International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue VI, June 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186

Corporate Governance and the Quality of Service Delivery in Local Authorities: Case of Masvingo Municipality.

Onismo Maibeki¹, Krammer Chatiza², Sharon Chisango³ and Benard Chisiri^4
1Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University
²;⁴Manicaland State University of Applied Sciences
³Bindura University of Science Education

Abstract: It is arguably true that local authorities are expected to play a pivotal role in improving the economy of any nation in general and the standard of living for the citizens. However, governance challenges have been reported as one of the causes of poor performance and lack of sustainability in institutions. In recent years, local authorities have been experiencing poor governance, deplorable service delivery, misuse of public funds and failure to comply with laws. Upon realising that the quality of life of the urban residents in any country is to some extent related to the quality of service delivery by the local municipality of that city, the researchers felt primed to explore corporate governance (CG) issues. The main objective of the study was to examine the impact of CG on the quality of service delivery in Masvingo city. In probing the problem at hand, the study adopted a mixed methodology to generate data from a sample size of 70 research participants drawn from Masvingo Municipality. Questionnaires and interviews were administered to collect data from municipality employees, the Town Clerk, auditor, Councilors and residents of Masvingo city. The study revealed that CG impacts the quality of service delivery both positively and negatively. It was noted that failure to uphold the elements of CG could translate to poor service delivery while religious implementation of the elements of CG could create a conducive environment for achieving enhanced quality service delivery. Challenges such as nepotism, corruption, political interference and lack of financial resources were identified as rampant in Masvingo city. Measures to improve the quality of service delivery were suggested, namely, employees to be trained to improve their professional competence; nepotism, political interference and corruption be shunned to encourage good CG. It was also recommended that an all-stakeholder approach be put in place so that the elements of CG are taken into consideration for the sake of improving the quality of service delivery in Masvingo city.

Key Terms: Corporate Governance (CG), Service Delivery

I. INTRODUCTION

Local authorities play an important role in improving the economy of the nation and the standard of living of the citizens (Eke, Emenike, Stephen, Gembu, Ogbette, & Samuel, 2018). According to Sifile, Mabvure, Manuere and Morris (2018), local authorities provide diverse services to both the private and the public corporates thereby providing a platform upon which other activities can ride and grow such as infrastructure development, water and sanitation, physical and land use planning. However, governance challenges have been