Capacity Development-oriented Service Delivery Structures and Programmes: Case Study of a Mineral-rich District Municipality

Bojanala Platinum District Municipality (BPDM), in the North-West Province, South Africa, is endowed with an extractive economy. The District experiences challenges of capacity development of service delivery structures and programmes. It is in this context that this paper examines how local government responses to challenges of capacity development and explores ways in which organisational structures and programmes can be used to overcome these challenges for enhanced service delivery. The theoretical framing of this study underpins capacity development as an enabler of service delivery and incorporates human capital, performance improvement and collaborative participation in the context of local government. The research employed a single case qualitative research approach with a component of descriptive statistics and a sample of 30 municipal senior managers and a social development mine manager. Key findings are that organisational learning and skills development play important roles in enhancing the capacity development of service delivery structures and programmes. It is against these findings that the study recommends the creation of supportive monitoring and evaluation systems to advance the strengthening of functional hybrid governance structures and an organic communication model within a transparent and accountable administrative-political environment. manipulated by unscrupulous influential leaders running corrupt activities. One could also be biased and get captivated by trivial political and organisational dynamics on the ground. The question of how to manage a long enough distance between management and civil society is a negotiable and consensus-seeking polycentric and multi-stakeholder driven process. This study addressed an existing knowledge gap by demonstrating the strategic link between capacity development and service delivery underpinned by systemic capacity building, socio-political resilience, and an administrative and organisational synergy that have a bearing on effective local government structures, programmes, and institutions. Although the original assumption was that capacity development contributes to optimising service delivery, the research findings indicate that organisational learning and skills development play important roles in enhancing the capacity development of service delivery structures and programmes.


The Approach
This study examines the problem of the acquisition of skills in relation to compliance with existing legislation to enhance service delivery (Bojanala Platinum District Municipality, 2016). The Bojanala Platinum District Municipality (BPDM) experiences the problem of the delivery of basic services and capacity development not meeting the desired outcomestronger capacity. Inadequate expertise and management capacity, and poorly funded weak institutions are key causes of poor service delivery in the South African local government context (Guillermo et al., 1999;Roux & Nyamukachi, 2005). Little is known on how to overcome service delivery challenges related to the lack of skills and instability of the management teams (Bojanala Platinum District Municipality, 2016;Madibeng Local Municipality, 2015). Existing literature argues that organisations facilitate learning to narrow the skills gap through human capital development (Becker, 1993;Zula & Chermack, 2007) and performance improvement (Swanson, 1999;Rummler & Brache, 1988). In addition, Imperial (2005) and Ansell and Gash (2007) advocate for the use of collaborative governance in the promotion of facilitative leadership and municipal participatory governance. This study therefore examines the intricacies and nuances at the interface of human capital, performance improvement and collaborative governance theories in relation to capacity development of service delivery structures and programmes. The purpose of this study is to examine the nature of capacity development challenges in the context of service delivery, and explore how organisational structures and programmes can overcome these challenges. The study answers the primary question: What are the difficulties militating against the capacity development of service delivery structures and programmes, and how can they be overcome? The methodology employed semi-structured interviews, thick description of data and a qualitative naturalistic inquiry consistent with the recommendations of Guba (1981), Denzin and Lincoln (2011), and Merriam (2002). Data was collected in 2016 over a period of three months in the five local municipalities in the Bojanala Platinum District Municipality.

