A CONCEPTUAL GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK FOR NON-PERFORMING DISTRICT MUNICIPALITIES IN SOUTH AFRICA

Municipalities are an essential sphere of government, as they provide basic services to local citizens. They are expected to function optimally to meet this mandate. However, due to challenges with governance, the performance of most mu-nicipalities in South Africa is disappointing. To improve their performance, and address the governance challenges, this study proposes a conceptual governance framework for these non-performing municipalities in South Africa. The Delphi Technique was implemented to obtain views from municipal governance experts on measures that could become the cornerstones of a framework with a view to improving the performance of these municipalities. The results obtained indicate that the conceptual governance framework needs to focus on leadership as one cornerstone of governance, to be followed by strengthening the financial management unit and its personnel, the supply chain management unit and its personnel, and the asset management unit and its personnel. This was achieved from the responses obtained through engagement with municipal governance experts, which indicated the appointment of suitably qualified and experienced individuals as key measures for improving governance in district municipalities. The proposed governance framework could be used by district municipalities as a point of reference towards effective and efficient governance performance.