Factors that Affect Municipal Service Delivery in Gauteng and North West Provinces of South Africa

This study attempts to identify and quantify factors that affect service delivery by local government counsellors in the Gauteng and North-West provinces. The study is based on a stratified random sample of size n=300 respondents. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used for data collection and analysis in the study. The study showed that overall satisfaction with the quality of services provided at the two sites of study (Tshwane District and Madibeng municipalities) was influenced by similar factors based on results obtained from data analysis. This shows that there was no significant difference between the residents of Tshwane District and Madibeng municipalities with regards to expectations from service providers and elected officials who are responsible for the delivery of municipal services. Significant results obtained from Pearson's chi-square tests of associations (P=0.000) showed that young men protesting about the poor quality of services in urban and semi-urban areas were characterized by low levels of household income (below 10,000 Rand per month), inability to find employment opportunities, low level of formal education (below matric level), young age (below 30 years of age), and poor level of artisan skills. Results obtained from binary logistic regression analysis showed that dissatisfaction with the quality of services provided by elected counsellors was significantly influenced by four factors. These four factors were: (1) low household income [OR = 9.03; P = 0.000; 95% CI = (3.55, 22.36)]; (2) unemployment [OR = 7.11; P = 0.000; 95% CI = (2.34, 19.87)]; (3) poor education [OR = 5.47; P = 0.001; 95% CI = (2.08, 11.39)]; and (4) young age [OR = 3.01; P = 0.003; 95% CI = (1.86, 8.63)], in a decreasing order of strength. The study showed that although sufficient resources were provided by the local municipalities for service delivery, the resources allocated for service delivery were not effectively utilized mostly due to lack of skills, poor spending capacity, lack of transparency and accountability by service providers to the various communities. A recommendation has been made to the local municipalities in Tshwane District and Madibeng to establish comprehensive monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in order to ensure the delivery of adequate services.