THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONTEXTUAL FACTOR AND SERVICE DELIVERY PERCEPTIONS IN A MAJOR CITY IN SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

South African municipalities have in recent times been piqued with unprecedented service delivery protests, indicative of a failure to provide these amenities as expected. With soaring levels of unemployment and rampant poverty, it follows that poor service delivery adds to growing dissatisfaction in these communities. This study aimed to investigate perceptions of the permanent staff of a major city regarding the role that contextual factors, such as a controlled environment (the presence of leadership capacity and the lack of functional support), control activities, strategic planning, management information systems, performance monitoring, and ethics, play in service delivery. This study employed a cross-sectional design to reach its objectives based on the positive paradigm and quantitative approach. The results suggest that below mid-level ethics and service delivery scores were observed. In addition, ethics and service delivery were positively related to a capable control environment strategic planning, control activities, a solid management information system, and a lack of supporting functions in the control environment. Ethics also proved to be only a statistically signifi cant predictor of service delivery. Recommendations for the organisation, future research and suggested limitations of the study are also discussed.