets to provide service to the governments customers. The duration of such contract ranges from eight (8) to fifteen (15) years. The service provider charges the end users for the services and the service provider in turn pay rent to government. The service providers also have the responsibility of managing, repairing and operate the facility to an agreed standard. At the end of the lease term, the utility has the option to purchase the assets or return the asset back to government. The toll gate system by the South African National Road Agency is one of the many lease agreements that the government has with a service provider. The Bus Rapid Transport system is another example, here the government build and maintain the infrastructure,

38 stations, depots, control centres and a fare collection system. Private operators own and manage the buses, hire staff and provide services on a long-term contract. 3.3.3.4 Concessions Concessions are contractual arrangements whereby a facility is given by the public sector to the private sector, which then operates and maintains the project for a certain period. In most instances, this also means building and designing the facility as well. The normal terminology for these contracts describes more or less the functions they cover. Contracts that concern the largest number of functions are "Concession" and "Design, Build, Finance and Operate" contracts, since they cover all the above-mentioned elements: namely finance, design, construction, management and maintenance. (United Nations; 2008) The private sector designs, finances and constructs a new facility under a long-term Concession contract, and operates the facility during the term of the Concession after which ownership is transferred back to the public sector. Concessions are ideally used for projects that will generate sufficient revenues to cover the private firms investment and operating costs as well as acceptable rate of return during the duration of the concession, which is usually about 15 years (Service Delivery Options: 2003). The main challenges that the country is facing in outsourcing is the poor management of the contracting process. The problem is compounded by the lack of providers which creates a monopoly on those companies that have the skills. 3.3.4 Privatization

Privatisation is one of the alternative service delivery models currently employed by the South African government to deliver services to the public. It is defined as: the systematic transfer of appropriate functions, activities or property from the public to the private sector, where service production and consumption can be regulated more efficiently by the market and price mechanism. (The White Paper on Privatisation and Deregulation, 1987:8)

Privatization should not be confused with PPPs. Under PPPs, accountability for delivery of the public service is retained by the public sector whereas under a privatization, accountability moves across to the private sector (the public sector might retain some regulatory price control). Under PPPs, there is no transfer of ownership and the public sector remains accountable. (United Nations; 2008:346).

39

Privatization is both political and economic in nature but it is important to say that in South Africa privatisation is a highly politicized matter. This will be dealt with later in this discussion. From the above definitions, it is clear that the aim of the privatization programme is to redefine the role of government as that of regulator, facilitator and a creator of an enabling business environment. In this manner, government is removed from the actual managing of public assets, activities and functions and focuses on matters of national interest.

3.3.4.1

Views supporting privatization

Private sector is more capable of delivering goods and services to the public efficiently than the public sector is. For instance, private operators have different incentives from those influencing public-sector officials. While private managers are concerned with maximizing profits in order to remain in business, the bottom line is of little consequence to government officials, who are far less concerned with ensuring profitable operations than they are in conforming to the wishes of their political principals. Harsch (2008:3) found that public-sector entities employ capital far less efficiently than do private firms in the same industry Harsch concluded that given the inflexibility of workplace rules in the public sector, public firms are hindered in their ability to innovate and test new methods of production. Therefore, privatization would create room for innovation and better profit margins. Most literature (Lewis, 2008:332, Nyamukachi, 2004:84, Jonker, 2002:121) conclude that privatization is successful in enhancing productivity. The private sector operates on the demand and supply principle. Privatization insists on evaluating the true demand for goods and services. This reduces wastage and concentration is on the goods and services that are required. This in turn have positive effects on productivity. In brief, privatization bring with it competition and competition leads to innovation, greater efficiency gains, quality products, and customer satisfaction.

40 3.3.4.2 Views against privatisation

Privatisation in South Africa like in other countries is a highly debated matter. In South Africa, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is the biggest critique of this model of service delivery. Some of their arguments as outlined in the COSATU Position Paper on Privatisation (South Africa; 2001) are: a) Decreased accountability When services that were traditionally provided by the government are taken over by corporations, one of the major concerns is lack of oversight and accountability. The public that voted them into power holds a government accountable. The government can be voted out of office if the public expectations are not met. The public does not have any control or oversight of private companies. b) Job losses The goal of the privatised companies is to maximize profit; private companies will often cut costs by hiring employees with less experience and by finding ways to displace those long term employees who have years of experience and require decent salaries. Due to the additional burden placed on private companies to succeed, without government assistance many companies have resorted to downsizing to keep the profit margins high. Privatization has left many people without jobs as they were forced either to settle for lower salaries or settle for less interesting or challenging jobs. This in the end contradicts the notion of improving the lives of the people. There are certain measures that the government has put in place that are aimed at preventing or reducing the potential of job displacement, ensuring that the citizens access their basic services as outlined in the constitution and participate in the growing economy. Most departments in their contracts stipulate that the displaced employees should be absorbed in the private companies workforce. c) Asset deterioration The potential for asset deterioration resulting from inadequate maintenance, repair and replacement is greater under the more advanced privatization models such as long-term contract operations, asset lease and asset transfer. This is because under these models,

