South African Cities Network
Pilot Peer Review Visit to
City of Johannesburg
27 – 31 May 2002
Draft Report (10/7/2002)
Summary
Joburg is widely recognised as leading edge municipality. Its impressive achievements and
progress on complex challenges show lots of bold innovation and good practice. There is
very capable political and managerial leadership with an in depth understanding of the future
change agenda, and many staff, both black and white, throughout the organisation are
supporting the transformation process.
There is a consistent message and firm acknowledgment from many sources that this city
council has excellent and capable political and managerial leadership that is providing clear
direction and is holding the organisation together. The council has a well developed strategic
vision and it is clear how its plans, priorities and budgets are aligned with this. Many people
throughout the organisation and the community know about and support the city’s
aspirations to be a world class African city.
The council’s external reputation is good. It is widely seen to be leading local government
transformation, particularly with its setting up of UACs and regions. There is also ample
evidence of an understanding of the future change agenda what the next challenges are.
The council has proved itself capable of delivering difficult changes and shows the capacity
to learn and improve.
Many of the structures and systems are now in place to deliver this strategic vision. A
comprehensive performance management framework has been put in place which links the
IDP through to individual development plans and clear expectations. Local People Centres
and ward committees make contact with community and customers easier and the
iimportance of service delivery is now recognized.
However now that the big picture is right, the challenge is to maintain the change
momentum, continue to challenge the status quo and to embed the changes. Many of the
systems and structures are relatively new and focus now needs to be on making sure that
they really deliver results. Delivering the vision will also require active engagement with
partners. It cannot be done by the council alone. A strategy of this scale requires high
profile relationships and alliances with other key agencies and players in the city.
The council has a long way to go to rebuild public confidence in basic services and to match
the quality of visible service delivery to its overall strategy. Complaints at ward committees
about electricity, water and rubbish collection abound, with slow response rates by
providers. The council will also need to manage the tensions in the relationships between the
different parts of the new system – the centre, regions and UACs. A coherent customer
strategy will be needed to make sure that there is more of a seamless approach on the
delivery of all municipal services.
A strong top down approach to change has been appropriate in recent years to deliver the
scale of required change. It is now time to invest in a softer approach which invests in
people and harnesses the energies of staff throughout the organisation in the change
process. This approach also applies to the regions and wards. There is a lot of potential to
deliver and develop at the local level. A major way to promote this is will be through
investment in communications both internal and external.
Draft Peer Review Report: City of Johannesburg
2
Background
1.
The peer review visit to City of Johannesburg was a pilot initiative carried out by the
South Africa Cities Learning and Support Network. A peer review helps the authority
assess its current achievements and its capacity to change. It is not an inspection. It
offers a supportive approach, undertaken by friends, albeit ‘critical friends’ and its
intention is to help a municipality identify its current strengths as much as its
weaknesses. It is the beginning of an ongoing change process. This can then be
taken forward by the authority with an improvement plan to address the areas where
the review team recommends action.
2.
The members of the peer review team were:
 Cllr Zongezile Zumane, Speaker of Mangaung Local Municipality;
 Cllr William Mahlangu, Tshwane Mayoral Executive Committee;
 Bheki Nene, Municipal Manager, Msunduzi Local Municipality;
 Sipho Cele, Executive Director : Corporate Services, eThekwini Metropolitan
Municipality;
 Anton Kruger, Service Delivery Centre Manager, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan
Municipality;
 Vidhu Vedalankar, independent consultant;
 David Schmidt, independent consultant;
 Beverley Taylor, Review Manager, Improvement and Development Agency
(IDEA).
3.
The initial basis for the assessment was specially constructed benchmark that has
been used by IDEA for over 120 peer reviews of UK local authorities. This focuses on
the three themes of leadership, democratic and community engagement and
performance management. During the Joburg review week this was adapted for the
South African context to focus on the characteristics of developmental local
government as set out in the White Paper on Local Government. These are:
 Maximising social development and economic growth;
 Integrating and co-ordinating;
 Democratising development;
 Leading and Learning.
The key points relating to each of these characteristics are set out in Appendix 1.
The programme for the week was organised in advance and included a wide variety
of activities designed to enable members of the team to meet and talk to a spectrum
of internal and external stakeholders.
4.
5.
The team was very appreciative of the warm welcome and excellent hospitality
provided by the council during their stay, and would like to thank all involved for their
valuable contributions throughout the week. The programme for the week was very
well organised and co-ordinated and the team received wholehearted support and
co-operation from everyone they met.
6.
The feedback given to the council on the last day of the review reported on the key
messages and this report gives a more detailed written account structured around
the characteristics of developmental local government and the core organisational
competencies supporting each of them.
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Context
Joburg – the place
7.
The City of Johannesburg is the economic hub of South Africa. Some 74% of South
African companies situate their headquarters in Johannesburg. The city has modern
infrastructure from telecoms to highways, rail and airports and major development
projects are currently underway.
8.
The population is currently around 3 800 000 with an estimated population growth
rate of 3,4%, which will take the population to 5 700 000 by the year 2010. There is
a high level of poverty and many residents lack basic services and economic
opportunities. 16% of households lack municipal sanitation , 15% do not receive
municipal electricity, 3,6% do not have water supplies. Unemployment is at 30%, up
from 27% three years ago. Some 116 827 families live in informal settlements.