Contextual Orientation of the Study
The geographical location of the study is the Bojanala Platinum District Municipality (BPDM), North-West Province in South Africa. The District municipality is composed of five local municipalities, which are Moretele, Moses Kotane, Rustenburg, Madibeng and Kgetlengrivier in the mineral-rich 'platinum belt' of South Africa. The platinum belt experiences difficulties of (1) unstable mobile labour force, (2) political elitism, and (3) inadequate public-private collaborative partnerships in relation to capacity development of service delivery structures and programmes in the mineral endowed economy. Another unique feature and compelling motivation for the context of this study is the state brutality The comparison of the population dynamics (Figure 1) of the labour sending Nyandeni local municipality, in the OR Tambo District Municipality, in the Eastern Cape Province and the Madibeng host local municipality, reveals the deep-rooted social problems that the BPDM confronts. There are startling discrepancies that provoke the question, "what are the service delivery context-specific socio-economic realities in relation to inter-provincial labour migrant movements?" The highest migrant labourers in the BPDM are from the Eastern Cape. This movement weakens the economic resilience of labour sending municipalities. To cite an example, the percentage of people with no schooling in the Nyandeni municipality (18%) is more than double that in Madibeng (8%) and unemployment in the Nyandeni municipality is about 17% more than the rate of youth unemployment in South Africa in 2011 (Statistics South Africa [Stats SA], 2013). The extent of poverty and unemployment in the BPDM differs among the local municipalities. Unemployment in Moretele is at 57%, much higher than the average 39% unemployment across all local municipalities in the District. Furthermore, the lowest increase in matriculated youth is in the rural under-resourced Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality at 6%. Census in South Africa is conducted every five years, hence the most recent figures were released in 2013.
The unemployment rate in the Bojanala District could be attributed to the gap between their level of education and the employment requirements (Dubihlela & Volschenk, 2017). Notwithstanding the remedial intervention against poverty in the form of social wage polices such as free basic education, high unemployment is more prevalent in the North-West Province (Statistics South Africa, 2017). These varied socio-economic factors including inequality advanced in the foregoing discussion underpin some alarming discrepancies in relation to the host-labour sending municipal conduit which, in this study, is referred to as the 'Madibeng-Nyandeni corridor'.
Although the study explains contextual issues in relation to capacity development, socio-economic elements associated with population sparsity could explain how a myriad of impediments impacts on service delivery. The demographic profile of the BPDM indicates that the population in the BPDM increased by about 10% in five years (2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016). There are huge population density discrepancies, with Madibeng and Kgetlengrivier at 389 people/km² and 15 people/km² respectively (Stats SA, 2016). The most sparsely populated Kgetlengrivier local municipality experiences the highest poverty rate at 78% in the BPDM compared to the most populated Madibeng local municipality at 47% (South African Institute of Race Relations, 2014). The sparsity of the population over vast areas could be a contributory factor for the high youth unemployment rate of 50% in the Moretele local municipality (Stats SA, 2013). Sparsely populated areas in rural local municipalities depend on natural resources and, to some extent, migratory labour (National Treasury, 2011). In the South African context, Africans carry the overwhelming share of poverty at 91,5% and 93,0% in 2006 and 2015 respectively, and this is consistent with the belief that the educational level of the citizens is closely related to poverty (Statistics South Africa, 2017). Accordingly, to complete the contextual orientation, this study hones in on skills development programmes in the post-school environment.
In his first state of the nation address in 1994, the late former President Mandela Journal of Public Administration and Governance ISSN 2161-7104 2022 demonstrated a political will to empower the workforce. The public and private sectors were encouraged to regard labour as a resource and were supposed to be empowered through skills training (South African Government, 1994). In the South African context, legislation addressed the historic poor education and exclusion of Africans in the workplace skills training programmes. The Skills Development Act 98 of 1998 aimed to improve the delivery of services, education and training, and the quality of life and labour mobility of workers. Understanding of the historic context of the mining sector in South Africa and the application of the relevant responsive legislative instruments explains the justification to address social and economic inequality among the historically disadvantaged South Africans.
It is against this backdrop of socio-economic inequality in the mineral and mining sector that the study examined the intersection of workplace training and racial inequality at the level of organisational decision-makers. The Employment Equity Act, No 55 of 1998, redresses unfair discrimination at workplaces and promotes equitable representation at all occupational categories. Notwithstanding the promulgation of the Skills Development and Employment Equity Acts, unfair workplace racial discrimination in the mineral and mining sector manifests in a bias against Africans at the level of decision-makers as Table 1 illustrates. The unskilled elementary occupational group is dominated by Africans at 145 082 (96%) out of a total of 150 614 employees. This unfair discrimination, according to the Employment Equity ISSN 2161-7104 2022 Act, No 55 of 1998, puts Africans at a disadvantage when it comes to policy decision-making, monitoring and implementation of the Employment Equity Plan. There is a huge anomaly when it comes to senior management positions with 34.3% of Africans occupying such positions as compared to 59.0% of Whites, and females constitute only 14.4% of the workforce (Mining Qualifications Authority [MQA], 2014). The Engineering Council of South Africa [ECSA] (2014) asserts that most engineers are White (65.4%). Notably, out of 100 Indians, 18 are in management, compared to only one African at the same level. These profound discrepancies happen despite Africans being in the majority at 477 835 (84.8%) (MQA, 2014). This is a gloomy workplace picture consistent with the premise of the National Development Plan that South Africa is a divided country (National Planning Commission, 2011). According to the regulations of Employment Equity Act, top managers have the advantage of a long-term job cycle whereas the unskilled at elementary occupations have short job cycles. The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 proclaims that mining companies have to establish collaborative partnerships with the host and labour sending municipalities to enhance service delivery. However, and to the contrary, only 36% of mining right holders have met their set target on mine community development nationally (Department of Mineral Resources, 2015). An understanding of the legislative space, including skills development and socio-economic issues, deepens our knowledge of underlying factors that impact on local government capacity development.