41 more of the responsibility for maintenance, repair and replacement is placed on the private partner and the term of the partnership is long enough to allow for significant deterioration of the assets if they are not maintained properly. Therefore, the government must be concerned that at the end of the contract, the assets that are returned to them are in a condition that will allow the utility to serve their customers without the need for immediate large-scale expenditures. In an effort to minimise the deterioration and the ultimate demise of public property, most state departments retain responsibility for funding repair and replacement of assets. While this approach leaves the risk associated with capital repairs and replacement squarely on the shoulders of the utility owner, it significantly reduces the risk that the private contractor will allow the assets to deteriorate to an unacceptable condition. d) Fear of price increase and exclusion In their quest to maximize profit, the private companies will be forced to increase the price of services and products. Privatised industries will generally seek to serve large, formal enterprise, which can buy in bulk and often afford relatively high tariffs this will disadvantage the informal traders. This will in turn exclude some sectors of the community the consumption of basic services; as the goods and services will be out of reach for the poor. This can be eliminated through, according to MacAvoy et al (in Nyamukachi, 2004:85) proper control of acceptable providers, adequate specifications of the contract or rather formal arrangements, specific penalties for non-performance and incentives for superior outputs. There are over 300 State Owned Enterprises (SOE) the key ones being Telkom, Denel, Transnet, Eskom, SAA, Armscor, PetroSA, the SABC, Sentech, Broad-band Infraco and Airports Company South Africa. These companies were privatised to meet other government needs other than the improvement of service delivery; namely for strategic economic growth and to create human capital.

Most of these have not been able to deliver their respective mandate instead; they have served as breeding grounds of nepotism, fraud and corruption. Ineffectiveness and inefficiency being their key characteristic the case in point being the loading shedding experienced in 2009.

42 3.3.4 Electronic service delivery

The technological revolution is affecting how governments respond to the needs of the public. It has opened new service delivery possibilities to all spheres of government. Electronic government refers to governments use of technology, particularly web-based Internet applications to enhance the access to and delivery of government information and service to citizens, business partners, employees, other agencies, and government entities, in innovative ways, in the networking economy using technologies like the internet , the Interactive Voice Response, kiosk ...(E-Government, 2000). On the other hand Holmes (2001:2) views electronic service delivery as the ... use of information technology in particular the internet to deliver public services in a much more convenient , customer oriented, cost effective and altogether different and better way. The definitions presented above are limiting the electronic service delivery to public access to information and streamlining communication between the different states departments and the citizens only. Electronic service delivery is more than that as it encompasses all aspects of government namely government operations and process, management and finances. This will ensures accountability, openness, accuracy, speed of operations, effectiveness and efficiency. Having refuted the notion that reduces electronic service delivery to information and communication technology one should hasten to say it is the most visible form of electronic service delivery. 3.3. 4.1 Benefits of electronic service delivery

The electronic service delivery model of have benefits for both the public and the governments: 3.3.4.1.1 Benefits to the public

a) Better accessibility to information and services; b) Community /citizen empowerment; c) Greater convenience. 3.3.4.2 Benefits to the government a) Improved efficiency

43 b) Faster Service Delivery c) Better Service Integration d) Expansion of Economic Markets The electronic model of service delivery offers government an opportunity to expand its markets, both internally and externally. Companies and individuals can conduct business from any location. Whilst telephone, facsimile and the post are primary features of electronic service delivery model; further benefits are realised through other forms of electronic service delivery which include and not limited to the electronic cash system which is mainly used by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) for disseminating social grants; the electronic funds transfer( EFT) used by all departments and agencies in processing the employees monthly salaries and other financial transactions; electronic kiosks which are used by most government departments to conduct internal business transactions for example bookings for in-service training, electronic transfer; automated fingerprints and information system (AIFS) which is used mainly in the Safety and Security cluster and the Social cluster member departments; the electronic- national transport information system (E-natis ) used by the Department of Transport to provide effective road traffic management; the online

submission of tax returns used mainly by the South African Revenue Services. Although most of the electronic projects that the government have and is implementing as measures of improving service delivery have proved to be successful; there are other projects whose success is questionable for example the E-natis which was dubbed a good bad example (Brainstorm magazine, 2009) and the electronic commuter ticketing system (ECTS) where commuters were expected to buy tickets before boarding a taxi. The problems experienced with this model of service delivery are far less as compared to the benefits emanating from this model. Government should invest more on this model as it has the potential of eradicating a sizeable degree of service problems.