Some 108 000 families live in illegal backyard dwellings. There are some 4 500
homeless "street people"
Joburg - the council
9.
The municipality is led by its first-ever executive mayor - Amos Masondo. The mayor
takes overall strategic and political responsibility for the city, and leads a 10-person
mayoral committee, essentially a city-level "cabinet". Each member of the mayoral
committee has executive responsibility for a portfolio. There are 217 elected city
councillors of whom 109 were elected at ward level and the others. The ANC has a
strong majority with 129 councillors. The Democratic Alliance has 72 seats. Another
6 parties also have elected representatives on the Council.
10.
Joburg’s administration has been radically overhauled to produce a much tighter and
more focused headquarters core, unique among major South African cities. The City
Manager, Pascal Moloi, heads Johannesburg's central administration, along with
executive directors for planning, community development, finance, municipal
administration and contract management. The heads of the Metro Police Service,
emergency management services, and arts, culture and heritage services also report
directly to the city manager. The city manager provides a link between the political
and administrative arms of city government.
11.
Some of the key city service functions are supplied by separate, self-contained
entities – utilities, agencies and corporatised enterprises (UACs). Each are run on
business lines with its own CEO and enter into service contracts with the
administrative core. The city is also divided into 11 administrative regions, each
serving about 300 000 people. The regions have their own management structures,
each headed by a regional director. The regions run certain services such as libraries,
community clinics, sports facilities, housing and social services. While utilities and
head office are responsible for the actual supply of most services, the regions
determine which services are needed, and monitor the delivery of those services.
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Maximising Social and Economic Development
Vision and Strategy
12.
The Council’s recently launched Joburg 2030 strategy is an impressive and pioneering
vision for the longer-term development of a `world class’ city. The strategy is based
on strong research on a wide range of factors affecting economic development of the
city. There is a clear premise that economic growth and competitiveness is
fundamental to improving the city’s quality of life and the strategy identifies priorities
for action to address this, in particular crime reduction and skills development.
13.
As part of developing the strategy the council has carried out extensive consultation
with key stakeholders throughout the city. This has not only provided the opportunity
to input on issues to be addressed but has also raised implementation methods that
are also referred to in the strategy. The council’s vision is well understood by staff.
Many staff refer to the council’s ambition to be a `world class African city’ and are
aware of the changes needed to realise it.
14.
Joburg 2030 has clearly influenced the council’s Integrated Development Plan and
medium term budget strategy. The 2002/3 budget allocates significant sums to a
social package to address problems of poverty and deprivation and the IDP sets
targets for measurable improvements on all key goals. It is however not really clear
to all staff how the six Mayoral priorities link to the longer-term strategy.
15.
There is a potential mismatch between the strategy and the council’s capacity for
implementation. The main thrust of the strategy is economic and represents a bold
correction in municipal thinking of the past decade which has almost totally
emphasised the social agenda at the expense of the economic. However the
council’s capacity for economic development is currently limited although new
appointments will be made shortly. This contrasts to social development. The
strategic approach to this is underdeveloped in Joburg 2030, in other documents and
in practice. However the capacity of the council to deliver on social issues is
considerable as it is the focus of many services.
16.
To maximise social and economic development the council needs to address this
imbalance and ensure that there is both a holistic approach to both economic and
social development and an alignment of council capacity to deliver. It is unclear at
present for example how the two clear priorities in Joburg 2030 on crime and skills
development will be put into practice through council service delivery including that
of the UACs and the regions. The aspects of the plan relating to transport and
infrastructure development will also need high priority and resourcing.
17.
The future delivery of the strategy is likely to involve tensions between the social and
economic issues, clear priorities and more difficult political choices and there is a
need to recognise this and think through the implications for the decision making
process.
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18.
There is a need to translate the powerful strategic thinking that has been developed
into an accessible and relevant set of messages. Joburg 2030 is seen as difficult for
many people – both staff and the community - to understand. The regions for
example find it difficult to link it to local priorities and realities. The vision of a world
class African city needs to be translated into some clear and simple messages that
link to the reality of service delivery on the ground. As well as having a long-term
strategy, the council needs the flexibility to respond rapidly to immediate
opportunities and issues, especially when these fall outside obvious functional
responsibilities. There is some evidence of the city failing to exploit immediate
opportunities, for example, current difficulties re City Deep or the location of the
Sandton Convention Centre. This may be because the links with key decision takers,
particularly from the private sector, are weak or unstructured and that the focus up
until now has been on developing the long and medium-term strategic agenda rather
than responding to emerging strategic issues on an immediate basis.
Partnerships and Alliances
19.
There are good links with national and provincial government and the council is
acknowledged by many to be leading the way in developing these links, influencing
policy and legisation and then putting into practice the legislation and policies
developed by other spheres of government. These relationships are often complex
and fragmented due to the nature of provincial government and this complexity
needs to be addressed so that there is a structured and strategic approach.
20.
The Joburg 2030 stakeholder forums provide a good basis for developing strategic
partnerships to support the delivery of the vision and strategy. However there is now
a need to think more strategically about the key partnerships to deliver the vision.
Almost all of the issues that are crucial to delivering Joburg 2030 require close
alliances and joint initiatives with other private and public sector agencies. The
council faces a major task in bringing together these agencies, not only in a
consultative forum, but as part of the real delivery. It needs to lead the development
of a shared understanding of roles between these various players.
