Human resources status and department responsible for recreation service delivery in the North West Province of South Africa

Abstract

It is a known fact that the provision of recreation facilities alone is not enough, and that there is a growing demand for professionally trained people and suitable department, to develop and enhance the delivery of recreation services. The purpose of this study was to determine the human resources status and department responsible for recreation service delivery in the North West province, South Africa. A mixed-method research design using a questionnaire and focus group were used on a targeted 20 personnel who are responsible for managing recreation at local government levels in the North West Province. Frequencies and phi coefficients were calculated for the quantitative data, while for qualitative data patterns were established. The results show that the majority (75%) of the local governments are in the rural settings whilst 25% found in urban areas with limited resources. It was found that 60% of the personnel are in the middle management with 40% in the top management. A total of 25% of the personnel are reported to have diploma qualification. From the results it is clear that recreation services delivery is widely spread across numerous service points; the Department of Parks accounted for 25%; Social Services 20% and other departments 20%, and 35% uncertainty. The focus groups discussion indicated that no agreement regarding which department must be responsible for recreation service delivery. It is concluded from the present results that human resources and department responsible for recreation service delivery are inconsistent and as such warranting urgent intervention from stakeholders dealing with recreation.