Browsing by Author "Mofokeng, Mpuse Frans"

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    Decision support systems for the Letsemeng Local Municipality
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009-03) Mofokeng, Mpuse Frans; Botha, Daniel F.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Information Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Municipalities in South Africa, especially rural ones, have been struggling to deliver services to communities to the extent that government placed those worse-off under Project Consolidate. The implementation of Project Consolidate indicate that the capability of municipalities to deliver services to their communities faced several challenges. Most challenges are attributed to skills, processes, procedures and resources. During the dawn of democracy municipalities were merged into manageable demarcated areas for efficiency, effectiveness and inclusive governance to improve service delivery. The study primarily looks into whether DSS are implemented in Letsemeng Local Municipality and what the benefits are for service delivery to the community. The study was conducted in Letsemeng Local Municipality because it is representative of rural municipalities facing similar changes. It focuses on the administrative and political capability to transform Letsemeng Local Municipality into an effective service delivery vehicle. Administrative capability primarily concentrates on the ability of procedure, systems and management skills to manage a transformed municipal institution within the new democratic dispensation, while political capability concentrates on the role of politicians (councillors) on support and facilitation to meet the needs of the community. Taking these factors into consideration the role of DSS and IKM in successful service delivery was investigated through interviewing key managers (municipal, financial, technical and corporate managers) and analysing support documentation used by the municipality. It was discovered that the performance of Letsemeng Local Municipality is affected by the lack of DSS to support management and politicians, absence of appropriate IKM application for continuous service improvement, high turnover of staff leaving mostly unskilled and less experienced and to a lesser extent political interference. It was also concluded that the implementation of DSS and IKM cannot on its own improve service delivery, but improvement might be achieved if accompanied by Letsemeng Local Municipality BPR (Business Process Re-engineering).