21.
In particular, the council needs to make sure it engages with the influential players
whose decisions will have a major impact on the city and its future, for example in
some form of strategic think tank on the city’s future or coalition of major businesses.
The council needs to place itself in a position of influence so that it is part of key
dialogues and decisions of key leaders.
22.
Tackling major strategic issues such as crime and skills development will require
effective links with other municipalities, particularly the neighbouring municipalities of
Tshwane and Ekurhuleni. There is no formal and regular dialogue between Joburg
and its neighbouring municipalities at either political or managerial levels. They have
for example had no briefing or involvement in Joburg 2030 nor any formal discussion
on for example the airport. Joburg needs to lead the way on developing such
relationships and promote greater understanding of the regional dynamics on such
complex issues as crime and environmental degradation, and exploit opportunities
for joint working, knowledge sharing and efficiencies, for example on procurement.
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Service Delivery
23.
The city has done much to put in place the policies and infrastructure that will enable
it to improve service delivery. Service delivery excellence is a mayoral priority and
budget funds are being allocated to improve service delivery and to provide basic
services for the most deprived sections of the community. The physical infrastructure
of People Centres in the regions, the UACs and the call centres are established and
systems on performance management include a focus on customer results.
24.
However as one member of staff said `a world class city needs world class services
and standards’ At present there is a mismatch between the two. The city’s aspirations
are not reflected in the quality of services it provides. However worthy its ambitions,
the city is judged by its basic and most visible services - the cleanliness of the
streets, the working of traffic lights and accurate bills. Many people, from staff to
major partners, see this as a major issue. Complaints about services and the lack of
responsiveness of service providers, including many of the UAC’s, abound. There is a
strong commitment by the city to address this but this needs to be followed through
into a strategic approach to target improved service delivery in crucial areas, to
rigorously monitor performance targets and to invest time, skills and infrastructure to
deliver on the ground.
25.
Maximising social and economic development through local service delivery will
require a number of changes. All mainstream council services must be aligned,
designed and resourced to deliver this vision. Services need to be harnessed to
deliver the priorities. For example sports, culture, libraries and recreation can play a
crucial role in skills development and crime reduction. The business planning and
performance management process must reflect this.
26.
The silo mentality in service delivery needs to be broken down to achieve real change
and improvement. Although there are partnerships and alliances with external
agencies at the strategic level, this is not yet a recognised way of working for many
of the operational and technical services. There is also enormous potential to improve
internal links and joined up working between services. Poor coordination, lack of
ownership, lack of standard ways of going about things frustrates many front line
staff. They feel that a `turf mentality’ by service managers gets in the way of
change. They want the vision of a world-class city to link to world class standards
and a joined up one stop shop approach.
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Leading and Learning
Leadership
27.
There is a consistent message from wide range of people that the political leadership
of both the council and the city is well-regarded, mature and pragmatic. A clear
political vision is driving the organisation forward and providing a strong sense of
direction and purpose. The rotation of the Mayco meetings and Mayor’s walk-about
has enhanced visibility of the executive in the regions and local communities.
However some external partners feel there is potential for a more visible public
profile for the mayor with the senior players in public and private sector agencies and
in the press.
28.
It is evident that there is strong sense of teamwork between the top political and
managerial teams with a good mix of skills and abilities. The top management team
also earns a high degree of respect and there is clearly an excellent working
relationship between the senior managers. However there may be some need for
clarification on the roles of the political and managerial teams. The lack of role
demarcation between officials and politicians means that external people are not
always clear about who they need to deal with.
29.
The current span of control of the city manger is wide. Twenty-five managers report
directly to him, including all eleven regional directors. This needs to be addressed. It
potentially limits the capacity of the city manager to function strategically and means
that directors may not have access to the strategic support they need. It can mean
that communications between city manger and directors is weakened results in some
management issues for example annual appraisals not being carried out by the city
manager directly. There is a recognition of this and changes are in process.
30.
The cabinet type model adopted by the Mayoral Executive Committee has its pros
and cons. On the positive side the portfolio role provides strong accountability. This
was shown for example in the presentations of the budget for their portfolio in the
annual budget meeting. The cross-functional mayoral sub-committees provide
structured links on infrastructure, human capital and economic development.
However there is a danger of portfolios reinforcing silo thinking when integration and
a joined up strategic approach is what is required. The executive needs to lead the
development of more joined up thinking and integrated service delivery across all
portfolio areas and retain and enhance its capacity to challenge more traditional ways
of working and service delivery.
31.
Whilst the current political leadership is effective, there is potentially a need for more
targeted programmes to develop the next level of leadership and to address
succession planning from within the city council. There is a need to develop the
leadership potential of a wider group of councillors and a new cadre of leaders.
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Change Management
32.
This council has achieved major change in recent years. It is widely acknowledged to
have pioneered new approaches, set the pace for change and to be leading the
country on local government transformation. People feel Joburg’s achievements
prove that local government can successfully change and it is held in high regard for
the bold steps it has taken.
33.
Within the council it is acknowledged that the financial crisis in 1997 helped to pave
the way for the radical approach to change. There continues to be an in-depth
understanding of what needs to change by the political and managerial leadership
and recognition of the scale of change that remains to be delivered. It is evident that
at all levels, this change has involved difficult decisions on both large and small scale
issues. The creation of the arms length municipal companies to deliver some major
council services is a high profile example of a bold and difficult decision. Less visible
but no less important are the decisions taken by service managers to dismiss staff for
fraud and to address staff capability.
