Phumla Charmaine Mkhabela, MacDonald Kanyangale
Abstract
The critical challenge facing metropolitan municipalities in South Africa is not only the process of developing the Integrated Development Plans, but also the implementation of the chosen strategies to achieve strategic outcomes. There are increasing service delivery protests in municipalities as the public demands essential services. eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality has significant backlogs to deliver crucial services.
Middle managers of service units in a municipality are critical actors in implementing Integrated Development Plans. However, there is a shortage of scholarly research exploring various practices of middle managers within the municipal context. The objective of the study was to identify the critical practices engaged by middle managers of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in KwaZulu Natal in South Africa in their daily implementation of strategies. The findings reported are part of a more extensive study which used grounded theory, in which thirty-six middle managers were initially selected using purposive sampling and subsequently through theoretical sampling. This study found that middle managers facilitated and championed activities in a politicised environment where they constantly needed to manoeuvre to balance the varying interests of different stakeholders. The study has provided insights into the nature and variety of practices, which reveal how different stakeholders drive but also compromise the IDP as a strategy implemented in a politicised and misaligned way in a municipal context.
Middle managers of service units in a municipality are critical actors in implementing Integrated Development Plans. However, there is a shortage of scholarly research exploring various practices of middle managers within the municipal context. The objective of the study was to identify the critical practices engaged by middle managers of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in KwaZulu Natal in South Africa in their daily implementation of strategies. The findings reported are part of a more extensive study which used grounded theory, in which thirty-six middle managers were initially selected using purposive sampling and subsequently through theoretical sampling. This study found that middle managers facilitated and championed activities in a politicised environment where they constantly needed to manoeuvre to balance the varying interests of different stakeholders. The study has provided insights into the nature and variety of practices, which reveal how different stakeholders drive but also compromise the IDP as a strategy implemented in a politicised and misaligned way in a municipal context.