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Unemployment and geographical settings are elements not only distinctly peculiar to the rurality of local municipalities but also hostile to capacity development. An examination of how these elements interact in the ecology of power imbalance in the space of traditional authorities, municipal councils and multi-national companies advances our understanding of how to overcome service delivery impediments. Subsequently, aspects of power imbalance prompt the question, how can socio-economic challenges in both the host and labour sending local municipalities, referred to as the 'Madibeng-Nyandeni corridor', be overcome? The nature of challenges described in the foregoing sections encourages us to examine enablers and disablers in the area of capacity development initiatives.

Organisational Change Within a Learning and Responsive Socio-Political Environment
This study examined employee skills development, municipal performance and collaborative governance measures in relation to the capacity development of service delivery structures and programmes adopted from Mphahlele and Zandamela (2021). Existing literature reveals that aspects of administrative collaboration, remittance system, state violence and a volatile labour setting are intrinsically intertwined in the context of municipal service delivery. These difficulties prompt the primary question: What are the difficulties militating against the capacity development of service delivery structures and programmes, and how can they be overcome? Capacity development involves local communities, organisations, leaders and coalitions within the socio-political milieu. Otto et al. (2009) define capacity development as a "locally driven process of learning by leaders, coalitions and other agents of change that bring about changes, in socio-political policy-related and organisational factors to enhance local ownership, effectiveness and efficiency of efforts to achieve a developmental goal" (p.9). The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2008) adds that Journal of Public Administration and Governance ISSN 2161-7104 2022 "capacity development is a process whereby people, organisations and society unleash, strengthen, adapt and maintain capacity over time" (p.244). In the South African local government context, service delivery is the distribution of basic resources and sustainable services by the municipality to ensure an acceptable and reasonable quality of life to the satisfaction of communities (Akinboade et al., 2014;Fox & Meyer, 1995;Ndebele & Lavhelani, 2017;Nealer, 2014). Capacity development-oriented service delivery in the context of this study, therefore, is the process of organisational change within a responsive socio-political environment. Human resource development is an enabling instrument that advances effective capacity development across all sectors (Harbison & Myers, 1964). This space therefore explains how elements peculiar to capacity development enhance service delivery in the administrative and political environments premised on human resource development initiatives.
An examination of intricacies and nuances at the confluence of capacity development and human resource development issues heightens our understanding not only of structures and programmes for the enhancement of service delivery but also how they can be improved. The roles of senior managers under the leadership of the municipal manager complement the fiduciary roles of political office bearers as agents of change in meeting the desired outcomes of both communities and the private sector. Thus, developmental programmes at the intersection of the administrative and political environments extend into the social and economic milieu. Administrative collaboration could be an enabler of organisational performance and inter-municipal capacity development, as existing literature suggests. Administrative collaboration in the form of inter-municipal co-operation preserves local autonomy without impacting on service delivery (Allers & de Greef, 2018;Soukopová & Vaceková , 2018). Notably, and to the contrary, Blaeschke and Haug (2018) assert that inter-municipal co-operation may complicate the co-ordination of stakeholder interests due to the spread of accountability over a wider spectrum. Concerning public-private partnerships, the private sector promotes the optimisation of the capacity of management and enhancement of service delivery (Germà & Gradus, 2018;Shava & Maramura, 2016). At an individual level, functional municipal provisioning of basic services is affected by both the pursuit of public interests (Huang & Feeney, 2016) and the pursuit of self-interest (Fairhurst, 2007). Political elitism at the administrative-political juncture leads to the pursuit of self-interests that typically weaken local government institutions (Dzansi et al., 2016;Hodder, 2009;Ngwenya & Botha, 2014).
An explanation of the effective interactions of distinct elements at the interface of the social and economic environments prompts the question; what are the supportive roles of mining companies in public-private partnership relations and how do local municipalities lead in the maximisation of the use of resources for service delivery? Following the discussion on the nexus between the administrative and political settings, this study delves into such socio-economic elements as are characterised by the unsustainable remittance system, state violence and a volatile labour setting. The flow of money from the host local municipalities in the form of remittance in the mineral and mining sector is to some extent distinctly and peculiarly consistent with the phenomenon of migratory cheap labour of male Africans

