BackgroundPre-1994 spatial development policies that separated racial groups into geographically segregated neighbourhoods left South Africa with sprawling cities that increase the cost of public service delivery. Low-density areas in cities make transport networks extremely inefficient, resulting in high transport costs and long commuting hours, according to the Government Technical Advisory Centre (Republic of South Africa 2013:1), which has determined that '[t]he higher costs, combined with affordability constraints, mean that passenger fares tend to cover a smaller proportion of the operating costs of public transport in South African cities'. To cover operating cost, government spent nearly R140 billion on public transport subsidies in major cities between 2012and 2016 (Republic of South Africa 2013. Subsidisation is mostly through the conditional Public Transport Operations Grant (PTOG) that 'subsidise public transport services in poor communities thus making these services accessible and affordable' (Republic of South Africa 2017:112).The Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works (DTPW) 'is responsible for the management and administration of road-based subsidised public transport and the associated PTOG allocation' (Western Cape Government 2017a:52). Department of Transport and Public Works applies the PTOG to subsidise bus services in the City of Cape Town through financial support to Golden Arrow Bus Services (GABS) (Western Cape Government 2017a). Golden Arrow Background: An evaluation of a transport subsidisation programme in the Western Cape, South Africa, was undertaken to capture the outcomes and benefits of the service from the perspective of the bus user.Objectives: The objective of this article was to compare the findings from the adopted parallel mixed-methods design that included a perception survey and the Most Significant Change (MSC) technique. The article presented the advantages of each approach and reflected on the benefits and challenges in applying the MSC technique.Method: Data on the intended outcomes of the Provincial Transport Operations Grant programme were collected from 458 commuters on four bus routes through a structured close-ended questionnaire. The MSC technique was applied to collect 69 stories of change that captured changes regarded as most significant by beneficiaries of the public transport subsidy.Results: It was found that the survey better captured the intended and predetermined objectives of the programme, while the large response group allowed for comparisons and cross-tabulations. The MSC interviews better captured the real-life experience of participants and identified the benefits most valued by commuters, including outcomes not specifically anticipated by the programme. It also served to clarify contradicting responses or ratings on the closed-ended questionnaire and informed further bivariate analysis of the structured questionnaire data. Conclusion:To maximise benefits from the MSC technique, sufficient time is needed to solicit value responses f...
The paper reports on a study investigating the efficacy of policy and legal framework for cooperative governance and LED to facilitate and coordinate responses to socio-economic concerns in the selected small towns in South Africa. The policy and legal framework place the onus for development on the local municipalities and urge the municipalities to partner with other stakeholders such as the business and the civil society to manage and respond to socio-economic concerns within the municipalities. The purpose of this paper is to review the ‘efficacy of the policy and legal framework’ to facilitate ‘cooperative governance’ and ‘LED’, specifically in six municipalities in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Data were collected from government officials, private and civil sector through three data collection instruments, namely, document review, interviews and focus group discussions. The key findings from the study are mixed. The policy design and implementation were established problematic in multifarious ways. However, the findings also provide a glimpse of hopes in matters of public accountability by providing policy guidelines aimed at promoting accountability amongst government role-players. Given the backdrop, some recommendations are provided in this paper. This paper provides feedbacks for policy makers and implementers on the performance of policy and legal framework that informs the cooperative governance of local economies, specifically in small towns, to establish as to what is effective to replicate in form of good practice and what is under-performing for possible review. This assist in improving the understanding of the context that may inhibit or enable stakeholders in taking full advantage of collaborative-led developmental interventions to further peoples’ lives and to enhance their opportunities to partake in matters of development in their municipalities.
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