Competency-Based Training Capacity Building South Africa Local Government

The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual account on the applicability of Competency-Based Training as a model for capacity building in the South African local government. The South African Local government has since the transition into democracy in 1994, invested on workforce development, aimed at improving municipalities’ capacity to deliver their mandates as described by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. These efforts are shadowed by the ever increasing levels of service delivery protests, supplemented by unpleasing audit outcomes over the past two decades of democracy. The paper argues therefore that among other challenges of local government in South Africa, is the lack of conceptuality of capacity building as critical aspect of local government strategy. This challenge of the context of local government capacity therefore result in local government being unable to measure the account of capacity interventions in the municipalities. The paper in its purpose will use literature to back-up a hypotheses that using Competency-Based Training as a model in capacity building can be fruitful in the South African local government. On the basis of such a conceptual account the paper concludes that Competency-Based Training can be a driving force behind a professional, competent and self-driven local government workforce, where capacity intervention can be clearly measured.

• Abedian, I. & Biggs, M., 1998. Economic Globalization and Fiscal Policy. Cape Town, South Africa: Oxford University Press.
• African Training and Research Centre in Administration for Development (CAFRAD), 2004. Program for Public Sector Leadership Capacity Building for Good Governance in Africa. Meeting held in South Africa, Stellenbosch 29-30 September, 2004.
• Aucoin, B. M., 2002. From engineer to manager: Mastering the transition. Artech House.
• Benhabid, S., 2006.  Another Cosmopolitanism. Oxford University Press, UK: Oxford.
• Bergin, T., 2013. Learning and Development in the Public Sector: The Care for Maintaining Investment in Tough Times. Australian Institute of Management, Canberra. 
• Billett, S., 2001.  Critiquing Workplace Learning Discourses: participation and Continuity at Work. Infed.  Available at: 
• http://www.infed.org/archives/e-texts/bellett_workplace_learning.htm[Accessed May 2014].
• Boone, C., 2003. Political topographies of the African state: Territorial authority and institutional choice. Cambridge University Press, UK:  Cambridge.
• Bowman, A. O. M., & Kearney, R. C., 2012. Are US cities losing power and authority? Perceptions of local government actors. Urban Affairs Review, XX(X), 1–19.
• Cheng, B., Wang, M., Yang, S. J., & Peng, J. (2011). Acceptance of competency-based workplace e-learning systems: Effects of individual and peer learning support. Computers & Education, 57(1), 1317-1333.
• CoGTA, 2009.  State of Local Government in South Africa. Government Printers: Pretoria
• Craig, G. (2007). Community capacity-building: Something old, something new? Critical Social Policy, 27(3), 335-359.
• Dollery, B.E., & Robbotti, L., 2008. The theory and practice of local government. Cheltenham, UK:Edward Edgar.
• Faguet, J.P., 2005. Governance from below: a theory of local government with two empirical tests. LSE Research online.
• Holland, J.H., 2006.  Studying Complex Adaptive Systems. Journal of Systems Science & Complexity, 19 (1), 1-19.
• Holton, E. F., Coco, M. L., Lowe, J. L., & Dutsch, J. V., 2006. Blended delivery strategies for competency-based training. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 8(2), 210-228.
• Lankard, B.A., 1996.  New Ways of Learning in the Workplace.  Eric Digest. Available at: http://www.ericdigests.org/1996-2/work.html  [Accessed May 2014].
• Le Deist, F. D., & Winterton, J., 2005. What is competence? Human resource development international, 8(1), 27-46.
• Ledwith, M., 2005. Community Development. A Critical Approach. The Policy Press: Bristol. 
• Makobe, D.H., 2002.  The Role of Organised local Government in Local transformation.  Paper Presented at the Australia-South Africa Local Government Partnership, Mangaung, 07-Novermber 2002.
• Ministry of Provincial Affairs and Constitutional Development, South Africa, 1997.  The Green Paper on Local Government. Government Printers: Pretoria.
• Morgan, R., 2014.  Small Business. Retrieved for Demand Media.  Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/address-learning-styles-workplace-training-10222.html [Acessed June 2014].
