South African Cities Network

Pilot Peer Review Visit to

City of Johannesburg

27 – 31 May 2002

Draft Report (10/7/2002)

Summary

Joburg is widely recognised as leading edge municipality. Its impressive achievements and progress on complex challenges show lots of bold innovation and good practice. There is very capable political and managerial leadership with an in depth understanding of the future change agenda, and many staff, both black and white, throughout the organisation are supporting the transformation process.

There is a consistent message and firm acknowledgment from many sources that this city council has excellent and capable political and managerial leadership that is providing clear direction and is holding the organisation together. The council has a well developed strategic vision and it is clear how its plans, priorities and budgets are aligned with this. Many people throughout the organisation and the community know about and support the city’s aspirations to be a world class African city.

The council’s external reputation is good. It is widely seen to be leading local government transformation, particularly with its setting up of UACs and regions. There is also ample evidence of an understanding of the future change agenda what the next challenges are. The council has proved itself capable of delivering difficult changes and shows the capacity to learn and improve.

Many of the structures and systems are now in place to deliver this strategic vision. A comprehensive performance management framework has been put in place which links the IDP through to individual development plans and clear expectations. Local People Centres and ward committees make contact with community and customers easier and the iimportance of service delivery is now recognized.

However now that the big picture is right, the challenge is to maintain the change momentum, continue to challenge the status quo and to embed the changes. Many of the systems and structures are relatively new and focus now needs to be on making sure that they really deliver results. Delivering the vision will also require active engagement with partners. It cannot be done by the council alone. A strategy of this scale requires high profile relationships and alliances with other key agencies and players in the city.

The council has a long way to go to rebuild public confidence in basic services and to match the quality of visible service delivery to its overall strategy. Complaints at ward committees about electricity, water and rubbish collection abound, with slow response rates by providers. The council will also need to manage the tensions in the relationships between the different parts of the new system – the centre, regions and UACs. A coherent customer strategy will be needed to make sure that there is more of a seamless approach on the delivery of all municipal services.

A strong top down approach to change has been appropriate in recent years to deliver the scale of required change. It is now time to invest in a softer approach which invests in people and harnesses the energies of staff throughout the organisation in the change process. This approach also applies to the regions and wards. There is a lot of potential to deliver and develop at the local level. A major way to promote this is will be through investment in communications both internal and external.

Background

  1. The peer review visit to City of Johannesburg was a pilot initiative carried out by the South Africa Cities Learning and Support Network. A peer review helps the authority assess its current achievements and its capacity to change. It is not an inspection. It offers a supportive approach, undertaken by friends, albeit ‘critical friends’ and its intention is to help a municipality identify its current strengths as much as its weaknesses. It is the beginning of an ongoing change process. This can then be taken forward by the authority with an improvement plan to address the areas where the review team recommends action.
  1. The members of the peer review team were:
  • Cllr Zongezile Zumane, Speaker of Mangaung Local Municipality;
  • Cllr William Mahlangu, Tshwane Mayoral Executive Committee;
  • Bheki Nene, Municipal Manager, Msunduzi Local Municipality;
  • Sipho Cele, Executive Director : Corporate Services, eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality;
  • Anton Kruger, Service Delivery Centre Manager, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality;
  • Vidhu Vedalankar, independent consultant;
  • David Schmidt, independent consultant;
  • Beverley Taylor, Review Manager, Improvement and Development Agency (IDEA).

3.The initial basis for the assessment was specially constructed benchmark that has been used by IDEA for over 120 peer reviews of UK local authorities. This focuses on the three themes of leadership, democratic and community engagement and performance management. During the Joburg review week this was adapted for the South African context to focus on the characteristics of developmental local government as set out in the White Paper on Local Government. These are:

  • Maximising social development and economic growth;
  • Integrating and co-ordinating;
  • Democratising development;
  • Leading and Learning.

The key points relating to each of these characteristics are set out in Appendix 1.

4.The programme for the week was organised in advance and included a wide variety of activities designed to enable members of the team to meet and talk to a spectrum of internal and external stakeholders.

