Download or read book Democracy and Political Governance in South Africa written by Isioma Ile and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-11-02 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a holistic perspective and analysis of democratic practice, processes, and governance in South Africa. It examines the development in the South African governing system and its response to the challenges of the crisis of governance under the influence of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). While doing so, the book's central objective is to examine the progress of the South African government in strengthening democracy and political governance. Each of the contributions follows a similar structure and addresses the following thematic issues: (1) Assessment of the implementation of the core APRM-related programs; (2) Identification of areas of excellence and prognosis for further improvement; (3) Identification of the weak areas of each and how to make the future implementation better, (4) Identification areas to improve democracy and political governance. A self-assessment strategy initiated by the African Union (AU) in 2002 and adopted in 2003, the APRM is a voluntary mechanism adopted by countries in the African continent to improve governance in general. As a specialized AU agency, APRM monitors the peer review activities of each African country. It serves as a tool for sharing experiences, reinforcing best practices, identifying deficiencies, and assessing capacity-building needs to foster policies, standards, and practices that lead to political stability, high economic growth, sustainable development, and accelerated sub-regional and continental economic integration. This book will be useful for and appeal to scholars and researchers in political science, public administration, and the social sciences in general, as well as policy-makers interested in a better understanding of democratic practice and processes, governance, public policy, and the African Peer Review Mechanism.

Download or read book Public Administration in Africa written by Shikha Vyas-Doorgapersad and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-25 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With contributions from leading regional scholars, Public Administration in Africa: Performance and Challenges examines the complexities of the art of governance from the unique African perspective. The editors bring together a cohesive study of the major issues and regions by taking an analytic approach with the strong problem-solution application. Regions addressed range from South Africa, Congo, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, Mauritius, and Botswana. Themes include colonialism, reform, poverty, economy, decentralization, financing, media, political structures, and more. Beginning with an analysis of the relationship of policy design and its destination, service delivery, the book discusses the historical development of a state that has gone through upheavals in government and explores a decayed political economy that ultimately results in a need for sweeping measures. The text examines the issues emerging policy-makers in Africa must tackle, namely poverty and the denial or lack of resources to keep a dignified human life. It highlights how the media can be a catalyst for good governance and provides analytical aspects of implementing good governance reforms. The book concludes with an examination of the concepts of decentralization and devolution in measuring service delivery performance and an exploration of Africa’s economic success story. It also details the African Peer Review Mechanisms in selected African countries and provides a holistic analysis of local government functioning in Africa. These features and more make it an interdisciplinary reference for diverse social, economic, political, and administrative issues.

Download or read book Public Participation in Democratic Governance in South Africa written by Gregory F. Houston and published by HSRC Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines public participation in democratic governance in South Africa. The South African democracy is fairly new, giving rise to a variety of new channels and processes for public participation. In addition, the overwhelming majority of South Africans have little experience of democratic governance, having only acquired political power for the first time in 1994. However, more than seven years of universal suffrage and access to political power is ample justification for assessing the consolidation of democracy in this country. The book focuses on four case studies of public participation: interest group participation in the National Economic Development and Labour Council; the participation of civil society and the legislatures in the formulation of the budget; public participation in legislative processes; and public participation in the integrated development planning processes of local government. Each case study outlines a number of opportunities for, and constraints to, public participation in the processes of democratic governance.

Download or read book Culture philosophies and reforms in public administration for the globalizing world written by Edwin O.C. Ijeoma and published by AOSIS. This book was released on 2018-12-31 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The aim of this scholarly collected work is to contribute to the scientific discourse on public administration in a globalised environment. The book reflects on governance challenges in South Africa and in Africa, with its point of departure being the ‘master narratives’ (the so-called grand debates) such as New Public Management and, specifically, the role of technology. It also reflects on the so-called middle range discourses concerning organisational-level issues in government (e.g. leadership and work procedures) and explores new solutions to old governance challenges like corruption and service delivery. The uniqueness of this collected work lies in its ability to reflect on existing philosophies and practices in an innovative way. Through its multidisciplinary lens, the book opens up a new vision for the future of public administration in the South African context and on the African continent, not neglecting the current local, regional and global environment. Until recently, globalisation was considered an entrenched world order, but international political events during the course of the past few years have resulted in one of the biggest challenges to its endurance in recent history. This includes developments such as the successful referendum in Britain to exit the European Union, highlighting the growth of a severe nationalist and protectionist agenda that may be a signal of the unravelling of the current globalism world order. These developments inspire deeper interrogation of the challenges to effective public administration globally and the ripple effects in South Africa and Africa as a whole. Pointedly, it is evident that ensuring the voice of citizens in policy decision-making remains a critical governance challenge. On the policy front, there are perennial challenges of land reform, service delivery and poverty, while on the governance front, corruption has metastasised with a growing culture of impunity and lack of accountability in leadership. In the midst of growing corruption, and more than 20 years into democracy, South Africa’s income inequality remains one of the highest in the world. This setting constitutes the context of the research outcome published in this scholarly work.