34.
The challenge now is to sustain the necessary momentum to see through the
changes and deliver on the ground; to avoid complacency and find challenges that
will act as an ongoing impetus for change. In particular, now the major infrastructure
is in place, the impact of these changes need to be managed alongside a recognition
that change will take time to embed. A more flexible approach may be needed to
balance stability and ongoing change and to ensure that the structures are in place to
rapidly discover, resolve, respond and learn from issues as they arise.
35.
A top down hard-edged approach to change has been necessary to get the city to its
current position. This now needs to be complemented by a softer touch that
recognises and develops the people in the organisation and encourages a more
bottom up approach. Staff feel that the management of change is top-down and that
managers make decisions without staff consultation. Not all staff are kept up to date
with the latest changes and this sometimes means that they are unable to help the
public. There is knowledge and energy for change at the front-line that can be
tapped and harnessed for service improvement and innovative solutions.
Motivation
36.
There are highly motivated people at all levels. Many people show a sense of pride
and privilege to be working for a leading edge organisation such as this. Staff are
motivated by the opportunity to serve their communities and feel that they are
making a difference. Managers welcome working for a municipality that is setting the
pace on change, trying hard to improve and offers opportunities to learn.
37.
There is a clear commitment to addressing employment equity and a recognition that
the old culture need to be replaced with more incentives and rewards. People
welcome the diversity in the workforce and feel that some people work well together
across all cultures and disciplines.
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38.
However whilst some people are happy in their work, others mention that staff
morale is an issue particularly among more junior and front-line staff. There is at
present no means of gauging the extent of this low morale or the main causes. A
staff survey could help to address this providing more knowledge about where it is,
what affects it and the basis for a strategy to address it. Staff are not necessarily
motivated by financial rewards. They want to feel they are appreciated by timely
thank you’s when they have made an effort and to work within an environment with
more of a team spirit.
39.
There is a specific need to acknowledge the contribution of staff working directly with
the public. They bear the brunt of the dissatisfaction of local people with services and
feel this is often unrecognised. There is a need as one manager said, `to touch those
who touch our customers’ and to acknowledge the vital role that all staff play of
being ambassadors for the city. The visibility of senior politicians and managers can
play an important role here. Most staff find their immediate manager approachable,
but both middle managers and staff would be motivated by greater contact with the
political and managerial leadership.
40.
There is a need too to think proactively about the city’s role in motivating external
people to work with Joburg and of motivating the local community. Some partners
talk of a `big brother’ and slightly intimidating approach by the city. Others suggest
that the city could use the new logo to generate new era of civic pride and civic
responsibility. This needs to challenge the image of the `gated community’ and
market a more positive city image that exploits the city’s uniqueness such as its
history both of apartheid and resistance to apartheid.
Learning and Innovation
41.
This is a clear strength of this council. It is a leading edge local authority that has
successfully pioneered innovative forms of service delivery at a strategic level. There
are also many examples of managers innovating to improve performance and service
delivery. For example, in one region staff are sending photos of service defects via email to the UACs which has resulted in a more prompt response; personnel are
piloting an e-learning project with the UACs; the council’s web-site gets wide praise;
and there is innovation evident in local initiatives in the inner-city and the townships.
42.
There is a real openness to learning and experience through change by both
politicians and managers. For example now that the UACs are established, changes
are being made to reflect the different roles needed in the council in relation to such
companies. The chief whip is playing a key role in bringing the learning from the
ward level to the mayor and executive.
43.
The move to UACs in itself has enabled a break from traditional ways of working and
represents considerable innovation. There is considerable potential to learn from this.
This is happening for example through the Human Resources and Internal Audit
forums and through regular meetings of the regional managers.
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44.
However there is probably considerable potential to widen this sharing of good
practice and learning throughout the organisation, including both the regions and the
UACs, so that more innovative ways of working can be imported into the mainstream
services. This learning needs to be part of the experience of all managers with
regular opportunities to meet. There is also considerable potential to learn more from
the front-line people in contact with the customers and from the ward committees.
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Democratising Development
Democratic Representation
45.
The Council functions effectively and the decision-making flow between the
administration, portfolio committees, the executive and the Council is well-oiled and
efficient. The secretariat function is well performed and has adapted effectively to
the restructuring of council’s functioning.
46.
The task of managing more than 200 councillors is a challenging one in any
circumstances and Joburg seems to be managing it effectively. The way in which the
whip system has been introduced with regular meetings between the party whips
appears to be successful and has possible lessons for other councils. In addition, a
regular meeting of a governance committee comprising the Mayor, the Speaker and
the Chief Whip ensures good co-ordination between the needs of the executive, the
council as a whole and the caucuses.
47.
The establishment of an executive mayor system brings both advantages and
challenges. It facilitates a more responsive executive able to make decisions speedily
and efficiently. However, care needs to be taken that the decision-making process
remains transparent and accessible. There was feedback that it was sometimes not
clear why matters had been referred back by the Mayoral Executive Committee or
even sometimes what decisions had been made.
Community Empowerment
48.