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ISSN 2161-7104 2022, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Wolpe, 1972). The phenomenon of cheap labour is also consistent with the concept of the 'rural-urban' nexus referred to as translocal livelihood (Lohnert & Steinbrink, 2005). In addition, Steinbrink (2010) attributes the flow of money, cultural identity and livelihoods to complexities of the rural-urban imbalance or the persistent mobile community settings. In the Southern African context, the historic traditional 'walk to the mine' of African males gives rise to remittance arrangement or systems to support households back home (Adaawen & Owusu, 2013;Amoako & Apusigah, 2013;Lohnert & Steinbrink, 2005;Mayer & Mayer, 1971;Sana & Massey, 2005;Stark, 1991;Stark & Lucas, 1988;Steinbrink, 2010). However, there are shortcomings to the system. To cite an example, Ghanaian studies argue that the remittance arrangement by its nature may not always improve hard-earned income of mine workers and aggravates issues with fathers back home squandering the hard-earned monies sent by their sons (Abdul-Korah, 2011;Kwankye;Serbeh et al., 2015).
State violence against the citizenry in the extractive economy is one of the causes of socio-political instability, as existing literature suggests. In the context of the South African historic marginalisation of Africans from the mainstream economic system, the discovery of minerals in Kimberly in the late 1860s and the supporting structure of racial segregation resulted in the violent seizure and looting of land and property from African chiefs/magosi in President Paul Kruger's era (Turrel, 1986). Post-Apartheid era South Africa also witnessed the fatal shooting of 34 mineworkers in the Madibeng local municipality, at Marikana village in 2012 (Sorensen, 2012;Satgar, 2012). Similarly, again in the Madibeng local municipality, Mothotlung village, four protestors were fatally shot in 2014 by the state police while demonstrating against lack of service delivery (Govender, 2014). The argument in Latin American studies by Lust (2014), and Busse and Gröning (2013) that the aim of state brutality is to 'kill' and render labour movements and activism ineffective is consistent with the South African experience in the Marikana tragedy.
Lastly, another dimension in the creation of organisational change in the context of capacity development-oriented service delivery structures and programmes is the perceived expansion of the phenomenon of cheap labour into the volatile mining related labour setting. The violation of the rights of workers and their families in the mining sector is not limited to the South African experience. The mining boom in rural Australia adversely affected the wellbeing of mine workers, resulting in family breakdowns, violence, and suicide . The Australian fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) or drive-in, drive-out (DIDO) labour setting affects the psychological wellbeing of mine workers and creates family dislocations (Biggs et al., 2015;Houghton, 1993;Keown, 2005). Similar findings in Peru argue that multinational mining companies exacerbate the rupture of family structures and poor relationships with the local government. To the contrary, favourable institutional change is likely to emerge from conflict and negotiation in the extractive sector (Bebbington et al., 2013). Similarly, youth-led social activism and protests against multinational mining companies may lead to citizen engagement, whereupon employment opportunities expand (Wilson, 2013).
In summary, the lack of political accountability cannot be precluded from the myriad of nuances distinctly linked to social ills and brutality of the state and multi-national mining Journal of Public Administration and Governance ISSN 2161-7104 2022 companies. The administrative-political nexus is non-responsive to adequate service delivery. The phenomenon of cheap labour is consistent with the concept of the 'rural-urban' nexus. Aspects associated with cheap labour and the rurality of the municipal settings creep into the socio-economic milieu to advance power imbalances in the form of an uneconomic remittance system and family fragmentations. Thus, 'fiscus flight' premised on the mobile migrant labour setting negatively impacts on the collection of taxes and municipal rates. Any likelihood of economic spin-offs from the creation of jobs or 'resource blessing' is stifled in the absence of administrative-political collaboration. Little is known on how capacity development-oriented difficulties related to service delivery structures and programmes can be overcome at a municipal level.