44 3.5 CONCLUSION

The results of this environmental scanning revealed that the South African government recognises alternative service delivery models as important tools to enhance the provision of services to the public; this has resulted in the government investing time and resources in designing legislation that will ensure quality service delivery. The environmental scan also demonstrated that, these efforts did not bring along the desired results, as there are communities that are still under serviced. The result of this is; the community members losing patience and engaging in violent service delivery protests. The service delivery protest are an indication of the communities dissatisfaction about the quality of the services rendered and the pace at which they are rendered. This also brings into question the service delivery models and mechanism that are in use. The service delivery protest, the changing external environment, the need for government to retain voter confidence and the need to be better prepared for the future; dictates that government should look into future alternative service delivery models. Both the mapping the future and environmental scanning proved to be fruitful in the journey of creating future alternative service delivery models they painted the positives and things to avoid when developing future service delivery models. Against the background of Chapter 2 and 3, chapter 4 will explore the alternative service delivery model/option of the future. This will be undertaken with the ever-changing external environment (Chapter 2) in mind. If new or improved service delivery models were to be introduced a proper understanding of the status quo and the challenges experienced with the status quo should also be understood (Chapter 3).

45 CHAPTER 4 SERVICE DELIVERY MODELS OF THE FUTURE To create the future, one must be able to imagine it. Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahad

4.1 INTRODUCTION Prompted by fiscal, social, administrative, political and ideological changes and challenges, governments around the world are forced to evaluate their service delivery models and introduce new models and strategies. The major service delivery models employed in South Africa have been outlined in Chapter 3. In addition to the outlined models, new managerial strategies that seek better results and quality services at limited costs were introduced. Notwithstanding the success of most of the models, some of these proved to be a breeding ground for nepotism, corruption, fraud and a paradise for white collar criminals. Political interference, that masquerades as political oversight is the order of the day. All of these are taking place at the expense of services delivery and are costing the government dearly. In addition to these, government has awoken to the reality that the future can no longer be left to chance and therefore found meaning in Grulke and Silbers (2000:22) words No longer can we afford to seek sanctuary in what we know, or what has gone before..... This also brought with it the importance of introducing uncertainty in the planning process and work towards a desired future. To be able to deal with this future eventuality the government could rely on futures research methodology. Scenario planning will be adopted as the principal research methodologies for this study. Initially the concept of scenarios will be defined in order to sufficiently describe and understand this methodology; this will be followed by the identification of the driving forces affecting service delivery. The remainder of this chapter will deal with the application of Scenario planning in developing alternative service delivery models for South Africa for 2020.

46 4.2 DEFINITION OF SCENARIO PLANNING

4.2.1

Scenario and of scenario planning

According to Fahey and Randall (1998:6) a scenario is a descriptive narrative of plausible projections of a specific part of the future. A scenario is a story with plausible cause and effect links that connects a future condition with the present, while illustrating key decisions, events, and consequences throughout the narrative. Rotmans, Van Asselt, Anastasi, Greeuw, Mellors, Peters, Rothman and Rijkens (2000:811) contend that many definitions of scenario exist; most of them share the following characteristics: Scenarios are hypothetical , describing future pathways; Scenarios describe dynamic processes, representing sequence of events over a period of time; Scenarios start from an initial state (usually the present), depicting the final stage at a fixed time.

It can therefore be concluded that scenarios are not predictions of the future but assist organizations to cope with the unexpected. They should also not be construed as loosely constructed stories. Ralston and Wilson (2006:17) contend that these are carefully defined exploration of the future that planning must address and strategy has to deal with. Scenario planning is described as the management processes and strategies that are geared to managing the future uncertainties. Ralston and Wilson (2006:31) have this to say about the importance of scenario planning: The chief value of scenario planning is that it allows policy-makers to make and learn from mistakes without risking career-limiting failures in real life. Further, policymakers can make these mistakes in a safe, unthreatening, gamelike environment, while responding to a wide variety of concretely-presented situations based on facts. Although scenarios allows the participants the latitude to think freely, allows creativity and encourages innovation; it has its own weakness. Randal and Fahey (1998:107) note the following as weaknesses of scenario planning: The methodology is not suited to all organizations cultures. In rigid and numbers oriented cultures, the methodology does not seem to bear the required result.

47 The methodology is somewhat expensive in terms of executive time. The whole process is time consuming and demands more man hours.

4.3

THE APPLICATION OF SCENARIO PLANNING IN CREATING ALTERNATIVE SERVICE DELIVERY MODEL FOR SOUTH AFRICA FOR 2020.

This scenario planning exercise would be undertaken because of the need identified by the ministry of the Public Services and Administration, which has a constitutional mandate to oversee service delivery in the country. This would be another demonstration of the governments commitment to service delivery for now and for the future. This scenario planning exercise is the results of a combination of desk top research, mainly telephonic) interviews with government officials and the beneficiaries of public service. The following is how it was agreed that the process will flow:

4.3.1

Identification of a decision focus and the purpose of the project In delineating the scope of the project, the following were determined as important issues to consider: The project should deal effectively with the full range of uncertainty in the long term. The project should be capable of developing plausible alternative service delivery models. With this in mind the decision focus question was framed as: Which service delivery model would be able to render efficient, effective and cost effective services to the South African public in future?