  1. The team was very appreciative of the warm welcome and excellent hospitality provided by the council during their stay, and would like to thank all involved for their valuable contributions throughout the week. The programme for the week was very well organised and co-ordinated and the team received wholehearted support and co-operation from everyone they met.
  1. The feedback given to the council on the last day of the review reported on the key messages and this report gives a more detailed written account structured around the characteristics of developmental local government and the core organisational competencies supporting each of them.

Context

Joburg – the place

7.The City of Johannesburg is the economic hub of South Africa. Some 74% of South African companies situate their headquarters in Johannesburg. The city has modern infrastructure from telecoms to highways, rail and airports and major development projects are currently underway.

8.The population is currently around 3 800 000 with an estimated population growth rate of 3,4%, which will take the population to 5 700 000 by the year 2010. There is a high level of poverty and many residents lack basic services and economic opportunities. 16% of households lack municipal sanitation , 15% do not receive municipal electricity, 3,6% do not have water supplies. Unemployment is at 30%, up from 27% three years ago. Some 116 827 families live in informal settlements. Some 108 000 families live in illegal backyard dwellings. There are some 4 500 homeless "street people"

Joburg - the council

9.The municipality is led by its first-ever executive mayor - Amos Masondo. The mayor takes overall strategic and political responsibility for the city, and leads a 10-person mayoral committee, essentially a city-level "cabinet". Each member of the mayoral committee has executive responsibility for a portfolio. There are 217 elected city councillors of whom 109 were elected at ward level and the others. The ANC has a strong majority with 129 councillors. The Democratic Alliance has 72 seats. Another 6 parties also have elected representatives on the Council.

10.Joburg’s administration has been radically overhauled to produce a much tighter and more focused headquarters core, unique among major South African cities. The City Manager, Pascal Moloi, heads Johannesburg's central administration, along with executive directors for planning, community development, finance, municipal administration and contract management. The heads of the Metro Police Service, emergency management services, and arts, culture and heritage services also report directly to the city manager. The city manager provides a link between the political and administrative arms of city government.

11.Some of the key city service functions are supplied by separate, self-contained entities – utilities, agencies and corporatised enterprises (UACs). Each are run on business lines with its own CEO and enter into service contracts with the administrative core. The city is also divided into 11 administrative regions, each serving about 300 000 people. The regions have their own management structures, each headed by a regional director. The regions run certain services such as libraries, community clinics, sports facilities, housing and social services. While utilities and head office are responsible for the actual supply of most services, the regions determine which services are needed, and monitor the delivery of those services.

Maximising Social and Economic Development

Vision and Strategy

Strengths

Joburg 2030 represents bold strategic framework

broad stakeholder support

identifies key factors to achieve competitiveness

strong data driven approach

many staff are signed up to vision

Issues to Consider

implementing capacity

imbalance between social and economic development

transport and infrastructure planning needs development

flexible and rapid response capability needed

weak links with other key decision takers

12.The Council’s recently launched Joburg 2030 strategy is an impressive and pioneering vision for the longer-term development of a `world class’ city. The strategy is based on strong research on a wide range of factors affecting economic development of the city. There is a clear premise that economic growth and competitiveness is fundamental to improving the city’s quality of life and the strategy identifies priorities for action to address this, in particular crime reduction and skills development.

