Transferrable capacity development lessons in support of municipal transport service delivery: case study of bojanala platinum district municipality

Abstract

Bojanala Platinum District Municipality, in the North West Province is endowed with the extractive economy characterised with the mobile community, labour influx, unemployment and underdeveloped road infrastructure. The District facilitates service delivery through among others, the Integrated Public Transport Network and the District Integrated Transport Plan. The problems of inadequate budget impact on the performance, acquisition and retention of skilled employees for strategic and operational transport policies and infrastructure development. The purpose of this study was to examine challenges related to the use of capacity development of structures and policies in relation to service delivery, and explore how to overcome them in the improvement of rural transportation. The study examines structures and policies at the intersection of the theoretical perspectives of skills development, performance improvement and collaborative participation. The research approach is a qualitative naturalistic enquiry and also employs questionnaires for confirmatory purpose and documentary analysis. The study concludes that there is lack of administrative-political synergy, inadequate socio-economic resilience, and limited dissemination of knowledge. Against these conclusions the study recommends formation of responsive and efficient structures, creation and implementation of knowledge sharing strategies, and introduction of a transformative policy instrument to empower senior management.