Download or read book Protecting the Inheritance written by Daniel Plaatjies and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The primary intention of this book is to provide a nexus of theory and practice of governance and public accountability in democratic South Africa. The basic assumption of the book is that without comprehensive, integrated and functional democratic accountability measures in place, the constitutional democratic state will collapse.

Download or read book Public Administration and Governance in Democratic South Africa written by Izimangaliso Malatjie and published by UJ Press. This book was released on 2024-07-08 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is a national emergency, and it has become more pronounced as South Africa faces challenges of Ethical leadership in both the private and public sector. Recently the Zondo Commission, Public Investment Corporation (PIC) Commission and Courts of Law released reports that cast light on the conduct of public officials. There have also been several reports by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) dealing with the same matter. This phenomenon is not only unique to South Africa. Reports of multinational companies that have been implicated in unethical and corrupt abound. These include corporate scandals such as those of Enron, WorldCom, Nortel, and AIG. These malfeasances have demonstrated abundantly that corporate leaders are not immune to unethical behaviour (Bedi, Alpasla & Green, 2015; Naidoo, 2012a). What this showed is that the issue of ethics is important in the public sector.

Download or read book Representative Bureaucracy and Performance written by Sergio Fernandez and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-11-22 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Representative Bureaucracy and Performance: Public Service Transformation in South Africa is a first-rate blend of quantitative and qualitative analysis of one of the major transitions in modern governance. Fernandez makes a major theoretical contribution to the literature on representative bureaucracy in demonstrating how descriptive representation translates into both active representation and better performance. His discussion of the crucial role of language and communication brings new insight to the literature on public administration and democracy."—Kenneth Meier, Distinguished Scholar in Residence, American University "This study of public sector transformation goes beyond the descriptive qualitative research largely found in South African public administration historiography by undertaking sophisticated quantitative analysis to show that representation of previously historically disadvantaged groups, under certain circumstances, can improve the performance of public organizations. This is an excellent contribution, not only to public administration scholarship in South Africa, but also to the sparse literature on public organizations in developing countries. The book should be of great value to scholars and practitioners of public administration, as well as to students of political science and organizational studies."—Robert Cameron, Professor, University of Cape Town "This book provides an excellent analysis of the theory of representative bureaucracy in the context of South African post-apartheid government. South Africa is an important and fascinating case. The work adds substantially to the literature on representative bureaucracy and will be of interest to all who are concerned with the effectiveness of government organizations."—J. Edward Kellough, Professor, University of Georgia Governments throughout the world seek to promote employment equity and ensure that bureaucracies are representative of the citizenry. South Africa offers a rare and fascinating case for exploring what happens to bureaucracies as they undergo demographic transformation. Grounded in the theory of representative bureaucracy and using a mixed methods approach, this book explores how major changes in the demographics of the South African public service have affected the performance of the institution. The empirical analysis offers compelling evidence that representative bureaucracies perform better. As public organizations become increasingly representative by hiring historically disadvantaged persons, especially Africans, their performance improves, controlling for a range of factors. Evidence indicates representative bureaucracies perform better because they empathize with and advocate for historically disadvantaged communities, are equipped with linguistic and cultural competencies to serve a diverse citizenry, and can induce compliance, cooperation, and coproduction.

Download or read book Public Administration and Democratic Governance written by United Nations. Division for Public Administration and Development Management and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Strengthening trust, accountability, and participation in government are essential to serving the needs of citizens. This volume brings together concepts and ideas from around the world on how to achieve more responsive and accountable public administration within the framework of democratic governance. Public officials and administrators are provided with conceptual and policy tools to help them understand today's complex challenges, and to pursue ideas that are most likely to enhance service delivery from the citizen's perspective. The publication is one of the analytical products emerging from the Global Forum on Reinventing Government.

Download or read book Handbook of Public Management in Africa written by Gerrit van der Waldt and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2023-12-11 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This forward-thinking Handbook provides a thorough and comprehensive guide on the positive prospects for public management and governance across the African continent. Exploring best practices learned by public management and governments in the region, this book examines Africa’s ability to leapfrog developed nations in the adoption and adaptation of managerial models, techniques and applications for government.

