Governance Issues Militating Performance of Urban Local Authorities: A Case Study for Norton Town Council

Abstract

The study aims to determine governance issues militating the performance of urban Local Authorities in Zimbabwe by using the Norton Town Council as a case study. The research was motivated by the continued plethora of poor service delivery by local authorities in Zimbabwe. As such the objectives of the study were to ascertain corporate governance challenges faced by local authorities in undertaking efficient service delivery, to investigate the extent of compliance to the dictates of the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act, to assess the extent to which local authorities engage the residents in service delivery improvement strategies and to recommend corporate governance strategies to improve service delivery by local authorities issues around many Local Authorities in Zimbabwe. The study adopted a pragmatism research philosophy and a mixed research approach. A descriptive survey design was used. The research used simple random sampling for quantitative data whilst purposive sampling was used for the collection of qualitative data. Structured questionnaires and interview guides were the two major instruments that were used. A sample size of 155 was drawn from Norton Town Council Employees from grades 1-16 from the five departments Central Administration, Treasury, Housing, Engineering, and Health Services. The sample size was arrived at using a simplified formula by the Krejcie and Morgan determination scale. The sample size for qualitative data was not predetermined but was arrived at using the saturation principle. In the analysis of quantitative data, tables, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were produced using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 with Amos. The presentation of qualitative data followed a thematic approach in which responses were shown using word cloud analysis. The study revealed that the main challenges faced by local authorities in undertaking efficient service delivery include limited transparency, absence of board committees, and poorly composed boards. It also confirmed that there is limited compliance with certain provisions of the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act including Drafting of Strategic Plans, compliance with 10-year CEO Tenure, and ensuring that Board committees exist. The research results also confirmed that Norton Town Council engages the residents in service delivery improvement strategies such as meetings for water rationing, and being invited to house and town planning decisions. Through the findings, it can be noted that the transparent appointment of boards, Board Committees, and Compliance with CEO Tenure are the various strategies that can be used to improve service delivery by local authorities. Chi-square tests confirmed that There is a positive relationship between the adoption of best corporate governance practices and efficient service delivery by urban local authorities and also there is an association between performance contracts and enhanced service delivery by local authorities. It was recommended that the Norton Town Council engage the office of the President's corporate governance unit in conducting more training on corporate governance so as to improve on service delivery. It was also recommended that when appointing board members for local authorities Norton Town Council must do this transparently by engaging the board database at the corporate governance unit housed in the office of the president and cabinet.