Project Governance: A Municipal Leadership Challenge

What is it about?

Institutions utilising projects for policy implementation and service delivery initiatives should make provision for adequate institutional arrangements for the governance of projects. Governance include authorative decisions regarding resource allocation, performance monitoring and oversight, powers of the project manager, accountability issues and the establishment of structures to facilitate clear interfaces between municipal leadership and project teams. Governance arrangements typically include the establishment of mechanisms such as a steering committee and/or a project management unit to facilitate decision-making. This paper explores the governance arrangements of projects and the challenges it represents to the political and administrative leadership of municipalities. Leadership challenges centre specifically around political and administrative interfaces, the physical organisational placement of project governance structures, and the monitoring and oversight of projects. For this purpose, research was conducted at 23 local and district municipalities in North-West Province to explore existing practices and leadership challenges. The challenges identified can lead to further research into the underlying issues causing service delivery failures in municipalities.

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