Impressive progress has been made in establishing a ward committee system. The
ward committees the team met were enthusiastic and committed and comprised
representatives of a wide range of sectoral interests. They have tremendous
potential and reflect an enhanced spirit of voluntarism that is a powerful force to be
tapped. The commitment of the regions to supporting the ward committees and
finding ways to foster committee spirit and morale was encouraging. In one region
for example, local sponsors had been arranged to provide simple inexpensive gifts to
ward committee members as a token of appreciation for their attendance at
meetings.
49.
Ward committees will however require considerable nurturing and development if
they are to be sustained as dynamic flagships of local democracy and catalysts for
local action. This will require at the most obvious level more training and
development for ward committee members and other community leadership. It will
also require more focused communication with ward committees to ensure that
relevant information of both very local and city wide importance is systematically fed
through to the ward committees and that this is balanced by effective communication
of ward issues to the centre and UACs through the regions.
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50.
Most importantly, sustained and meaningful involvement will require a deeper more
substantial vision of the ward committee role than currently pertains. For example,
some municipalities elsewhere are experimenting with community based planning as
a way of developing a coherent ward plan. The ward committee becomes the
custodian of the plan. This gives focus to its activities and establishes a meaningful
long-term agenda.
51.
There also appears to be potential in creating city-wide forums for interest groups
based on ward committee sector representatives such as youth and sports forums.
Such forums could both be a useful resource in developing city-wide approaches to
issues affecting the sector as well as a means of promoting ward level action to
support such approaches.
Consultation and Participation
52.
Joburg has just completed an extensive consultation process regarding its IDP as its
primary vehicle for citizen and stakeholder participation in setting the direction and
priorities of the council. The process was seen as positive and successful by both
internal and external stakeholders. In addition, a large number of mechanisms for
community consultation and participation have been developed including the IDP
stakeholder forums, ward committee, health committees and the stakeholder forums
associated with individual projects.
53.
A number of factors inhibit the ability of external stakeholders to engage meaningfully
with the municipality. Community structures in Joburg are currently fairly weak.
There is also a limited civil society capacity to engage effectively on policy issues –
the range and capacity of NGOs and lobby groups focused on city policy issues has
declined over the past decade.
54.
There is thus a need to consider what the city can do to support the re-emergence of
a critically engaged civil society that complements its development activity and
provides the critical external comment and new thinking that Joburg requires to
become a world class African city. There are no easy solutions to this question but
there are many examples of good practice internationally which can be drawn upon.
Consumer and User Focus
55.
There is a recognition amongst key staff that there is much to be done to
substantially improve the citizen and service user focus of the municipality and the
UACs and that there has been some systematic progress in establishing an
infrastructure to drive greater customer focus. A comment from one senior manager
that an immediate priority was increasing the number of complaints from the public
was an exciting and appropriate insight – a recognition that building a more active
and vocal citizenry that felt confident to complain about service was a very important
pressure for improving citizen/service user focus.
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56.
The establishment of an ambitious concept of People’s Centres has been a bold
attempt to create a more accessible and integrated service point for the individual
citizen/service user. The compelling design of the Centres, the friendliness of staff
and the range of services offered represent a marked improvement on the typical
point of interface between the citizen and most municipal and public sector
organizations.
57.
The performance criteria of Centre staff in terms of the through-put they are required
to achieve has also had made Centre staff much more proactive in being accessible
to citizens. Thus, the staff of one Centre had to set up temporary booths in shopping
centres to meet their targets.
58.
The call centre also represents a major improvement in citizen/service user access as
well as a powerful device for the central administration to monitor the performance
of UACs and regions. For the first time, real-time information regarding the
complaints of the citizens/service users regarding all the services of the city is
available from a single source.
59.
The establishment of the Centres and the call centre has gone hand in hand with big
strides in building the e-government capability of the municipality – the single
integrated complaint logging system being one important component of this growing
capability. This is complemented by an excellent web-site.
60.
The call centre and regions as powerful points of service integration and access at
the level of the citizen/service user also create important internal pressures on the
UACs and other services to operate in a more citizen/user focused and accountable
manner. For example, the different regional and electricity service boundaries meant
that one regional manager had to deal with 3 different City Power service areas
liaison persons for complaints where it was not always clear within which City Power
areas the complaint emanated from. The obvious complexity of this approach for
both citizens and regions is now having the effect that a single electricity liaision
person is being identified for each region as a single access point. Thus, the UACs
are having to re-organise themselves in order to provide a more seamless service
that is better aligned with regional boundaries.
61.
Notwithstanding the progress, there is a need for more attention and focus on
consumer/service user service. An overarching “customer care” strategy is needed to
support this. This must involve better understanding and segmentation of different
groups of citizens/service users and the customization of service in order to provide a
better more appropriate and more affordable service to all. For example, there is a
need to better understand how reach out people without easy access to the existing
infrastructure, especially the very poor, and how different points of access function
for different kinds of people.
62.
The development of the UACs also needs to managed in a manner that enhances the
provision of an integrated seamless service to the people.
There is an
understandable push by the UACs to establish their own identity and unique
relationship with their consumers/service users. However, this needs to be managed
and balanced against the need to provide a seamless joined up service. It is for
example important that all service entities including UACs be accessed through the
same call centre number and that their systems be compatible with the common
complaint logging system.
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63.