The framework and timelines for the project were also agreed upon. Most of the work will take place during the workshops; some of the work will be undertaken by team members of the work outside the workshops. The project would be designed as follows:

48

ACTIVITY

PURPOSE

RESPONSIBLE PERSON

TIME FRAME

INITIAL MEETING

Discuss planning building

decision for the

focus, team set of

Facilitator executive

and

the

1 day

exercise, allocation

schedules,

budget and resources.

FORMING

THE

cultivating a we feeling amongst the members, cultivating a common

A team building expert Scenario members and the Facilitator team 2 days

SCENARIO TEAM & THE TEAM

BUILDING EXCERCISE

usage and understanding of the relevant concepts (what scenarios are and are not and how they

should be used)

WORKSHOP 1

Identification of the key driving forces and

Scenario members and the Facilitator

team 2 days

clustering of key driving forces.

Compiling minutes of the STAFF WORK workshop, compiling action list (responsibilities Editor and scenario 2 weeks

Administrator

allocated to members), edit workshop results and distribute to members and the executive

WORKSHOP 2

Assessment

of

level

of

Scenario members and the

team 2 days

impact/importance, assessment, uncertainties developing impact/importance uncertainty matrix ranking of and a

Facilitator

49

STAFF WORK

Compiling minutes of the workshop, compiling action list (responsibilities

Editor

and

scenario

Administrator

allocated to members), Document workshop

2 weeks

results and distribute to members executive and the

WORKSHOP 3

Identification of axis and logics Development of scenario matrix

Scenario members and the Facilitator

team 2 days

Compiling minutes of the workshop, compiling action STAFF WORK list (responsibilities Editor and scenario 2 weeks

Administrator

allocated to members), Document results and workshop prepare a

paragraph for each logic

Editor, WORKSHOP 4 & STAFF WORK Scenario draft Administrator, Scenario

scenario 2 days of the team workshop and 3 weeks of the

members and the Facilitator Editor, MEETING Assessment of implications Administrator, Scenario members and the Facilitator Figure 4.1: Project framework team scenario

actual drafting

1 Day

Source: Patience Zubane (Researcher)

The overall duration of the project would be 6 months

50

4.3.2

Forming the scenario team The team would included amongst the others, representatives of the civic organizations, an expert in the field of Public administration & management, policymakers, representatives of the business sector, representatives of the academia, representatives from the various national department, the editor,

representatives of the South African Local Government Association(SALGA) and the trade union representatives. The researcher would play the facilitation role. After the appointment of the scenario team, the team would be invited to a teambuilding exercise. The exercise is aimed at cultivating a we feeling amongst the members and would also serve as a platform for cultivating a common understanding on what scenarios are (and are not) and how they should be used. Most importantly, the exercise was an opportunity for the members to commit to the objectives of the project. 4.3.3 Identification of the key driving forces (workshop 1) After the teambuilding exercise, an eight hour workshop would be scheduled. The purpose of which would be the Identification of the key driving forces. The following is the process that would follow: Members of the scenario team would be asked to identify any of the factors that would affect service delivery in future. Members were given 6 cards to record their responses (one response per card). Members could use the back of the card to give further details about responses. The responses would be clustered into five different categories. This would be done after combining similar issues and discarding the duplicates. This process would be undertaken with the background of the environmental scanning undertaken earlier. As outlined in chapter 2 these driving forces are systemic in that they impact on each other in what Dostal (2005:22) refers to as a web of interconnectedness. The issues would be clustered as follows: Key driving force cluster: New services and Solutions Are the current models sufficient to meet the demands of the future?

51 Do the service delivery systems, models and processes need to be revamped? Are the service delivery processes, systems and models or the administrators the problem? What is the role of poor or lack of skills in the debate of service delivery? Is there a need to add new service delivery models to the existing ones? Should all the models be scrapped and government remain the sole provider of services to the public? Will the state owned enterprises (SOEs) be better managed?

Key driving force cluster: Government Policies Will there be changes in the service delivery legislation and policies? Will there be changes in the government tender allocation process? How will the interpretation and implementation of statutes change the face of service delivery in the future? Will the government budgeting and spending patterns change to

accommodation the ever growing population? Will there be room for dialogue and robust debates on service delivery policies, legislation and general implementation? Will service delivery legislation include sanctions on non-compliance? Key driving force cluster: social and health issues Will health and social services be revamped? How will white collar crime affect service delivery? Will service delivery protests still be relevant? How will proliferation of the national borders and the influx of illegal immigrants affect service delivery? Will the xenophobic attacks still take place?