Framing of the Research Study
Framing of the study models relationships and explication of theories that influence the research. Human resource planning in the administrative realm determines the extent of organisational skills deficit or skills surplus. Premised on the extent of skills supply and demand, the utilisation of organisational resources and programmes serves as inputs in the organisational learning process, as illustrated in Figure 2. The extent of the integration of elements within the internal environment heightens prospects for the creation of a learning environment. Thus, organisational learning is not only a key enabler in the narrowing of the capacity gap, but also Journal of Public Administration and Governance ISSN 2161-7104 2022 a vehicle for the optimisation of knowledge and skills capacities. The optimisation of knowledge and skills capacities occurs through the distinct elements peculiar to human resource development, performance improvement and collaborative participation. This model is a revised version of the theoretical framework originally advanced by Mphahlele and Zandamela (2021). The emergent human capital theory fundamentally initiates activities to address the skills gap that results from an imbalance of skills demand and skills supply at the entry point to municipal performance and participation. Moreover, the performance improvement theory cuts across both the human capital and collaborative governance theories. Following the optimisation of knowledge, skills and capacities, outcomes from processing the internal environment policies, structures and programmes yield the threesome capacity development-oriented theories discussed hereafter.
Human capital theory advances education and training programmes, employee turnover and employee retention strategy as well as financial benefits acquired from investment in human capital (Becker, 1993;Harbison & Myer, 1964;Zula & Chermack, 2007). To the contrary, skilled labour is perceived as a commodity to maximise capitalist profit and legitimises economic inequality (Bowles & Gintis, 1975). Performance improvement theory focuses on human performance linked to economic investment and provisioning of rewards to enhance productivity inclusive of consequence management (Denison;1967;Gilbert, 1978;Rummler & Brache, 1988;Swanson, 1999). A dissimilar argument is that performance incentives reward and encourage exploitation at workplace (Korten, 1995). Lastly, the collaborative participatory governance theory promotes democratic participation inclusive of the vulnerable (Ansell & Gash, 2007;Edelenbos, 2005;Imperial, 2005;March & Olsen, 1989;Waheduzzaman & Mphande, 2012). To the contrary, preference systems in the reward of performance reinforce inequality, and deepen uncertainty, and manifest into the 'new tyranny' through which the manipulative elites limit opportunities for growth at the workplace (Cooke & Kothari, 2001;Mansuri & Rao, 2004;Platteau, 2008;Somville, 2006;Tembo, 2003;Nygren, 2005).
The study assumes that enhancing capacity development-oriented service delivery structures and programmes would address difficulties associated with employee skills development, implementation of the legislative mandates, and collaborative partnerships with local multi-national mining companies. An adaptation of the theoretical perspectives forms the conceptual framework that guided the study. The conceptual framework assisted in examining key concepts (Badenhorst, 2007). ISSN 2161-7104 2022 (2021) In line with the argument in Rocco and Plakhotnik (2009), the conceptual framework in Figure 3, that is, the revised version of Mphahlele and Zandamela (2021), discusses the concepts that situate the study, and illustrates them with a figure. The conceptual framework assumes that capacity development is an enabler of service delivery, and underpins organisational skills development, municipal performance, and collaborative participation. The interdependence among the concepts is framed on the grounds that skills development is the leading enabler. Thus, skills development stimulates the optimisation of municipal performance and collaborative participation. The skills development concept advances the assertion that organisational investment in training programmes facilitates the implementation of capacity development. The study further probes the extent to which performance management systems facilitate or constrain feedback and the management of consequences.

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The foregoing discussions delve into the framing of the study and underpin elements peculiar to an understanding of capacity development in the context of a South African local government tier of governance. Thus, this provokes the question of what methodology was employed in the examination and understanding of disablers of local government capacity development and how they can be overcome.

Method
The study employed in-depth face-to-face interviews of a purposive sample of 30 municipal senior managers as well as a manager from the local mining company. This sampling is consistent with their knowledge and roles in relation to capacity development in their respective departments. The rich knowledge of the respondents provided a deep understanding in the examination and interpretation of findings. The philosophical underpinning of this study was therefore an interpretive paradigm. The paradigm by its nature

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ISSN 2161-7104 2022, Vol. 12, No. 1 served as a vehicle and enabler in the interpretation of managers' subjective understandings of multiple beliefs or experiences on municipal capacity development. In addition, the study employed the questionnaire as a complementary descriptive statistics component consistent with the argument in Morse (1991).
The rationale for using sequential triangulation with the qualitative approach followed by the descriptive statistics component allowed for a broader perspective of viewpoints (Field & Morse, 1985). The questionnaire was employed consistent with the recommendations of Neuman (2011) to describe issues and explain reasons for the occurrence of the phenomenon of capacity development examined in the interviews. Emergent themes developed after the qualitative analysis of responses from in-depth interviews in group A were employed to construct close-ended questionnaires for group B with structured questions. Group B respondents were asked to indicate 'strongly disagree', 'disagree', 'agree' or 'strongly agree' consistent with the Likert Scale. The data collected was suggestive of the non-numerical 'intensity' of their attitude on an ordinal scale consistent with the use of descriptive statistics (Kaur et al., 2018). A total of 56 questionnaires were distributed, 55 were returned and three spoilt. The study effectively had 52 questionnaires to analyse using coding followed by descriptive statistics. Microsoft Excel was used to calculate only the average percentage frequency and sum of responses to the 'intensity of belief', that is, 'Agree', 'Disagree', 'Strongly Agree', or 'Strongly Disagree'. The descriptive statistics format employs categorical variables also known as qualitative to make the information more easily interpretable (Kaur et al., 2018). To the contrary, inferential statistics uses continuous data (for quantitative variables) and histograms to interpret data (Kaur et al., 2018). The study pooled together generated themes from subjective interview perspectives and objective descriptive information derived from questionnaires to enhance the trustworthiness of the study consistent with Guba's (1981) recommendations. The following section delves into a discussion of the findings generated from interviews, questionnaires and documentary analysis.

