Building Resilient Productivity in an Urban District Municipality through Disruptive Technology: A Case Study of Emfuleni Local Municipality, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa

Abstract Urban municipalities face growing pressure to maintain service delivery amid technological change, population growth, rising costs and recurring disruptions. This study examines the role of disruptive technology in strengthening resilient productivity at Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) in Vanderbijlpark, South Africa. A qualitative case-study design was employed, drawing on semi-structured interviews with 10 senior municipal managers and desktop research. The study found that disruptive technology may function as an additional factor of production by helping municipalities respond to future labour shortages and productivity constraints. Participants also associated technology with more accurate data processing, fewer administrative errors, opportunities for citizen participation and the automation of repetitive tasks. However, they identified concerns about potential threats to skilled employment, employee readiness, privacy and the management of electronic records. The study recommends that municipal authorities develop clear technology-adoption roadmaps, strengthen legal and policy frameworks, improve electricity and communications infrastructure, invest in workforce reskilling and involve employees in change processes from an early stage. The findings offer a context-specific account of perceived opportunities and challenges at ELM. Given the single-case design, small purposive sample and 2021 data-collection period, the findings should not be interpreted as statistically representative of other municipalities. Keywords: disruptive technology; municipal productivity; organisational resilience; local government; digital transformation; public service delivery; Emfuleni Local Municipality