Download or read book Democratizing Public Governance in Developing Nations written by Shamsul M. Haque and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-14 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited volume brings together critical insights that address the multifaceted problems of governance and democracy in the developing regions with specific reference to Africa. It explores both the externally prescribed and home-grown governance initiatives geared toward democracy and development, and suggests alternative strategies to improve the processes and institutions of governance. The chapters in the book deal with major concerns related to governance, including the strengths and limits of existing policies and practices and the structure and role of state and non-state institutions in promoting democracy and participation. All these issues, in general, have great significance for realizing an authentic and enduring mode of democratic governance in the developing world.

Download or read book Public Administration in Contemporary Society written by S. X. Hanekom and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is about public administration in contemporary society; more specifically, contemporary society in South Africa. But why contemporary society? The answer can be found in the fact that: "There is scarcely a single duty of government which was once simple which is not now complex; government once had but a few masters; it now has scores of masters. Majorities only underwent government; they now conduct government. Where government once might follow the whims of a court, it must now follow the whims of a nation. The authors of this book took cognizance of the transitional stage in which South Africa currently finds itself. All the most recent developments in public administration in South Africa have been taken into account. Recent reform in South Africa has shown conclusively that systems must be adapted from time to time. However, irrespective of changing systems, the basic premises of public administration remain unaltered, providing a constant frame of reference for evaluating new developments. It is for this very reason that Public Administration in Contemporary Society will never lose its relevance for academics, students and public officials.

Download or read book African State Governance written by A. Carl LeVan and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-02-05 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Africa is changing and it is easy to overlook how decentralization, democratization, and new forms of illiberalism have transformed federalism, political parties, and local politics. Chapters on Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and South Africa help fill an important gap in comparative institutional research about state and local politics in Africa.

Download or read book Local Governance in Africa written by Dele Olowu and published by Lynne Rienner Publishers. This book was released on 2004 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exploration of why some decentralization reforms have led to viable systems of local governance in Africa, while others have failed. It outlines the key issues involved, provides historical context, and identifies the factors that have encouraged or discouraged success.

Download or read book Public Sector Reform written by Karen Miller and published by Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. This book was released on 2005 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This ground-breaking volume provides a comprehensive review of public sector reforms and the impact of these reforms on the management of the civil service and the political-administrative interface. The focus is a study of how public sector reforms have impacted upon the executive arm of government with reference to developed and developing countries. South Africa, a country which has undergone an enormous amount of reforms, is used as a case study to highlight how public sector reforms have impacted upon the executive arm of government. The book therefore provides an insight into the functioning of government, the relationship between politicians and senior civil servants and an analysis of contemporary public management in a changing global context. It will prove invaluable for a broad range of people studying or working in the field of governance, public management, public administration, development studies and international relations.

Download or read book Democratising Local Government written by and published by Juta and Company Ltd. This book was released on 2002 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Local government is at the forefront of development. In South Africa the ambitious policy objectives of post-apartheid reconstruction and development hinge on the successful creation of a democratic tier of government close to the people. An entirely new system of 'developmental local government' has thus been introduced. As is the case in many developing countries, the responsibilities of municipalities in South Africa have been extended dramatically, often without adequate resources. Managing municipalities for development therefore requires political will and strategic intervention. The book provides a comprehensive introduction to developmental local government. It includes: the design of the new local government system and the issues posed by decentralisation; an overview of specific challenges of urban and rural municipalities; a discussion of special issues facing local government including poverty, gender and environment; new tools for local government, including budgeting, indicators, municipal partnerships and capacity building.

Download or read book Governance Politics and Policy in South Africa written by Dewald Van Niekerk and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2001 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book looks at contemporary political issues within the South African and the global context. It covers topics such as policy making process; the ethical conduct of government officials and politicians, information management, foreign policy, and the interplay between government and the private sector.

Download or read book South Africa s Public Administration in Context 2nd Edition written by Edwin Ijeoma and published by Verity Publishers. This book was released on 2019-01-25 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As our society experiences rapid socio-political changes, economic and technological developments, increased international transactions, the challenges of public administration grow more complex, more inter-dependent and more embracing. Societal issues such as increasing demand for service delivery at both community and urban levels, growing unemployment, rapid urbanization and urban congestion, changes in consumption patterns, inflation, pressures of economic growth and development, security, health, education and environmental matters, including other concerns such as immigration and globalization influences are contending government policy issues that require ideal and efficient public administration and management. South Africa's Public Administration in Context is written as a comprehensive, useful resource for all public sector managers and students. The text provides in-depth analysis, relevant framework, systematic and informative coverage of all aspects of Public Administration in South Africa, including all bureaucratic practices and processes that contribute to efficient and effective governance and better implementation of public policy.