The major capital investment in consumer/service user infrastructure outlined above
brings with it some other obvious challenges. It needs firstly to be matched by
sufficient training of staff to maximise the advantages of the infrastructure. There is
work to be done in this area. The menu of services available at the centres and
through the call centre will also need to be reviewed on an on-going basis with a
view to ensuring that an optimal range and mix of municipal, other government and
even private sector services in order to maximize the overall attractiveness of the
Centre as a destination for people. In addition, the investment must be balanced
with number of consumers who have access to the system and a proactive effort to
extend the accessibility of the call centre, people’s centres and other interfaces needs
to be undertaken.
Communication with the Public
64.
Joburg recognizes the critical importance of effective communication and there was
evidence of many efforts to communicate more effectively with stakeholders and the
public.
65.
There are good media relations and there is a positive local press that is generally
both friendly and critical. The branding strategy and new logo also represent an
important step forward in developing a positive and motivating image of Joburg for
communication purposes.
66.
The regions are also playing an important role in driving more local communication
using various forms of media from local freebies, to pamphlets to mobile public
announcements.
It remains true that Joburg has a major challenge to build the public credibility of
Council. There appears to be a continued public perception that Joburg makes
promises which it does not fulfill and that service delivery is poor. There does seem
to be a solid platform of achievement in recent years on which to begin to turn this
perception around and to build a new public confidence. There is a need to review
the external communications approach and develop a more comprehensive strategy.
As part of this, Joburg should seek to exploit all its existing service outlets such as
clinics, paypoints, People’s Centres and so on as key communication points providing
a coherent common message.
67.
68.
There also appears to be a communication gap with at least some of the UACs that
are no longer in the internal communication loop in the same way as when they were
fully part of the former administration. For example, some of the UACs and other
important outside bodies were not clearly informed of the launch of the new logo and
had to pull marketing programmes using the old logo at the last moment.
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Integrating, Coordinating and Managing
Institutional Arrangements
69.
There has been a strong emphasis on institutional restructuring through the
institutional restructuring plan and eGoli 2002 to respond to the council’s financial
crisis. This has involved both the establishment of the 11 Regions and the creation of
the UACs for some of the council’s major services. The restructuring plan is clear and
well understood within and outside council and provides a basis for continuing to
build ownership and support. Joburg is seen as a trendsetter in many different ways
by implementing the plan and many other councils are waiting to see how this works.
70.
There is strong evidence that the regional directors are committed to implementing
corporate strategy at local level. However there are issues that have arisen in the
operations of the regional structures that need to be addressed. The lines of
accountability between central managers and decentralised service deliverers
accountable to regional directors generates tensions around the central director’s
perceived ability to deliver services. These tensions could be transitional but there is
a need to regularly evaluate how things are working to optimise both strategy and
service delivery. A strong network of relationships and a supportive culture needs to
be built and maintained to facilitate the functioning of the more matrix systems now
in operation.
71.
There is also a need to regularly review the central-regional allocation of functions to
ensure that customer focus is maintained. For example some services like addressing
revenue complaints and building plan approvals can still only be done centrally.
Ideally the People Centre would serve as a one stop shop providing initial access to
all services and technological development should be exploited to facilitate this–
people need to learn to work and operate in these new complex environments
72.
The UACs establishment is an obvious success story of the council. Their
management seems to be very positive on the one hand. On the other hand, there
has been strong and bold decision-making by the council in respect of nonperforming boards and executives. There is the important recognition that the
relationship should not be based on control but on putting in place correct systems
for delivery and monitoring delivery. There are also positive examples of integrating
Council and UACs service delivery with a shared service centre to ensure centralised
integrated billing and revenue management which is already assisting in service
integration and in identifying key problem areas through customer surveys.
73.
However it is vital to address day to day service delivery problems of UACs. There is
considerable evidence from local people of poor `response. Problems are logged but
there is often poor and slow response by UACs. Service level agreements need to
look at how to remedy non-performance on ‘day-to-day’ problems of delivery and to
build a culture of co-operation and linking relationships to achieve overall corporate
vision and goals. The trend to separate call centers should be discouraged as there is
evidence of this causing increased confusion on how to access the service.
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Planning and Performance Management
74.
The new performance management system represents big step forward from
previous approach. It is a well-designed, robust system that is being systematically
implemented. Efforts are being made at levels 2 and 3 to link service delivery to
broader corporate priorities. Cross council linkages are emerging at sectoral and
project level to plan and integrate delivery. The growing use of non-cash rewards
(such as “employee of the month” awards and so on) is interesting and can be
developed.
75.
It is one thing to have the system in place but another to develop the culture to put
it into practice. This system will need to be supported by a strong programme of
developmental and organisational culture change to ensure that attitudes of the past
are not embedded in the new systems. For example, some staff have used contracts
to say they will not do things which are not in contracts.
76.
This culture change should help employees to understand how they contribute to
making the city work as a whole. Developmental activity for staff might include work
circles for service improvement, bureaucracy busting initiatives, multi-skilling, skills
development and so on.
Human Resource Management
77.
The initial focus of human resources in the organisation has been on getting the
basics in place such as the integration of payroll and bedding down the migration of
records, systems, and financial viability. Work on parity and uniform conditions is
nearly complete.
78.
There has been excellent progress on employment equity and managing diversity
with good legislative compliance and positive inter-staff relationships. This is helped
by the non-defensive culture that is able to deal with negative feedback. There is a
good diversity of staff at all levels across the organisation
79.
