Investigating compliance levels of South African public organisations with good governance practices

Currently, there is a great interest in good governance practices, with various public organisations attempting to be compliant. Addressing the adherence of public organisations to good governance practices is quintessential in ensuring sound service delivery. The current study sought to assess the compliance of public organisations with good governance practices. Exploratory-descriptive research design following mixed method approach was used to measure this phenomenon through the semi-structured interviews and closed-ended questionnaires. While qualitative data from 14 traditional leaders were analysed through thematic analysis, quantitative data obtained from 109 municipal officials and councillors in four South African local municipalities were analysed using the mean and standard deviation. The findings from the analysis recognised that municipalities uphold good governance practices to some degree. Although the results revealed the presence of transparency, stakeholder participation, and accountability within municipal operations, there were deficiencies in performance evaluations, feedback mechanisms, and community engagement. These shortcomings hindered inclusivity and limited participation in decision-making processes. One clear implication is the need for integrated collaboration between municipal officials and community leaders which should be encouraged and enforced. In addition, collaborating with various stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations, the private sector and community-based organisations can provide additional resources and expertise. Despite various studies covered good governance in general, no study to date has specifically explored the adherence of public organisations to good governance practices. Hence, the current study is a pioneering work that explore the public organisations’ adherence to good governance.