  1. As part of developing the strategy the council has carried out extensive consultation with key stakeholders throughout the city. This has not only provided the opportunity to input on issues to be addressed but has also raised implementation methods that are also referred to in the strategy. The council’s vision is well understood by staff. Many staff refer to the council’s ambition to be a `world class African city’ and are aware of the changes needed to realise it.
  1. Joburg 2030 has clearly influenced the council’s Integrated Development Plan and medium term budget strategy. The 2002/3 budget allocates significant sums to a social package to address problems of poverty and deprivation and the IDP sets targets for measurable improvements on all key goals. It is however not really clear to all staff how the six Mayoral priorities link to the longer-term strategy.
  1. There is a potential mismatch between the strategy and the council’s capacity for implementation. The main thrust of the strategy is economic and represents a bold correction in municipal thinking of the past decade which has almost totally emphasised the social agenda at the expense of the economic. However the council’s capacity for economic development is currently limited although new appointments will be made shortly. This contrasts to social development. The strategic approach to this is underdeveloped in Joburg 2030, in other documents and in practice. However the capacity of the council to deliver on social issues is considerable as it is the focus of many services.
  1. To maximise social and economic development the council needs to address this imbalance and ensure that there is both a holistic approach to both economic and social development and an alignment of council capacity to deliver. It is unclear at present for example how the two clear priorities in Joburg 2030 on crime and skills development will be put into practice through council service delivery including that of the UACs and the regions. The aspects of the plan relating to transport and infrastructure development will also need high priority and resourcing.
  1. The future delivery of the strategy is likely to involve tensions between the social and economic issues, clear priorities and more difficult political choices and there is a need to recognise this and think through the implications for the decision making process.
  1. There is a need to translate the powerful strategic thinking that has been developed into an accessible and relevant set of messages. Joburg 2030 is seen as difficult for many people – both staff and the community - to understand. The regions for example find it difficult to link it to local priorities and realities. The vision of a world class African city needs to be translated into some clear and simple messages that link to the reality of service delivery on the ground. As well as having a long-term strategy, the council needs the flexibility to respond rapidly to immediate opportunities and issues, especially when these fall outside obvious functional responsibilities. There is some evidence of the city failing to exploit immediate opportunities, for example, current difficulties re City Deep or the location of the Sandton Convention Centre. This may be because the links with key decision takers, particularly from the private sector, are weak or unstructured and that the focus up until now has been on developing the long and medium-term strategic agenda rather than responding to emerging strategic issues on an immediate basis.

Partnerships and Alliances

  1. There are good links with national and provincial government and the council is acknowledged by many to be leading the way in developing these links, influencing policy and legisation and then putting into practice the legislation and policies developed by other spheres of government. These relationships are often complex and fragmented due to the nature of provincial government and this complexity needs to be addressed so that there is a structured and strategic approach.
  1. The Joburg 2030 stakeholder forums provide a good basis for developing strategic partnerships to support the delivery of the vision and strategy. However there is now a need to think more strategically about the key partnerships to deliver the vision. Almost all of the issues that are crucial to delivering Joburg 2030 require close alliances and joint initiatives with other private and public sector agencies. The council faces a major task in bringing together these agencies, not only in a consultative forum, but as part of the real delivery. It needs to lead the development of a shared understanding of roles between these various players.
  1. In particular, the council needs to make sure it engages with the influential players whose decisions will have a major impact on the city and its future, for example in some form of strategic think tank on the city’s future or coalition of major businesses. The council needs to place itself in a position of influence so that it is part of key dialogues and decisions of key leaders.
  1. Tackling major strategic issues such as crime and skills development will require effective links with other municipalities, particularly the neighbouring municipalities of Tshwane and Ekurhuleni. There is no formal and regular dialogue between Joburg and its neighbouring municipalities at either political or managerial levels. They have for example had no briefing or involvement in Joburg 2030 nor any formal discussion on for example the airport. Joburg needs to lead the way on developing such relationships and promote greater understanding of the regional dynamics on such complex issues as crime and environmental degradation, and exploit opportunities for joint working, knowledge sharing and efficiencies, for example on procurement.

Service Delivery

  1. The city has done much to put in place the policies and infrastructure that will enable it to improve service delivery. Service delivery excellence is a mayoral priority and budget funds are being allocated to improve service delivery and to provide basic services for the most deprived sections of the community. The physical infrastructure of People Centres in the regions, the UACs and the call centres are established and systems on performance management include a focus on customer results.
  1. However as one member of staff said `a world class city needs world class services and standards’ At present there is a mismatch between the two. The city’s aspirations are not reflected in the quality of services it provides. However worthy its ambitions, the city is judged by its basic and most visible services - the cleanliness of the streets, the working of traffic lights and accurate bills. Many people, from staff to major partners, see this as a major issue. Complaints about services and the lack of responsiveness of service providers, including many of the UAC’s, abound. There is a strong commitment by the city to address this but this needs to be followed through into a strategic approach to target improved service delivery in crucial areas, to rigorously monitor performance targets and to invest time, skills and infrastructure to deliver on the ground.
  1. Maximising social and economic development through local service delivery will require a number of changes.