Some staff feel that internal communications are improving. However internal
communication is fragmented and there is a lack of clear responsibility for this role.
There is also no common coherent staff induction process.
80.
Organisational development activity is currently dependent on outside consultants
and is not playing a significant role yet. It will need substantial development over
time. There is the need to pull together an long-term organizational development
strategy as a starting point.
81.
There is an historic perception of poor labour relations. The unions appear to
support the city’s development agenda but not the restructuring agenda. This is
being addressed by the separation of information sharing, consultation issues and
bargaining issues. These steps need to be complemented by improved access to the
political leadership, improved communication and earlier involvement in processes to
build ownership of the change agenda. It will require time to get beyond the
historical lack of trust but the council should be proactive in creating a more
constructive basis for engagement.
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Operations and Project Management
82.
Joburg has evident capacity to deliver on major projects and change. The roll out of
the institutional restructuring process including the establishment of the UACs, the
regions, people’s centre and the call centre has been systematic and sustained.
83.
Now that the strategies and institutional infrastructure are in place, there needs to be
a major focus on operations. The strategic level is covered, the functional level is
covered, now the operational level needs to change through investment in improving
service delivery in key areas. There is an opportunity to use the performance
management system to target areas for operational improvement and to ensure that
all operational managers have the tools and techniques available to them to deliver.
Systems and Process Management
84.
There has been solid progress on contract management processes. There is positive
recognition of the different client and shareholder roles on the UACs although the
initial focus on their financial performance was probably correct.
85.
There is however some lack of alignment between the new strategy and old rules
and procedures. Bureaucratic and out-dated ways of working abound in the council
and there is a need to develop ways of cutting through these blockages and of
tracking the value chain to understand how bureaucratic policies and procedures
block efficiency and flexibility.
86.
This is partly about having clear roles and responsibilities but also about levels of
delegation.
Clear levels of delegation need to be developed alongside the
performance management system so that clear expectations of having to deliver
specified outcomes are balanced by individual managers having the necessary
powers to deliver. One manager cited the difficulty of being able to purchase a water
cooler for staff who have high levels of telephone contact with the public.
87.
There need to be clear, well communicated and monitorable standards for all services
including the UACs, central departments and the regions. The public and all staff,
particularly those dealing with the public at People Centres and the call centers, need
to know what standards they can expect and to be able to use them to monitor
service delivery. A process and time frame should be set for achieving this that links
standards to performance measures and possibly publishing some form of `service
guarantee’ for the public on key services. Such standard setting could be linked to
benchmarking performance internationally, nationally and between regions.
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Financial, Asset and Risk Management
88.
The council is to be congratulated on achieving a major turnaround on the financial
crisis that it faced from 1997. The financial actuals have improved substantially and
the Council and the UACs are all on a fairly solid financial footing. There are strong
financial management procedures and controls in place at the macro level. As a
consequence, the council’s credit rating has improved and now has a much improved
ability to borrow money. The budget speech that took place during the week of the
review was impressive showing a clear longer term strategy that is enabling the
funding of social needs and allocating both capital and revenue to council priorities.
89.
Internal audit is strong with a well developed risk management strategy and a strong
commitment to tackling bad practice throughout the organisation.
90.
It is evident that many problems still remain. Many of them have been identified and
processes are in motion to address them – this list includes the billing system which
is a source of much complaint by the public, internal financial controls and asset
management. It is clear that real efforts are being made to deal with these. Fraud
too is an ongoing risk but the zero tolerance approach and the support of this by
politicians is impressive.
91.
The biggest risk remains the poor rate of revenue collection. This will continue to
threaten Jo’burg financial sustainability unless substantial progress is made in the
next few years. It is important to recognize that improved revenue collection failure
is a cross-cutting issues with varied and complex causes that requires commitment
from the whole organization. It is in the end about the relationship between the
council and its citizens. Levels of payment of a powerful indicator of the state of this
relationship.
92.
These are issues listed above also need to be addressed at operational level by
promoting strict financial stewardship disciplines and accountability by managers
responsible for line functions and operations.
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Recommendations
There are many ideas for improvement in this report that the review team hopes the council
will pursue. However, the following recommendations are felt to be the most important ones
for the council to address to build on its strengths and address the issues identified in this
report.
Maximising social and economic development
1.
The council needs to ensure that there is a strategic approach to maximising both
social and economic development. This strategy must then align the council’s capacity
to deliver the economic as well as the social agenda. This requires building capacity in
some key areas, for example economic development; ensuring that the all mainstream
municipal services are harnessed to deliver the strategic priorities; and regular
monitoring of a range of `quality of life’ indicators. .
2.
There needs to be a drive from the top of the organisation to target improved service
delivery in crucial areas including the UACs. This must break through old-fashioned
ways of working, developing rigorous monitoring of performance targets and ensure
the investment of time, skills and infrastructure in the essential operations that will
deliver on the ground.
3.
The vision of a world class African city needs translating into some clear and simple
messages that link to the reality of service delivery on the ground. These must then be
communicated to all staff and stakeholders by the political and managerial leadership.
4.
The council needs to think strategically about the key partnerships with private and
public agencies that will be needed to deliver the vision. This must include:
 leading a partnership of the key influential players in the city who can work with
the city to deliver the `world class city’ with greater visibility of leading politicians in
this role;
 developing closer working relationships with neighbouring municipalities in the
region.