Data Presentation
Data presentation, in this study, underscores perspectives, including in-depth interviews, that advance key impediments, that is, budget constraints, political interference and municipal grading. Respondent 09 (personal communication, June 30, 2016) suggested that rural local municipalities are more at a disadvantage in relation to budget allocation due to the municipal grading system. The grading system impedes the collection of revenue and provision of public service, subsequently instigating community protests (Respondent 17, personal communication, July 12, 2016;Respondents 11, 12 and 15, personal communication, July 06, 2016). In addition to budgetary constraints, political interference creates a "poisonous environment" and high staff turnover (Respondent 09, personal communication, June 15, 2016). To cite an example, some councillors would hurl insults and instructions like, "listen here, I am the boss and I instruct you to appoint so and so" (Respondent 10, personal communication, July 11, 2016). Despite the perceived positive contribution of corporate Journal of Public Administration and Governance ISSN 2161-7104 2022 social responsibility (CSR) programmes, mining companies are non-committed to partnerships with municipalities (Respondent 15, personal communication, July 06, 2016). However, and to the contrary, the mining social manager asserted that during elections, councillors use the projects of mining companies for electioneering (Respondent 31, personal communication, 22 June 2016). The general worldview of middle managers is that employee performance assessments are disjointed and limited to senior managers. Furthermore, they feel deprived of knowledge in relation to municipal Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and Local Economic Development (LED) programmes. These perspectives were corroborated in the interviews. Political elites are perceived to be hoarding information and stifling knowledge dissemination across their portfolios and respective departments.
The predominant worldview among the junior-middle management in relation to skills development was that the workplace is supportive and encourages autonomy. They also found on-the-job training through the workplace skills plans and formal education support an attractive incentive. These incentives encourage employees to choose local government as an employer of choice. Although the Councils provide skills training opportunities, individual performance is not rewarded. Senior managers do not take heed of the proposals or recommendations to enhance performance management systems (PMS). Thus, the junior management level of the Performance Management Systems is largely a deterrent in attempts to maximise the capacity development of service delivery structures and programmes. Notably, the junior management felt more could be done in relation to participation in the mayoral and IDP fora as they have limited knowledge of some of the critical developmental programmes linked to their departments. To cite an example, they could be involved in the administrative allocation of infrastructure and resource inputs but do not get feedback on the actual building of clinics, mining SLP projects or completion of local sewage systems. Municipal budget allocation is not consistent with the level of poverty and deficiency of skilled labour.
Madibeng and Rustenburg local municipalities received the biggest share of the cake of R1.3b and R3b respectively in the 2012/13 to 2014/15 financial years (Local Government Handbook, 2016). Furthermore, notwithstanding the rurality of the under-resourced Kgetlengrivier, the municipality underspent R41.6m. Astonishingly, the District spent R141m on only 381 employees. On the other hand, Moses Kotane, with double the employees, spent R7m less than the District on employees (Local Government Handbook, 2016). Audit opinions in the 2016-2017 financial year reveal that only the Kgetlengrivier local municipality experienced Unqualified Audit Opinion with Findings, that is, an improved financial performance. The Auditor's Report (2018) finds shortcomings in relation to leadership, financial and performance management. The Report further also observes a lack of consequence management and failure of the District to finalise audits in the financial year 2014-2015. Despite the responsibility to lead in the coordination, facilitation and support of local municipalities, the District is found wanting with a Disclaimer Audit opinion with Findings in both 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 financial years and incurred unauthorised, fruitless and wasteful expenditures. An analysis of the findings provides vivid understanding of service delivery disablers and how to overcome them. ISSN 2161-7104 2022

