Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) of Municipal Owned Entities (MOEs) in South Africa: the case of Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo

Abstract

Mergers and acquisitions are one way to make none performing enterprises productive and profitable. The City of Johannesburg Municipality (CoJ) has gone through a process of merging some of its municipal owned enterprises (MOEs) in recent years. Taking the case of the merger of the Johannesburg City Parks and Johannesburg Zoo to form a new company called Johannesburg City Park and Zoo, this paper draws from secondary sources such as municipal documents and data from interviews with different Johannesburg City Park and Zoo staff. The findings point to various problems which the merger has created for the Johannesburg City Park and Zoo which have negatively impacted on service delivery functions. The findings further indicate that the problems created by the merger are related to poor articulation of merger process; organisational fit; inadequate management of merger process; political imperativeness; low staff morale and satisfaction; and insufficient funding of merger process. These findings are consistent with theoretical exegesis in extant literature on mergers and acquisitions. The paper concludes with recommendations aimed at strengthening policy, strategies, and capacities. These are deemed necessary if the Johannesburg City Park and Zoo is to achieve its intended objectives.