Doctoral Degrees (School of Public Leadership)
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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (School of Public Leadership) by browse.metadata.advisor "Ajam, Tania"
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- ItemInstitutionalising social dialogue: a micro-foundational perspective of the national economic and labour council of South Africa(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-12) Oosthuizen, Marius; Ajam, Tania; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.ENGLISH SUMMARY : This study examined The National Economic and Labour Council (Nedlac) of South Africa, from a micro-foundational institutional perspective, within a multi-layer framework, and in so doing, identifies the possible limitations for consensus-building that arise from inadequate management of competing logics and the required frame formation during social dialogue. Nedlac emerged during South Africa’s transition to democracy in 1994 and was tasked with facilitating consensus on economic and development policy. By examining the microfoundational interactions between policy actors in the institutional field and studying the historical employment of frames, frame conflict, and frame formation processes of policy actors in the economic policy discourse, the study examined institutional entrepreneurship, cast as integrative leadership activities by constituency representatives, undertaken in pursuit of consensus-building, or frame formation at Nedlac. The study interpreted these developments against the backdrop of South Africa's political economic context and addressed the need for scholars and practitioners to better understand institutional leadership within the context of policy deliberation as part of the institutional life of pluralistic democratic societies. The results contribute to a micro-foundational perspective of institutions, to theorise about cross-sectoral social dialogue, and in terms of practice, to policymaking in contexts such as South Africa that are beset with conflicting interests. The results of the study have implications for institutional design, for discursive approaches to policymaking and mediation, and leadership practices in multi-sectoral institutions. It enhances comprehension of the relationship between theory and practice and offers policymakers and institutional leaders in South Africa and elsewhere, executable insights into new approaches to consensus-building. The study proposes institutionalize social dialogue, underpinned by reflexive frame formation, as a means for social dialogue for securing the social contract and in response to new challenges emerging in policymaking and in public leadership as a result of increasingly complex, multi-stakeholder demands. It recognises that institutional pluralism must be accommodated and better understood by policymakers and institutional leaders and for the design and management of pluralistic institutions.
- ItemMeasuring fiscal sustainability and its determinants in South African municipalities(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-04) Pakkies, Letsepa; Ajam, Tania; Burger, Johan; Mortimer, Len; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.ENGLISH SUMMARY: African municipalities; the analysis also examines their ability to pay off long-term debts and to meet the current obligation. The composition of spending and how to improve efficiency are also studied. This study adopted a quantitative research approach. A combination of descriptive and correlational research and the data envelopment analysis (DEA) model was used. The documents and data analysed were published by the National Treasury; the Reserve Bank of South Africa; Statistics South Africa; the Auditor-General South Africa; and the municipal annual reports. The findings indicated that several municipalities were administratively intense. Over time, costs for the administrative component of municipal functions surpassed the service delivery spending. In addition, the research study finds that employee costs were the fastest growing item in municipal budgets and became the biggest budgetary pressure facing municipalities. Furthermore, inefficiency has largely nullified the impact of funding to local government, which was intended to improve service delivery. These trends must be reversed to attain economies of scale. Municipalities must change the composition of their expenditure and prioritise their service delivery. Municipal organisational structures should be fit-for-purpose, and functional duplications should be reduced. This dissertation is divided into four distinct but complementary papers. Each paper constitutes a chapter. There are also two general chapters, and the entire dissertation thus consists of six chapters. Paper I (Chapter 2) adopts a modification of the definitions of “sustainability” as formulated by Blanchard, Chouraqui, Hagemann and Sartor (1990) and by Hagist & Vatter (2009). The concepts of Auerbach, Gokhale and Kotlikoff (1991) are also included. The paper proposes a new model for measuring the fiscal sustainability of municipalities. This model accounts for demographic changes, performance of local economies and financial management at the municipal level. This paper assesses the sustainability of the supply of goods and services offered by South African municipalities. It examines their solvency (ability to pay off long-term debts), liquidity (ability to meet current obligations), and the composition of spending. The economic circumstances surrounding each municipality are also examined. The resultant indicators provide valuable data about the state of municipal finances. They can be used to assess the action needed to be followed at present to ensure the long-term fiscal sustainability of municipalities. For practical purposes, the proposed model is then applied to seven South African metropolitan municipalities. The last part of the paper proposes various approaches to close the fiscal gap. Paper II (Chapter 3) examines the scale effects and the determinants of administrative intensity within South African municipalities. Regression analysis, a form of predictive modelling technique, was performed. The results revealed that the spending by functions in municipalities is administratively orientated, with insufficient economies of scale. Regarding the determinants of administrative intensity, capital transfers and growth in the population were shown to be the most influential factors in determining the administrative costs of municipalities. Moreover, the findings indicated that the more own-source revenues a municipality has, the better it manages its finances. The results from the second model indicated that several municipalities were administratively intense. These findings are consistent with the further analysis in the third model, which show that, over time, the administrative component of municipal functions have surpassed service delivery spending. This trend must be reversed to attain economies of scale. Paper III (Chapter 4) examines the influence of personnel management regarding municipal finances. The sources were budget documents published annually by the municipalities, data from Statistics South Africa and annual financial statements audited by the South African Auditor-General. The analysis found that there is fundamental systemic incoherence within the present constellation of the composition of municipal spending. The most substantial budgetary pressure facing South African municipalities is the rising share of personnel expenditure. This expenditure has increased markedly over the last 12 years, without proportional increases in productivity or in the number of people employed at municipalities. The study found that these increases are considerably higher than in other spheres of government. They have a negative bearing on local government's ability to manage and fast-track service delivery. This excessive spending on personnel has impacted smaller municipalities the most. Such expenditure diverts resources away from service delivery requirements, which also causes tension with the policy objectives of local government. This situation has created substantial cost pressure on municipal budgets. In some municipalities, particularly rural ones, this cost pressure eclipsed other service delivery expenditure to the extent that it undermined the coverage and quality of services offered. There is, therefore, a need for local government to limit increases in employee costs. Paper IV (Chapter 5) examines the efficiency with which district municipalities that provide water and sanitation services deliver on those services. It analyses the expenditures and outputs attributable to these functions, using the DEA technique as applied to cross-sectional data for 2015–2016. The sample included 19 high service responsibility municipalities with water and sanitation functions. Among the 19 municipalities, 12 were found to be inefficient and spent a high proportion of their operational expenditure on municipal administration. Furthermore, using an instrumental variable approach, this study examined the determinants of variation in water and sanitation service efficiency. These drivers were identified as fiscal autonomy, value of assets and number of households within each municipal jurisdiction. The challenge is that municipalities already spend significantly more than they should on administration costs maintaining large administrative components, crowding out service delivery and investment expenditures. This scenario makes these municipalities fiscally unsustainable over time, as the asset base is highly dependent on grants and their asset management practices are below the required levels. If high service responsibility municipalities are to be efficient and sustainable, local government should do the following: create cost-savings measure, divert resources to frontline services and promote improved governance for the long-term sustainability of public finances.