Analysis and discussion of the main findings
Analysis of the findings generate three themes, which are, 1) Administrative fracture; 2) Political elitism; and 3) Poor socio-economic collaboration. This section hones in on how organisational relations and socio-political resilience could be strengthened against the background of disjointed structures and programmes, and poor public-private partnerships. The scarcity of political will and prevalence of political elitism weaken organisational socio-political resilience, respondents suggested. Strengthening administrative collaboration at the strategic level alleviates the intensity of volatility of the socio-political milieu. The question of how municipalities can utilise their capacity development resources is inseparable from how local mining companies contribute to capacity development in enhancing service delivery.
Typical of the nature of the extractive economy people tend to follow mining activities, and local government tend to follow people to provide services. However, due to the 'rentier effect', social responsibility programmes offer false hopes that disempower and undermine the communities. Proponents of 'resource blessing' like Labonne (2002) contend that "mining broadly contributes to poverty reduction" (p.69). To the contrary, Pegg (2006), a proponent of the 'resource curse', argues that mining activities are likely to exacerbate poverty. The argument is corroborated by the assertion that multi-national mining companies are not committed and CSR programmes are poorly designed (Conde & Le Billon, 2017;Osei-Kojo & Andrews, 2020;Muswaka, 2014). The thematic orientation of these findings prompted the study to examine knowledge management, mentoring and change management models in the context of the research problem. It is against the complex administrative and socio-political settings that the Total Quality Management model by Deming (1982) inspired the examination of the challenges to change aspects inherent in the comfort zone (Lewin, 1947). In other words, the thematic perspectives underpin the need to shift from the comfort zone and overcome the deterrents to organisational change consistent with Kotter (1996).  (2000), Kotter (1996), Deming (1982), Lewin (1947), McAdam and McCreedy (1999) and Mphahlele (2021) The impediments to service delivery cannot be resolved with a single approach. As such, a multitude of service delivery impediments were analysed and corroborated against the key components of the five functionary distinct models. Table 2 illustrates the synopsis of phases of the capacity development model generated from components of the respective models, which are, Mentoring (Gordon, 2000), Knowledge Management (Kickert, 2014;McAdam & McCreedy, 1999;Van der Voet et al., 2016), Eight Steps of Change (Kotter, 1996), Total Quality Management (Deming, 1982) and Change Management (Lewin, 1947). A synopsis of the reviewed models captures the framework adopted in and adapted for this study for capacity development premised on the strengths of the findings. The three phases emergent from the foregoing discussions on the inhibitors of the capacity development of service delivery structures and programmes include a capacity building plan, capacity implementation, and capacity review as explained below.
The capacity building plan underscores the 'unfreeze' phase of change. At this phase, management endeavours to create a sense of urgency by building a guiding coalition that encourages the mentoring of proté gé s and sustains their shift from the comfort zone. To cite an example, at this phase, a purposeful political will is significant in the equitable recognition of divergent opinions and beliefs in administrative and political environments.
Capacity implementation is, in the main, a non-linear pattern in the middle ground space. It is informed by the strengths and weaknesses in the previous capacity building phase. This phase also informs how the next capacity review phase is achievable. Accordingly, it is a typical 'change' phase, an enabler of the transformation of the organisation with sustainable service delivery goals achievable through relevant workplace skills development programmes. The phase endeavours for the removal of resistance and maximisation of strengths of proté gé s. The motivation for transformation and transparent knowledge sharing, at this juncture, is for instance, against the background of challenges of knowledge hoarding in relation to budget allocations, roles of political elites and inadequate public-private stakeholder engagements.
Lastly, capacity review as a 'refreeze' stage is informed by the strengths and weaknesses in the preceding 'change' phase. At this phase, transformative leadership institutionalises a new organisational culture or trajectory that endeavours to maximise organisational resilience and ISSN 2161-7104 2022 administrative collaboration. In the context of service delivery in the BPDM, the capacity review phase deepens the culture of knowledge use among independent self-motivated proté gé s. The culture of knowledge use effectively promotes collaborative participation through functional top-down and democratic bottom-up communication. This study recognises limitations of the naturalistic inquiry.

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The research employed a limited sample of 31 respondents and this raises concerns over the transferability of findings. However, the use of questionnaires among 52 respondents provided a comprehensive understanding and knowledge of the problem. The study, though focusing on five local municipalities, can be viewed as unique despite possible considerable differences from other local municipalities. Interviews were held on 03 August 2016 just a few days before the local government elections. In the context of local government elections, the political environment is unfavourably filled with uncertainties (Mphahlele & Zandamela, 2021). It is a period pregnant with uncertainties in relation to positions of senior management employed on contracts linked to the five-year contracts of the political office bearers.

Conclusion: Towards Administrative Collaboration, Systemic Capacity Building and Socio-Political Resilience
The research findings advance the belief that a learning environment underpins capacity development-oriented service delivery as an enabler for the overcoming of the perceived bureaucratic lacuna. This is consistent with capacity development as a learning process to achieve developmental goals (Otto et al., 2009). Additionally, institutions act as enablers of learning through human capital development (Taylor, 2007). It is therefore the firm argument of this study that a new organisational learning trajectory is possible to redress impediments against capacity development-oriented service delivery structures and programmes. ISSN 2161-7104 2022 (2021) The study also identifies the thematic orientations that contribute to the existing body of knowledge. The emergent theoretical orientation, in Figure 4, is a revised version of the capacity development-oriented learning theory originally advanced by Mphahlele and Zandamela (2021) and premised on aspects associated with the problem of administrative collaboration, political integrity, and engagement. The new theoretical inclination and contribution to the existing body of knowledge affirms the promotion of participation and integration of the municipal officials, citizenry and business communities in all developmental programmes against the problem of a heterogeneous mobile population, In the context of local government, organisational learning is inclusive of mentoring, knowledge management, and change management strategic gears or capacity development catalysts for optimising service delivery. The new theoretical implications and contribution to the existing body of knowledge underscore learning and, to some extent, relationship-building initiatives. This is in the context of managing the 'distance' between stakeholders.

