Towards the entrepreneurial municipality: a proposed framework for service delivery improvement in South Africa

Poor service delivery is a major challenge confronting many municipal authorities around the world. The challenge is even worse in developing nations, mainly because municipal authorities, like any other organisations in developing countries, are susceptible to the stress of mismanagement, economic downturns or stagnation, and resource constraints, among other factors. As a result, many municipalities struggle to improve their service delivery levels. Using a systematic review of literature, in this paper we considered a wide range of choices available to improve service delivery levels in municipalities. We observed an entrepreneurial approach to municipal management as among the possible solution to the plight of service delivery improvement in municipalities. This includes the adoption of joint entrepreneurial practices and stakeholder participation in the service delivery endeavours of municipalities. Therefore, an Entrepreneurial Service Delivery (ESD) framework for Local Municipalities is proposed. The ESD framework is built on our understanding of municipal management frameworks, service delivery challenges, service improvement options, and the identification of possible entrepreneurial opportunities that municipalities can pursue in conjunction with the relevant community forums. Mutual responsibility and beneficiation guidelines are also provided for both municipalities and community forums. This framework and the insights presented in this paper are valuable in guiding municipalities and practitioners on how to improve service delivery levels.