Maurice Oscar Dassah | University of KwaZulu-Natal (original) (raw)

Papers by Maurice Oscar Dassah

Association of Southern African Schools and Departments of Public Administration and Management (ASSADPAM), 2018

The Journal for Transdiciplinary Research in Southern Africa, 2015

In South Africa, attacks mainly directed at black non-South Africans, is a rampant, long- standin... more In South Africa, attacks mainly directed at black non-South Africans, is a rampant, long- standing phenomenon notwithstanding the spirit of Ubuntu which is thought to permeate the social fabric. Assumptions have been made in various labels describing the attacks, raising concerns about their appropriateness. Further, various explanations and hypotheses have been advanced about causes of or reasons for the attacks. The root causes of the attacks need to be properly understood for lasting solutions to be found. The objectives of this article are: first, to analyse the appropriateness of various labels in order to name the phenomenon South Africa is confronted with; and, secondly, to identify the root causes of the attacks. This analysis could assist in formulating policies and strategies to address the attacks. This article is theoretical, and it draws on in-depth analysis of relevant literature and empirical studies in order to addresses two research questions. First, are the attacks...

Journal of Public Administration, 2008

Abstract: is a modern term for a practice that dates back to antiquity. It has an international, ... more Abstract: is a modern term for a practice that dates back to antiquity. It has an international, transnational and global dimension. The elasticity of evaluation implies that evaluation is carried out by governments in different countries covering a wide range of activities. The ...

Governance and good governance are ubiquitous phenomena. Good governance features almost exclusiv... more Governance and good governance are ubiquitous phenomena. Good governance features almost exclusively in discourses relating to developing countries in the South, but not to those in the North where it originated. This article analyses the topical issue of good governance in Africa. It is divided into two main parts. The first is theoretical and focuses on understandings of governance and good governance. Attention is drawn to a number of governance definitions and a plethora of good governance attributes not only to underline the diversity of opinion and socio-cultural basis around which definitions of governance revolves, but also to highlight broad features of what is thought to constitute good governance. The practical second part of the article focuses on good governance in Africa. It briefly discusses the roots of bad governance, origin of good governance agenda, Africa’s reaction to it and the essence of good governance for Africa. The continent is saddled with governance chal...

A general overview of the state of monitoring and evaluation in Africa is offered. It indicates t... more A general overview of the state of monitoring and evaluation in Africa is offered. It indicates that efforts by the World Bank, African Development Bank, Development Bank of Southern Africa and other agencies, to develop evaluation capacity alongside sweeping public sector reforms and to enhance good governance have not yet yielded the desired results. Monitoring and evaluation are still, by and large, at the nascent stage. Positive developments are emerging, but challenges remain. Zimbabwe probably provides the only example of a "mature" monitoring and evaluation system on the continent. Ghana and South Africa, however, show signs of paying serious attention to establishing monitoring and evaluation systems. On this note, the paper focuses on these countries. The approach, used is a framework of juxtapositional analysis derived from Furubo, Rist and Sandahl who examines the two countries on a number of key factors.

An attempt is made to improve understanding of evaluation utilisation and, hopefully, promote bro... more An attempt is made to improve understanding of evaluation utilisation and, hopefully, promote broader utilisation by locating the discourse in the Weiss-Patton debate and exploring other views. In recognition of the importance of utilisation generally, and particularly in the context of the African Peer Review Mechanism, the article first examines and reviews various studies on the multi-faceted concept of utilisation or use, outlines what it is that is used, identifies the multiplicity of potential users and draws attention to misutilisation or misuse of evaluations. Secondly, drawing from evaluation literature, strategies are outlined that could enhance instrumental utilisation. Finally, Johnson's theoretical model of evaluation utilisation which merges elements of various conceptual frameworks is examined as an advance in the attempt to link theory to practice.

