The role of human resource development in improving municipal service in South Africa

Abstract

Provision of quality service by all spheres of government to citizens of South Africa is a Constitutional mandate. Poor quality of service delivery raises questions about human resource management practices in South African municipalities. If the performance of municipal administration is poor and its human resources are frustrated, neither of the strategic goals could be achieved. The efficiency of administration is directly linked to human resource capacity, therefore, there is a need to develop public institutions through modernizing human resources and improving their performance. Human resource development as a process for developing and unleashing human expertise through organisation development and personnel training and development for the purpose of improving performance to be involved in the advancement of municipal service is necessary. The paper highlights that it is important that human resource development be designed so as to make a much better use of human resources and to improve, at the same time, the well-being and opportunities of professional advancement of its personnel. Various municipalities are continuing to experience lack of service delivery and thus raises the question of saying, if human resource development is practiced well then why are there still continuing protests about service delivery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of human resource development in improving municipal service. A comprehensive literature survey or review in the study was the most important research method to gather relevant data that supports the study. Findings of the study indicated that there is shortage of skills in the practice of human resource development and therefore there is a need for HRD professionals to upgrade their skills and knowledge in order to meet the requirements of the new generation.