1,720,959 research outputs found
A critical evaluation of the South African intergovernmental grant system
Get PDFM.Comm.That there has been a revolution in intergovernmental fiscal relations system is undeniable. The political and constitutional transformation that took place in South Africa has not gone unnoticed in the civil society, and certainly not in the international world affairs. After a period close to a decade of democratic system of governance in South Africa, the time is more than ripe to do a comprehensive review of intergovernmental fiscal relations. Given the variety of demands and pressures on the system, both from policy and from a constitutional point of view, it is important to reflect on the performance of the system in a manner that prepares it for future challenges. Provinces are no longer merely spending agencies for central government. Instead, they have been empowered by the Constitution to fashion their own policy priorities in certain areas and to translate these into resource allocations that will support these policy objectives. The focus of this study is to critically evaluate the South African intergovernmental grant system since 1994, noting the changes, successes and challenges that constitute future areas of improvement. The results can be used by other policy analysts, managers and can also constitute the basis for future research
Exploring the big data maturity level of a metropolitan municipality in Gauteng Province, South Africa
No full textA research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in the field of Digital Business to the Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management, Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024A recent study by the World Bank highlights the importance of public sector organizations to embark on digital transformation. Public sector organizations that successfully undertake digital transformation journey serve their customers better; become more competitive; and improve their financial performance. Significantly, they also improve their digital maturity levels. Using a case study design, this study explored the big data maturity status quo of the Tshwane metropolitan municipality. Data maturity assessments are needful in the public sector to assist them in digital technology adoption. Conceptually, the study used the Resource View (RBV) theory to understand the extent to which this city optimizes big data as a strategic resource for decision-making. The study also used the Dynamic Capabilities Theory (DCT) to explore the extent to which big data analytics is leveraged to enhance capabilities of the city to improve service delivery. In this regard, the study focussed on five themes, viz: (a) organizational vision and strategy, (b) customer relations management, (c) data-driven- decision-making, (d) data governance, and (e) deployment of industry 4.0 best practices and/or systems. Following a qualitative design, the researcher collected data from 20 managers, using two data collection strategies. First, a focus group discussion was used to collect data from 8 managers at operational management level. A purposive sampling method was used. Secondly, structured questionnaires were administered to 12 managers, of which 6 were middle management level, and 6 were top management level incumbents. The study finds that there is no common understanding regarding the vision and strategy for digital transformation in the city. Big data analytics is not optimally used for purposes of innovation, and operational and strategic decision-making. This study contributes by uncovering some of the challenges faced by public sector organisations as far as using data to drive decision-making is concerned. In this regard, the study also tables some of the remedies and interventions that can be embarked upon to undermine some of the key teething challengesMM202
Exploring the feasibility of green burials in the City of Tswane Metropolitan Municipality
No full textA research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Urban Studies in Urban Management to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Architecture and Planning, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022The traditional burial methods currently used in South Africa do not promote environmental sustainability. Yet, globally, some cities have begun to use the green burial method to address some of the concerns regarding the environmental risks. The green burial method goes a long way in contributing towards the preservation of the natural systems for future generations. This research report sought to investigate the extent to which the green burials concept would be supported in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (CTMM). Using a qualitative method, employing interviewsfor primary data collection, this research found that the green burial method receives overwhelming support from the CTMM functionaries, particularly for environmental sustainability. This research recommends that the CTMM engage communities about the green burial method, with a view to enabling the rolling out of the implementation of the green burial method in the near futureNG (2023
The Impact of Free Municipal Wi-Fi on the Citizens’ Right to the City, Good Governance, and Service Delivery in an African Context: the Perspectives of the Residents of Pretoria Central Business District (CBD) in the City of Tshwane, South Africa
Get PDFJust after the year 2010, big cities in South Africa started to introduce programmes to provide free data,
especially to their disadvantaged communities. This came in the context of a broader appreciation that access
to data is no more a luxury, but rather a basic necessity for daily livelihood in the context of the fourth
industrial revolution. The increasing explosion of the fourth industrial revolution is been driven partly by the
pervasive digitization of things, which results in big volumes and a variety of data flowing from
heterogeneous sources at increasing velocity. In this regard, all eight (8) metropolitan municipalities in South
Africa (Buffalo City, Tshwane, Johannesburg, eThekwini, Ekurhuleni, Mangaung, Nelson Mandela Bay, and
Cape Town) are currently implementing free Wi-Fi programmes to improve access to data. Some of the
secondary cities in South Africa have also followed suit. Non-governmental role players have also started to
provide free wireless internet sites as well. These efforts are most commendable in an African context,
