Perceptions of productivity on service delivery during the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup : a case of Sedibeng District Municipality

Abstract

A number of government initiatives have been established over recent years (1994- 2010) to address the challenge of raising overall quality of life by improving productivity in South Africa. High productivity at a municipal level contributes to the overall productivity of the national economy, which in turn helps to create higher living standards. Workplace productivity refers to how efficiently and effectively an institution can turn its inputs, such as labour and capital, into outputs, such as products and services. Finding ways to increase productivity is a task that can be both frustrating and time consuming. Sedibeng District Municipality (SDM) as one of the South African local municipalities required to meet the development mandate for improving the lives of the people. Mega-events such as the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa are perceived as an inhibiting factor towards service delivery. SDM is also challenged to complement the requirements of the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup to its daily activities. There are mixed opinions about the event. There are misconceptions about mega-events such as the FIFA World Cup, whereby managers estimated that there will be lost hours of productivity. Some managers predicted that a strong performance by the SDM would help the municipality’s ailing economy through boosted sales for beverages, food and the team's apparels. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the perceptions of productivity on service delivery during the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup at SDM. Exploration was also made on whether the effective strategic planning can help to improve productivity for future mega events such as the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. As a result to this, a hypothesis was developed that “a focused effort and strategic approaches to increase workplace productivity during mega events (2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup) in SDM is essential, towards continuous improvement of municipal management and operations in order to deliver sustainable competitive advantage”. The hypothesis and research objectives of the study were validated by means of a literature review and empirical surveys and, in so doing open-ended and closed-ended estionnaires were used to interview participants. For the achievement of the primary objective of the study, five chapters were structured to realize the objectives of this study. This was done through a literature review by means of interviews and questionnaires to the SDM and its community members. A sample of 60 community members and municipal employees were consulted for this study. The research findings highlighted the outcomes of the research and verified the assertions made in this study. The study found that: • Productivity plays an important role in municipal service delivery, and it should be a priority and primary objective towards effective service delivery in all municipalities. • Productivity growth is important because, as a key driver of real GDP growth, it improves the prosperity and living standards of the population in SDM. • The absence of an effective strategy may lead to lack and low productivity • Strategic plan in the SDM plays an important role in ensuring sustainable delivery of services. • The impact of the FIFA 2010 World Cup, were minimal, whereby the plans of SDM were incorporated in the Integrated Development Plan for 2006-2010. • The event boosted the moral of community members and for small businesses in SDM. The study concludes with a series of recommendations for an effective public participation process in poverty alleviation programmes for communities, and for further research.