Journal of Public Administration and Governance
Operational conclusions explained below address the question; "how does the attainment of functional and effective skills development outcomes facilitate developmental goals under transformative leadership?" Journal of Public Administration and Governance ISSN 2161-7104 2022 (2009) Operational conclusions reveal that internal organisational levers, that is, accountability, and human and financial resources are in essence major inputs in the creation of a solid foundation for capacity development, as Figure 5 illustrates. The non-linear process of the optimisation of outcomes of capacity development commences with the integration of an input-oriented public accountability. This study proposes an integration of distinct elements of mentoring, knowledge and change management strategies. These strategies are indicative of operational gears essential to the efficient generation of outputs. Outputs in the form of organisational relations, skills retention and socio-political capacity significantly advance the outcomes, that is, functional administrative synergy, systemic capacity building programmes and collaborative socio-political resilience, respectively. These outcomes are key enablers of sustainable local government capacity development goals. ISSN 2161-7104 2022 Current studies and thinking in relation to the capacity development of service delivery initiatives focus on disjointed and generic advances that inadequately explain how disablers could be overcome. Premised on the intricacies of organisational relations, ineffective operational structures and programmes in relation to how disablers could be overcome, this study defines capacity development as the effective optimisation of service delivery enablers, and collective ownership of transformational developmental socio-economic programmes within a responsive and accountable political environment. A general pattern among senior managers is that the closer they are to political principals the more difficult the relationships as mistrust by the communities alienates municipal administrators from society as explained below. Based on the uniqueness and intricacies of the relations and ineffective operational structures prominent in the findings, this study has developed a 'management by broom-stick' (MbB) framework. The framework in Figure 6 illustrates the phenomenon of poor management seen in the distance between the municipal council and communities. Figuratively, the distance between the handle of the broomstick (administration) and the broom bristles (communities) determines how effective the broom (municipality) functions. The longer the broomstick the further away the handle is from the bristles. It would also be difficult to effectively move the broom on the floor. As such, by implication, if knowledge workers or managers are far from communities it would be difficult to plan with them and listen to their needs. On the other hand, if the handle is too close to the broom bristles, one would be too close to the ground. This would make it difficult to move the broom, and one could even fall over. Thus, if management were too close to the communities, they could be susceptible to being manipulated by unscrupulous influential leaders running corrupt activities. One could also be biased and get captivated by trivial political and organisational dynamics on the ground. The question of how to manage a long enough distance between management and civil society is a negotiable and consensus-seeking polycentric and multi-stakeholder driven process.

Journal of Public Administration and Governance
This study addressed an existing knowledge gap by demonstrating the strategic link between capacity development and service delivery underpinned by systemic capacity building, socio-political resilience, and an administrative and organisational synergy that have a bearing on effective local government structures, programmes, and institutions. Although the original assumption was that capacity development contributes to optimising service delivery, the research findings indicate that organisational learning and skills development play important roles in enhancing the capacity development of service delivery structures and programmes.
In conclusion: 1. Administrative synergy and systemic capacity building could be supported by a municipal unit with research capability for the continuous upholding of ethics. The system should detect early warning signs of corruption, manage risks, heighten co-ordinating capacity development initiatives and consequence management for inadequate performance.
2. This paper argued that the maximisation of socio-political resilience against perceived political abandonment and dislocated councillors could be enhanced by strengthening organisational administrative collaboration and socio-political integrity. On-going monitoring and evaluation of service delivery structures and programmes should deepen the sustainability of socio-political resilience.
3. The challenges of collaborative organisational synergy and partnership in the 'Madibeng-Nyandeni corridor' could be overcome through organic or functional relationships and collaboration between the Bojanala and OR Tambo districts to alleviate the ensuing brain drain and inequality. Thus, the existence of a functional political will between the respective District Councils could narrow the distance or strengthen collaborative relations between the respective senior managers and councillors.
It is against the backdrop of the (1) peculiarly high mining labour influx, (2) de facto government roles of mining companies, (3) the Marikana tragedy typical of labour related inequalities, that the impact of the lack of capacity development and socio-economic inequality manifests into social-ills in the Bojanala Platinum District Municipality. Moreover, the laissez faire organisational culture is inflicted with party political activism and is fraught with win-lose contestations for high stakes in the 'low lying fruits' within the extractive capital economy at the expense of societal empowerment and service delivery. The study, therefore, recommends the creation of supportive monitoring and evaluation systems to advance the strengthening of functional hybrid governance structures and an organic communication model within a transparent and accountable administrative-political ISSN 2161-7104 2022 environment.

Journal of Public Administration and Governance
In the context and strength of findings in this research study, the following future studies are suggested: (1) the effectiveness of provincial government oversight for enhancing capacity development in local municipalities; (2) the significance of the implementation of service delivery mentoring programmes in the BPDM; (3) strategic reorientation of the Performance Management System consistent with local municipality service delivery programmes; and (4) the translation of change management strategies as mediating instruments for effective local government capacity development programmes.