52 Key driving force cluster: technology What will the role of technology be in the improvement of service delivery? How will the publics e-literacy be improved? How will e-governance improve service delivery? What will be the general rate of technological change?

Key driving force cluster: Financial system and the economy How will services be financed in the future? Will there more nepotism, fraud and corruption? Will the public afford to pay for municipal services? Will services continue to be cut as a sanction for non-payment? Will the international donors continue to dictate on how funds are to be utilised? These key driving forces form the basis of the scenarios storylines.

Staff work After every workshop there are important behind the scene administrative responsibilities taking place these would include compiling minutes of the workshop, compiling action list (responsibilities allocated to members), document workshop results and distribute to members and the executive.

4.3.4

Assessment of uncertainties of forces and drivers (workshop 2)

According to Ralston and Wilson (2006:103) the assessment of uncertainty lies at the heart of developing scenarios. It was for this reason that another two day workshop would be convened. The main purpose of the workshop would be to rank and sort all the forces that could be identified. The ranking would be based on two factors namely the level of impact /importance and the degree of uncertainty. These were recorded on the impact and uncertainty matrix. The following definition of the impact/importance: strengths of the forces influence on the future outcome (Ralston and Wilson, 2006:103) would be adopted

53 for this research and the following definition for uncertainty was adopted: factors over which there are major question marks.(Ringland, 2002; 91) The following process would be followed: All the identified would be ranked on a scale of 1-10. All members would be given equal chance identify a driving force, rank it and motivate their ranking. In their motivation the team members would be expected to include the following:

A name of the force/ driver selected by a member A sentence describing the force/or driver, Possible outcomes in future for the force/driver, What will influence the force/driver?

The driving forces with the lower ranking i.e. a ranking of lower than 5 would be regarded as level of impact while driving forces with rankings of 5 and higher would be regarded as degree of uncertainty. If the other members are not in agreement of either the ranking or the motivation; the matter would be discussed until a consensus is reached. If an agreement cannot be reached then the voting would take place. This process would lead to the following impact /uncertainty matrix:

54 Degree of uncertainty LOW MEDIUM

-management with

HIGH
-changes in the service delivery legislation & policies -the will to change service
HIGH

inadequate managerial skills. -white collar crime. -publics e-literacy. -publics ability to pay for services.

delivery legislation. - introduction of new models -service delivery protests -rate of technological change to improve service delivery. -government should maintain its role as the sole service provider - government service delivery Level of impact/ importance

budgeting and financing - a better life for all - scrapping of existing service delivery models - maintenance of the status quo -tendering processes -e-governance -xenophobia - Fee for services - unwillingness to change - amendment of legislation to meet future demands -Autonomy of SOEs

55
-room for dialogue and discussion re: service delivery - revamping of health service -revamping of social services -Proliferation - changing attitudes of international donors - need for one stop service centres. of the national borders and the influx of illegal immigrants -revamping of services -sanctions on non adherence to policy and legislation by public officials
MEDIUM

- service delivery cuts health &social

LOW

Figure 4.2: Impact /uncertainty matrix Source: Patience Zubane (Researcher) It would be concluded for purposes of this research the main uncertainties would be: The extent to which government will be willing to accept the changes in the external environment ; The extent to which innovation (drafting of legislation, the technological changes) and creativity will be embraced in the development of future alternative service delivery models and the 4.3.5 The quest to change the lives of the people for the better( a better life for all) Identification of axis and logics (workshop 3)

The next step in the scenario development process is the identification of logics and axis. The team adopted Fahey and Randalls definition of logic in order to eradicate confusion and possible misunderstandings which is: the organizing principles around which scenarios can be developed (1998:90), the team also agreed on Ralston and Wilsons (2006: 125) definition of the axis which is the outline of the story of the future. The team was reminded that the logics are the product of imagination and creativity. The following process was followed in the identification of the logics:

56 All the driving forces which were identified as high impact/high uncertainty are individual placed on different cards. The team members are the requested to cluster the related forces. Four members were chosen to pick any driving force; however, the three members were requested to choose forces that are different or an opposite driving force chosen by the other team members. These forces were for a time regarded as headings. The team members were each given a chance to place the cards (driving force) they think is relevant or has a cause and effect relationship with the heading. If one of the members is not happy about the grouping, the matter would be open for discussion. Should consensus not be reached; the matter will be open for votes. The final task; after a consensus is reached is to name the axes. This was done in order to capture the idea that links all the driving forces together. For each axis there will be two logics for each axis. This process led to the following scenario matrix:

Renewal Better the devil you know Unwillingness to change Fix my BIZ future Amendment of legislation to meet future demands Future phobic Service delivery protests Inertia Changes

Going back to my roots Government maintains its role as the Sole service provider Scrapping of existing service delivery models Innovation

Agencification Possi- pullity Fee for services

Figure 4.3: Scenario matrix Source: Patience Zubane (Researcher)

57 Staff work In addition to the usual administrative activities that take place after the workshop there is a need to prepare a paragraph for each logic.