• Naidoo, R. (2003). Repositioning higher education as a global commodity: Opportunities and challenges for future sociology of education work. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 24(2), 249-259.
• Naquin, S.S., & Holton, E.F. (2003). Redefining State Governmental Leadership and Management Development: A Process for Competency-Based Development. Public Personnel Management, 33(1), 88-102.
• Ndletyana, M. (2007).  Municipal Elections 2006: Protests, independent candidate and cross-border municipalities. In J.D.S. Buhlungu, (Eds.). State of the Nation: South Africa 2007.  Human Science Research Council Press: Cape Town.
• Ndletyana, M., & Mozondidya, J. (2009).  Reviewing Municipal Capacity in the Context of Local Government Reform. South African Government in Review. Vol 1(1): 23-38.
• Nyalunga, D. (2006). The revitalisation of local government in South Africa. International NGO Journal, 1(2), 15-20.
• Peters, E., & van Donk, M.(2013). Local Government and Poverty Reduction. Pillay, U., Hagg, G., & Nyamnjoh (ed). State of the Nation: South Africa 2012-2013. Human Science Research Council Press: Cape Town.
• Peters, S., & Van Nieuwenhuyzen, H. (2012). Understanding the Dynamics of the ssCapacity Challenge at Local Government Level. Technical Report: 2013/14 Submission for the Division of Revenue.
• Pratchett, L.(2004). Local Authority, Local Democracy and the New Localism. Political Studies. Vol. 53 (1), 358-375.
• Pyccroft, C. (2000).  Democracy and Delivery: The rationalisation of local government in South Africa.  International Review of Administration Science. Vol. 66: 143-159.
• Queensland Government (2013). Competency-Based Training and Assessment: A guide for employers, apprentices and trainees. Queensland: Department of Education, Training and Development.
• Quick, J. C., & Nelson, D. L. (2009). Principles of organizational behavior: realities and challenges (6th ed.).Australia: South-Western.
• Royer, J.M. (1978).  Theories of learning.  Bolt Baranek and Newman Inc:  Cambridge.
• Sebola, M. P. (2014). Ethics in the South African public service: A paradox of culture, politics and ethics in the world of work. Journal of Social Sciences,40(3), 295-304.
• Sebola. M.(2014).  The Role of SALGA in Training Municipal Councillors for Development: Using the Knowledgeable Experts. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5 (14): 633-640.
• Shuman, M., 2000. Going Local: Creating Self-reliant Communities in a Global Age. Routledge: New York.
• South Africa (1996).  The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.  Government Printers: Pretoria.
• South Africa (1998).  Employment Equity Act, 1998 (55 of 1998). Government Printers: Pretoria.
• South Africa (1999).  Skills Development Levies Act, 1999 (9 of 1999).  Government Printer: Pretoria.
• South Africa, (1998).  The Skills Development Act, 1998 (97 of 1998).  Government Printers: Pretoria.
• Suevises, P. (2009). A studying of training needs for Thai local government personnel. Public Administrative journal,  7(2), 117-157.
• ul Haque, A. (2012). THEORECTICAL PERSPECTIVE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT-Literature Review.
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), (1998). Capacity Assessment and Development in a Systems and Strategic Management Contexts. United Nations Development Programme, Technical paper No.3.
• United Nations, (2014).  What is Capacity Building. Available at:
•  http://www2.unitar.org/dfm/resource_center/links/capacitybuilding.htm[Accessed October 2014].
• Voorhees, R. A. (2001). Competency‐Based learning models: A necessary future. New directions for institutional research, 2001(110), 5-13.
• Watt, P. (2008). The only class in town? Gentrification and the middle‐class colonization of the city and the urban imagination. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 32(1), 206-211.
• Watt, P. (2008). The only class in town? Gentrification and the middle‐class colonization of the city and the urban imagination. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 32(1), 206-211.
• Wibbels, E. (2006). Madison in Baghdad?: Decentralization and federalism in comparative politics. Annu. Rev. Polit. Sci., 9, 165-188.
• Zegeye, A., & Maxted, J. (2002).  Our Dream Differed: the Poor in South Africa. South African History online and UNISA Press: Pretoria