An evaluation of the application of the new public management principles in the South African municipalities

• Published date: 01 February 2021
• Author: Pandelani Harry Munzhedzi
• Date: 01 February 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2132

ACADEMIC PAPER

An evaluation of the application of the new public

management principles in the South African municipalities

Pandelani Harry Munzhedzi

Department of Public & Development

Administration, University of Venda,

Thohoyandou, South Africa

Correspondence

Pandelani Harry Munzhedzi, Department of

Public & Development Administration,

University of Venda, Thohoyandou,

South Africa.

Email: harry.munzhedzi@univen.ac.za

New public management (NPM) was introduced in the western world with a sole

purpose of reforming the public sector and its approaches in managing affairs of

the state. These reforms were later adopted in some parts of the African conti-

nent including in the sub-Saharan Africa trying to emulate the successes of the

developed economies of the world. South Africa as one of the countries in Africa

also sought to shift from its apartheid bureaucratic, inefficient and rule driven

management of public affairs. To this end, the democratic South Africa aligned its

constitutional provisions with the principles of NPM which include but are not

limited to participatory planning, decentralisation, performance management,

effectiveness and efficiency. These principles were introduced precisely to better

manage the state and its resources including at the local sphere of government.

Local government in South Africa is underpinnedbyitsownsetsofpolicyframe-

works. This conceptual paper seeks to evaluate the application of NPM principles

in the South African municipalities. The said evaluation was undertaken through

a review of existing literature. The paper concludes that the application of the

said principles in the South African municipalities is confronted by some chal-

lenges including lack of political will, corruption as well as lack of skills and capac-

ities. Necessary recommendations have been developed to enhance the

performance of municipalities so as to achieve the otherwise good intended pro-

visions of the NPM.

1|INTRODUCTION

In as early as late 1970s to the early 1980s, a number of developed

countries in the western Europe initiated public sector reforms which

introduced changes within the Public Administration paradigm of a

bureaucratic Weberian public administration to a business-oriented

framework (Carstens & Thornhill, 2000; Vyas-Doorgapersad, 2011).

This paradigm shift was later called “new public management”(NPM),

and it was coined in the United Kingdom to describe the administra-

tive reform which was implemented by the Conservative Party gov-

ernment, under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher. The shift sought

to design government systems that become less distinctive from that

of the private sector, and the degree of discretionary power of public

managers to be increased. The ultimate objective of the reform was

that the public sector mostly adopts private sector styles of manage-

ment where efficiency, participatory planning, decentralisation, out-

sourcing, financial service reforms and performance management are

the order of the day (Cameron, 2009; Rubakula, 2014; Vyas-

Doorgapersad, 2011). These principles of NPM as well as its origin

and applicability in the South African municipalities are discussed

comprehensively in the subsequent paragraphs. This is a conceptual

paper which relied on the review of existing literature regarding the

applicability of NPM principles in the South African municipalities.

The origin of the NPM in general and South African context in partic-

ular is discussed first for a better understanding before the evaluation

of the said principles and their applicability.

Received: 7 October 2019Revised: 12 February 2020Accepted: 9 March 2020

DOI: 10.1002/pa.2132

J Public Affairs. 2021;21:e2132.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd1of8

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2132