4.3.6

Drafting of scenarios

The main activity of this step is the one of storytelling, describing how the different logics might play out to create different futures. The role of scenarios is to describe the different ways in which the future might evolve. The drafting of scenarios was as follows: The team would be divided into four groups and each group would be allocated one of the heading of the axis. It would be expected of the groups to plot the scenario i.e. put flesh on the bones. The groups would then choose amongst themselves somebody (a spokesperson) who would relate their story to the entire team. At that point the team would be free to ask the group questions, make amendments, additions and delete any information that the team might not feel comfortable about. Staff work The actual drafting of the scenarios would be left to editor who has been with the team through the entire process and therefore has gained insight into and has gained knowledge into the subject matter. The drafts would then be circulated to the team members for review and comments. After a week of circulating the scenarios a brief meeting; of about three hours would be convened to iron out those issues that were not correctly captured. The product of the process is the following scenarios:

4.3.6.1

Better the devil you know future scenario

The better the devil you know future scenario is the one where there is unwillingness to change or is afraid to deal with the realities of change. Here the government displays two types of neurosis about the future viz. the future phobic tendencies and symptoms of psyche paralysis. Future phobia is described by Gelatt (1993:10) as the fear of the future which is displayed amongst the others the pretence that one has no control of the future and therefore there is no need to take positive action, avoiding new ventures or avoiding risks. Whilst on the other paradigm paralysis is described as the inability to realise that

58 things are no longer the same. (Gelatt, 1993:11) The government will continue with the current service delivery models despite the changing environment. There is a strong need not to disturb the equilibrium and the belief that the current models have won more service delivery battles and will be able to deliver services in the decades to come. The current models will be outdated and fail to meet the challenges presented at that time. There will be lack of understanding that the problematique is the results of the misfit between the changing or changed environment and the outdated service delivery models. The ideal for a better life for all will not be realised. Service delivery protests will be rampant with a possibility of the breakdown of the current administration. This scenario was included to demonstrate the dangers of failing to fine tune or change strategies in line with the changing environment. 4.3.6.2 Fix my BIZ future scenario

The fix my BIZ future scenario is where the government is willing to examine the current service delivery models and employs Dostals (2005:426) problem solving model. This, she describes as the restoration of the malfunctioning of a system by changing the faulty parts. There is general acceptance that the current models will not be relevant into th e future, however, a belief that the current models will still be relevant but specific parts need to be fixed to match the future. This will see the current models presented in the future with very little variations. There would be changes in the legislation governing government tender for example prosecution for defrauding service delivery funding, the tendering process becoming more stringent, a strong political oversight on the SOEs, a stronger public participation in the prioritisation of projects in the regions, establishment of local oversight bodies these will be charged with the responsibility of monitoring and evaluating service delivery in their immediate environment.

4.3.6.3

The Agencification future scenario

This scenario is based on the notion that the government is optimistic about the future of service delivery. Gelatt (1993:11) explains possi- pullity as the ability to allow optimism to reign and taking ones destiny. There is acceptance that the current models would not be able to meet the future service delivery needs. The government calls off the current delivery

59 models for the following reasons stated in chapter 2; corruption, fraud, nepotism, substandard services, inaccessibility of services, lack of access to information, lack of adequate responses to community queries and problems, poor return on investments to mention a few. New contracts will not be signed and the current contracts will be seen to end of term. These should be replaced by single purpose institutions or agencies. The agencies will be highly specialised and will focus only on one aspect of service delivery, for example a policy development agency will only deal with that, the human resources issues will be dealt with at a different agency. These are agencies that are disintegrated from the government and are set up as autonomous structures to provide services to the public. Due to the autonomy enjoyed by the agencies there will be less political interference and less bureaucratic delays which will translate into improved performance. The agencies are financed by government for essential services but will employ the concept of fee for service for non essential services, like the use of toll gates. The agencies employ New Public Management strategies. The agencies are therefore at liberty to employ business processes and practices that will enable them to deliver services. One of the elements of the New Public Management is improving service delivery and emphasising the citizen as a customer. The agencies are service oriented and therefore rely on the Batho Pele principles. In addition to the customer councils or Izimbizo are central to the success of this model of service delivery. The agency model is different from the PPP model in that it combines expertise, autonomy and specialisation of tasks. The different types of agencies will enjoy different types of autonomy. The type of autonomy enjoyed by an agency will depend on their legal mandate; some agencies might have more policy or managerial autonomy, and others more structural, financial, or legal autonomy.

4.3.6.4

The going back to my roots future scenario

This scenario is based on the notion that the delivery of basic services to the citizens remains the responsibility of the state. As mentioned, the involvement of the private sector in service delivery through the PPPs including outsourcing should be reversed and a moratorium on these be declared. The government takes responsibility of service delivery in totality. All the PPPs are recalled and form part of the government departments (according to their areas of specialisation).