noting that the average internet penetration level in Africa is approximately 43.1%, compared to the global
average of 66.2%. Significantly, these interventions are also commendable because they are in sync with the
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11, that of building sustainable cities and communities. However,
from an empirical research perspective, the impact of such incredible initiatives on imperatives such as
improving the citizen’s right to the city, good governance, and enhanced service delivery in an African
context is yet to be fully understood. So, the question is: to what extent can free municipal Wi-Fi to assist
citizens to realize these three development imperatives, viz: realize their right to the city, good governance,
and enhanced service delivery? To this end, this study empirically investigated the perspectives of the
residents in the Pretoria Central Business District (CBD) in the City of Tshwane, South Africa. The City of
Tshwane is the Capital City of South Africa. This study utilized a case study design and is qualitative in
nature. Both primary and secondary sources were used. Fifty (50) residents in the Pretoria CBD responded to
a randomly administered online survey. The results were analyzed by categorical aggregation and content
analysis. The findings reveal that the Pretoria CBD residents feel that the Tshwane free Wi-Fi is making
more impact in enabling the citizens to enjoy the informational right to the city and good governance, and
lesser compared to improving service delivery. In conclusion, the researchers recommend an expansion of
more free Wi-Fi sites in the Pretoria CBD to accommodate an increasing student population in the area, to
make the Pretoria CBD more liveable, and sustainable, and to entrench social justice. However, the City of
Tshwane would need to find an innovative funding model because the free Wi-Fi programmes are not cheap
Towards a Conceptual Framework for Sustainable Municipal Free Wi-Fi Interventions in South Africa: a City of Tshwane Case Study
Get PDFThe Fourth Industrial Revolution is a reality to be reckoned with in cities. Many cities across the world have ventured into various technological innovations to keep up with the demands of the need for free and/or affordable data in the context of data drive smart cities. However, in the African context, there are valid concerns that such interventions are often not sustainable. This paper provides an attempt to contribute a conceptual framework for a sustainable municipal technological innovations in municipalities, using the municipals free Wi-Fi as an example. Currently, there is no framework model, and many municipalities are implementing free Wi-Fi in rather uncoordinated ways, leading to unsustainable outcomes. The paper was based on literature review and empirically gathered views of key local government stakeholders in South Africa
Spatial Justice in the Distribution of Smart City Digital Technologies: Three Area-Based Case Studies of Free Municipal Wi-Fi in the City of Tshwane, South Africa
Get PDFIn South Africa, urban planning legislation entrenches the principles of equity, good governance, and spatial justice. In countries such as China and India spatial inequalities in the allocation of digital technologies are high. Cities need to distribute digital technologies fairly and equitably so that opportunities are availed to citizens in ways that promote spatial justice. In a country such as South Africa, this is vital because apartheid has entrenched planning practices of favoring certain places at the exclusion of others. This paper provides an attempt to understand the extent to which the allocation of free Wi-Fi sites in the City of Tshwane is done in ways that promote the implementation of the principles of spatial justice, access, and equity. The paper focuses on three areas only: Pretoria Central Business District (CBD), Mamelodi Township, and Soshanguve Township. The paper used a mixed method research approach, combining a desktop literature review, empirically gathered views of some key stakeholders, as well as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) map analysis of the free Wi-Fi sites in the three areas under analysis. The authors find that there is some degree of spatial justice in terms of allocating free Wi-Fi sites in the three areas. However, it is not clear if the City has a policy to inform the allocation of the free Wi-Fi infrastructure in communities. It is also not clear if the City has some scientific, objective tool/criterion for allocating free Wi-Fi sites in different regions/areas. In the absence of such a framework, key decisions about allocating free Wi-Fi infrastructure could be based on political considerations, and threaten the sustainability of the programme. Going forward, the City needs to develop an objective policy framework, which should encapsulate principles of spatial justice, transparency, fairness, and equity for allocating free Wi-Fi infrastructure
Policy and Legislative Enabling Environment for Implementing Digital Technologies in the Local Government Sector: a Case Study of South Africa
Get PDFThe Fourth Industrial Revolution has necessitated all organizations, private and public alike, to review their systems, processes, and frameworks to enable them to be agile, efficient, effective, etc in executing their core service delivery mandates. A key component of enablers for digital transfromation is policy and legislation. Focussing on the municipal sector, this paper is an attempt to provide an overview of the policies, regulations, and legislation affecting municipalities in South Africa and to analyze the extent to which these policies and legislation enable or inhibit the rollout of digital technologies. The paper isbased on a desktop literature review and a review of policies and laws having a direct bearing on the operations of municipalities in South Africa. The preliminary results lead the authors to conclude that South African municipalities do not have a deficit of policy and legislative frameworks to enable them to roll out digital technologies. So, what is needed more is the administrative and political will to execute. However, the authors assert that going forward, there are areas that need further attention. These include resolving the funding modalities, and developing supportive framework/s to guide municipalities so that as they roll out digital technologies, they don’t risk sustainability imperatives
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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