Abstract:
The study aimed at investigating the efficacy of the Integrated Development Plan
(IDP)‟s implementation to enhance basic service delivery at Mpakeni Village in the
Mpumalanga Province. The South African government constitutionally mandates local
municipalities, which are the spheres closer to societies, to provide basic services to
their constituencies. The South African government has been attempting to address
service delivery challenges and existing backlogs bequeathed by the apartheid regime.
For this reason, instruments such as the IDP have been formulated to enhance basic
service delivery, especially in previously disadvantaged communities. However, in many
South African municipalities, such as Mbombela Local Municipality, the IDP is used only
as a blue-print rather than a tool to enhance basic service delivery.
The study was guided by the Humanistic Paradigm and Systems Theory. It employed
both qualitative and quantitative research approaches to investigate the institutional
factors that lead to effective IDP implementation. Assisted questionnaires and
interviews were used to collect data from the respondents in the Mpakeni Village. The
sample of the study was used to select different household respondents and municipal
officials. The study involved a total of 70 household respondents and 4 key informants
from the municipality. The research findings indicated the lack of capabilities in the
municipality, high corruption rate and maladministration, as factors which hindered the
improvement of basic service delivery. It was found that many of the residents do not
understand what an IDP is all about. This means that many local citizens have little or
no knowledge about how basic services are delivered to their communities. It was also
found that there is lack of public participation during the IDP process and its
implementation. Therefore, the study concluded that IDP implementation does not
enhance basic service delivery because of the inexperience of municipal officers,
among other things. Consequently, the study recommended that only experienced
candidates should be employed to implement the IDP whilst the existing ones should be
trained.