60 These institutions will be specific units within departments and have administrative autonomy in areas where administrative and bureaucratic delays are identified. The essential services are not rendered on a commercial basis. These units are funded from the main departments budget. Citizens malls which will resemble shopping malls will be established. All public services and some private utilities like banks and travel agents are grouped together in the same building. These will ensure that citizens access government services with ease and with less expense. The employment contract should be phased out in order to match the employment contracts of the current civil servants. The current situation discourages qualified and skilled employees to join the public service. This in turn leaves the public service with lack of talent and expertise. The better the devil you know future scenario and the Fix my BIZ future scenario are based on Dostals problem solving model whilst the Agencification future scenario and the going back to my roots future scenario are based on the problem (Dis)-solving model which is described by Dostal (2005:426), as the changing of the functioning of the syst em in such a way that the problem is not reproduced but falls away. These also involve the redesign of the system while the two aforementioned scenarios will employ the activity system design.

Extract wild card The team acknowledged that whilst scenarios are about conditions that one can plan for; there are those conditions that are beyond anybodies control and are high impact; these are referred to as Wild cards. Ralston and Wilson (2006:112) define wild cards as: very unlikely but very high impact, events or trends. Fahey and Randall (1998:74) describe these as: wholly discontinuous events like natural disasters or assassinations. These inevitable can disrupt any plan and have to be taken into account if plans are to be watertight. The team decided to deal with these separately as these were not part of the decision focus.

61 4.3.4 IDENTIFICATION OF ISSUES ARISING FROM THE SCENARIOS Each scenario poses a different set of strategic challenges and brings to life pertinent issues about service delivery in the country, though the study was aimed at developing alternative service delivery models. Exploring these scenarios will take the process a step further by turning them from learning exercises into decision making strategies. The process of brining scenarios into reality is also referred to by Boulding (in Inayatullah: 2007) as backcasting. The first scenario, the better the devil you know future scenario, was developed to highlight the dangers that would befall government, should the changes in the environment be ignored. This also highlights the importance of changing organisational policies, procedures and practices to meet the ever changing environment. This cannot and should be viewed as a preferred future as it will perpetuate the dystopic state of affairs. This scenario fits the description of what is referred to as the worst case scenario. The second scenario, Fix my BIZ future scenario can be possible in the short term. It creates an opportunity to research the legislation and therefore identify gaps and loopholes. The continuous process of solving problems will ultimately lead to matching of the strategy with the changing environment. The scenario is sufficiently realistic and is plausible. This scenario can also be employed an interim strategy as the government transits from one model to the other. The third scenario, the Agencification future scenario is also a possible scenario. It however, demands government to re-examine the service delivery legislation and the statutory bodies. This scenario has a potential of delivering efficient and effective services, however, it is not without its own setbacks. The recruiters for the new model might be tempted to recruit the former public servants. This will be equivalent to having old wine in a new glass. These employees may still retain a typical public sector and socialist-oriented mindset. Their perspectives, viewpoints and ways of doing things may still be influenced by their past. This may make their needed departure from previous inefficient, ineffective and non-business minded ways of doing things difficult. To avoid this situation, the recruitment agents will be forced to recruit from the private sector. Alternatively, they may be recruited from the public sector and receive thorough induction for their new duties. The model also advocates for autonomy, which in itself not a negative move; however, too much autonomy may lead to corruption, fraud and nepotism. This might defeat the very notion that led to the establishment of agencies and adversely affect service delivery. This is the best case scenario and the preferred future.

62 The going back to my roots future scenario is also plausible and would benefit the government and service delivery in general. It would be possible to fill all the vacant positions with the transfer of all expertise and talent that lies in the privatised entities. This move would benefit government as this would address the challenge of skill shortage.

The citizen malls would also be beneficial for both the citizens and the government; communication between the different state departments and would ensure cost effectiveness on the users of governments services. The adoption of the Batho Pele principle as the ethos of the new model would see government defeating poor service delivery.

63 4.4 CONCLUSION

There is a global transformation in how services are delivered and the governments will need to be aware and open to the changes. Service delivery is a cause for concern not only to the public but it has also proved to be a cause for concern. This then calls for government to devise innovative and creative means of dealing with the issue now and prepare for the future. In an attempt to deliver a better life for all; government need to look at the current service delivery problems as opportunities to learn and prepare for the future. For purposes of this study, scenario planning was employed in determining the possible alternative service delivery models. Scenarios are not meant to predict the future but only serve as measures that would assist organizations to cope with the unexpected. The overall aim is to give government a plethora of possible models of how to deliver quality and cost effective services to the public. Furthermore, scenarios create an opportunity for research and study further on service deliver in general and future alternative service delivery in particular. Change is accelerating dramatically in all aspects of our lives; and organisations worldwide have come to accept this fact. However, there is a tendency to either under forecast or over forecast the effects of change when planning for the future of the organisation. Scenario planning affords the organizations including government the opportunity to keep their plans between under forecasting and over forecasting. Service delivery as a matter of national concern cannot be left to chance; as this could cripple the economy, the countrys reputation and lead to a total paralysis of government and government structures.