Leading and learning
5.
There is a need to clarify the roles and relationships at various levels in the
organisation. This needs to include:
 clear roles of the political and managerial executive;
 greater focus on cross-cutting responsibilities for portfolio holders;
 lines of accountability between central managers and regional service deliverers;
 consideration of the number of directors reporting directly to the city manager.
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6.
The council needs to develop an organisational development strategy to take forward
the next stage in the change programme. This should promote a more people focussed
approach to change and develop mechanisms to embed the current changes and learn
from good practice. This needs to include:
 assessing staff motivation and morale through a regular survey;
 programmes to involve staff in service improvement;
 the development of a consistent management culture and style;
 opportunities for learning and sharing good practice;
 a consistent staff induction process.
Democratising development
7.
The council needs to continue to build and develop the role of the ward committees.
This could be done for example by:
 an annual conference of ward councillors and their committees to enable the
sharing of good practice and the development of the role;
 considering the allocation of small amounts of discretionary funding for the ward
councillors;
 improved provision of training and information for ward councillor and their
committees, particularly information related to service performance in their area;
 using the committees as the basis for the development of civil society and
community development for example developing citywide forums on issues common
to ward committee such as youth, health and education;
 considering the development of ward based action plans;
 using the committees to develop a stronger sense of civic pride at the local level.
8.
There is a need for a more strategic approach to improving customer care throughout
council services. This needs to include:
 Using the proposed customer survey to target improved perceptions in customer
service;
 Setting clear and monitorable standards that the public can expect from all services
including the UACs;
 Improved training and development for staff in handling customer queries;
 Improved and joined up processes for handling customer complaints and queries;
 Ensuring that access to services is improved for all groups including those with no
access to technology;
 Reviewing central-regional allocation of functions to ensure optimal access to all
services.
9.
The council needs to develop a strategic approach to its work on both external and
internal communication and ensure that the appropriate resources to implement
proposed actions back this up. A vital part of this needs to be building the confidence
of the public in council services and the marketing of the city to generate civic pride.
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Integrating, co-ordinating and managing
10.
Ensure that the new performance management system is embedded into the work of
the whole council. To be effective it needs to be backed up by robust data collection
and appropriate levels of delegation of budget and responsibilities to managers.
Consideration should also be given as soon as possible to the collection and publication
of service delivery performance on a ward by ward and region by region basis.
11.
Continue to develop and improve the management of labour relations.
12. Use IT and technology to simplify some key business processes and free up the
organisation from old-fashioned and bureaucratic ways of working. The use of some
visible `bureaucracy-busting’ staff task groups who have the direct ear of a leading
politician if the encounter problems could help with this.
13. There need to be clear systems to ensure good financial stewardship at operational
level with clear expectation of adherence to centrally set procedures, strict controls and
accountability by managers responsible.
14. There is a need to develop a robust asset management strategy.
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Appendix One
Maximising social development and economic growth
`The powers and functions of local government should be exercised in a way that has a
maximum impact on the social development of communities – in particular meeting the basic
needs of the poor – an on the growth of the local economy. ‘
Key characteristics include:
-
a clear vision for the local economy
partnership working with local business to maximise job creation and investment
provision of basic household infrastructure
affirmative procurement policies
policies and programmes aimed at alleviating poverty and enhancing job creation
promoting social development through council functions and services – arts and
culture, recreational and community facilities, social welfare, childcare provision
provision of access for disabled people
empowering marginalized groups
Integrating and Coordinating
`Developmental local government must provide a vision and leadership for all those who
have a role to play in achieving local prosperity. Municipalities should actively develop ways
to leverage resources and investment from both the public and private sectors to meet
developmental targets’
Key characteristics include:
- integrated development planning and budgeting
- performance management
- financial plans
- human resource development including training of councillors and officials
- effective labour relations
- coordination of services and regulations
- effective institutional structures and systems
- the capacity to strategise, integrate and interface with community interests
- close working with other spheres of government
- horizontal cooperation between municipalities
- leveraging resources from other sectors and agencies
- more effective service delivery and good basic service provision
- working together with local citizens and partners
Democratising Development
Municipal councils play a central role in promoting local democracy. In addition to
representing community interests within the council , municipal councillors should promote
the involvement of citizens and community groups in the design and delivery of municipal
programmes.
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Key characteristics include:
- leadership, encouragement and support for community development
- community participation in local projects and programmes
- the involvement of youth organisations
- promoting the participation of marginalized and excluded groups
- planned subsidisation of poorer households
- links between profitable growth and investment with social benefits
- strategies for poverty eradication, including addressing the needs of women
Leading and Learning
`Developmental municipalities needs to be guided by strong political leadership, able to
make difficult policy judgements, work with a range of players and guide the actions of the
administration to promote the social and economic well-being of their local communities. ‘
Key characteristics include:
- political leadership that can bring together coalitions and networks to realise a
shared vision
- increased accountability and transparency of decision making
- demonstrating value for money
- a commitment to open partnership working with business, trades unions, and
community based organisations.
- Enhancing local democracy and human rights issues
- Promoting constitutional values and principles
- Building an awareness of environmental issues
- Investing in youth development
- Empowering marginalized groups
- Empowering ward councillors as community leaders
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