64 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 INTRODUCTION Change has become a constant feature of everyday life. The government has to deal with the changing environment, the ever growing population, the unspecified needs, the changing technology and the effects of globalisation. The service delivery models which were perceived to be modern, relevant and progressive were no longer able to deliver on the governments mandate. For the government to remain in power, it must be able to deliver on its mandate and demonstrate the ability to deal effectively with the future. In the words of Linstone and Simmonds, (1977:14) government has to deal with futures problem, which cannot be specified and cannot be measured. In the quest to deliver quality services and improve on the quality of life of all citizens, the research question was stated as follows: WHAT OTHER SERVICE DELIVERY METHODS CAN BE EMPLOYED TO ENHANCE SERVICE DELIVERY? The objectives of this research were: To identify the environment within which services are rendered and how service delivery is affected by environment. To investigate and explore the various service delivery models currently employed in South Africa: Explore the extent to which they are employed The benefits and shortcomings of the identified service delivery models

To explore how the futures research methodologies could be used to discover alternative service delivery model for 2020.

65 5.2 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

The main findings of the study can be summarised as follows: Public services are not delivered in a vacuum. It is incumbent on the government to establish an effective and efficient public service (internal environment) that would act as a vehicle of service delivery. The external environment also has an equally important role in determining the quality of service delivery and how these services are rendered (models). Therefore environmental scanning should be adopted as part of the government planning strategies. The government alone cannot meet the developmental needs of South Africa. It is therefore imperative that government and the private sector combine their efforts and capabilities to provide infrastructure that would ensure the delivery quality services. The models that the government employs include and are not limited to: collaborations/partnerships, contracting out/outsourcing, privatization and the electronic service delivery method. The aforementioned are the prominent models employed by government and those that could be accommodated in this research. Future studies methodologies have a significant role in strategic planning. Scenario planning is an important learning opportunity for government officials and forces them to think critically about plausible futures and appropriate organizational strategies. Poor service delivery is not a uniquely South African phenomenon. Service delivery challenges are experienced in both developed and developing countries. Government should also learn from other countries that have

5.3

CONCLUSION

The internal and external environmental factors directly or indirectly determine the quality and the model that would be employed in rendering public service. Ignoring the environmental changes would be detrimental to the countrys economic growth and would compromise service delivery. The technological changes can singularly determine how services should be delivered in South Africa. It is therefore paramount that government should observe the changes in technology to better services in the future.

66 The study has demonstrated that the problems of public service delivery are not only a reflection of the critical shortage of skills but also the intervention of other factors. These factors include amongst the others interference by political principals, nepotism and the countries funding model. It was evident that poor service delivery occurs even where skills exist. Government should look at skills development in relation to other factors that may impede on the quality of service delivery in future. The governments have experimented with alternative designs of rendering services to the public because hierarchical, vertically integrated departments have proven too rigid and unresponsive in a public sector environment that is increasingly complex, turbulent and demanding. This brought with it the realisation that the demands for services are increasing and the government has over the years not been capable of meeting this demand. The need to need to bring the private sector expertise could not be overlooked. This relief proved to be short lived. Soon after the introduction of collaborations/partnerships, contracting out/outsourcing, privatization and the electronic service delivery method as delivery models, there were already signs of poor administration, fraud, corruption, nepotism, failure to meet delivery deadlines, poor quality of services and disregard of standards. It can therefore be concluded that these models were not properly researched and were not tailor- made to meet the South African situation. With proper research these models can be tailor made to suite the service delivery demands of the country.

Generally, future studies methodologies are not adequately employed by government departments. This deprives the governments planning process of the contribution the future studies methodologies could offer.

Agencification (as presented as the best case scenario) as an alternative model of service delivery has not been fully explored in South Africa. If fully researched and appropriately employed it can be a plausible service delivery option. The model, like all other methods have its own shortcomings. The current delivery problems are of a serious nature and should be resolved as a matter of urgency. The current models have failed to deliver and cannot be considered for use in the future unaltered. Re-nationalisation of state owned enterprises should be considered.

67 5.4 RECOMMENDATION Government departments need to dedicate special teams or units that would undertake active environmental analysis which would inform their strategic planning processes. The government to fund research that would investigate alternative service delivery models using the future studies methodologies which would assist in the realisation of a better life for all. Intergovernmental agencies should be developed to serve as fora for exchanging knowledge and share best practice models. The presented scenarios be refined and the backcasting technique be implemented to deliver the preferred future.

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