Good governance, the Holy Grail all countries, particularly developing countries, seek has been a... more Good governance, the Holy Grail all countries, particularly developing countries, seek has been a topic of interest in Africa since the 1990s, spurred by concerns about the continent's lagging development. This article analyses the quality of South African governance based on 2007 to 2012 Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IAG) reports, which provide substantial, reliable and objective data for analysis. The IAG responds to the need for a relevant, objective, quantitative instrument for measuring quality of African governance and facilitating institutionalisation of good governance. African leaders have been concerned with devising an appropriate mechanism that would not only measure quality of governance but, more importantly, provide an opportunity for countries to improve through learning from one another. Bad governance, invariably synonymous with pursuit and implementation of policies that are not in the interest of majority of citizens or policies with undesirable out...

No continent is in greater need of sustained development than Africa. On the golden independence ... more No continent is in greater need of sustained development than Africa. On the golden independence jubilee of most countries, and almost 54 years after Ghana - the first country on the African continent to achieve independence - sustained development remains elusive. Although not all state-led developmental efforts succeed, hardly any state has ever been successfully transformed through market mechanisms only. With economic development stagnating in much of Sub-Saharan Africa, coupled with the phenomenal success of strongly state-driven accelerated development and industrialisation in Japan and the newly industrialising or 'tiger' economies of East Asia, the role of the state in development is at the fore and has sparked debate on developmental states in Africa. In South Africa, the developmental state concept is attracting attention mainly because of possibilities it offers for tackling challenges associated with transformation and service delivery. The possibility of develop...

A nexus between good governance and development exists. However, there is no universal consensus ... more A nexus between good governance and development exists. However, there is no universal consensus on what constitutes good governance, since its attributes are by no means universally agreed on, because cultural norms and values differ around the world. This has implications for how good governance might be measured and implies that methodologies or tools for measuring governance quality, that are based on Western values, might be inappropriate for measuring African governance. In the Post-Washington Consensus era, with its emphasis on good governance as the foundation of development, measuring governance quality, an inexact science by any standards, is of high interest globally among different stakeholders for different purposes. Alongside the marked interest in good governance is a high demand for methods of measurement, resulting in a proliferation of methodologies and tools. Two main categories of governance indicators exist: facts-based indicators are based on objective facts, c...

Informatics & Design Papers and Reports, 2008

Online Journal Abstract Information - Sabinet Online.

Informatics & Design Papers and Reports, 2009

CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR THE AFRICAN RENAISSANCE INITIATIVE. Rudolf Perold. Department of Arc... more CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR THE AFRICAN RENAISSANCE INITIATIVE. Rudolf Perold. Department of Architectural Technology. Faculty of Informatics & Design. Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Cape Town. 8000. ...

Since 1992 the National Research Foundation and the Department of Trade and Industry, with suppor... more Since 1992 the National Research Foundation and the Department of Trade and Industry, with support from industry, have been running a funding initiative under the auspices of Technology for Human Resources in Industry Programme (THRIP). This initiative provides funding to ...

Africa is only beginning to assess its administrative performance by employing the New Public Man... more Africa is only beginning to assess its administrative performance by employing the New Public Management tool, called Monitoring and Evaluation. Monitoring appears to be more widely practised on this Continent than actual evaluation to assess the merit, worth and value of administration, output and outcome of government interventions. This article makes a case for the wider use of well-tested evaluation strategies. Without proper evaluation there is no way of determining whether intended programmes are being implemented effectively or whether side effects have become more dominant. The African Peer Review Mechanism arose out of NEPAD and is a good start, but it does not evaluate the performance of individual government departments and their programmes adequately. Peer review broadly assesses the election process; the absence of corruption; and how well political leaders and their governments are performing in their overall economic, political, social and other spheres. This neighbou...

The call by the government of South Africa for an improved postgraduate throughput and pass rate ... more The call by the government of South Africa for an improved postgraduate throughput and pass rate is yet to meet with commensurate attention from researchers. To date, not much empirical studies have been undertaken in this regard. This knowledge gap is dire especially in light of the essential role of postgraduate education in national government’s strategy for improved employment statistics and of the emphasis on access to much more meaningful work. Postgraduate education is commonly perceived to be a lonely journey because students are considered mature at the level of postgraduate studies. Despite the assumption that postgraduate students have somewhat mastered the art of academic writing, they confront certain challenges associated with postgraduate study. In South Africa, postgraduate students have often complained about lack of guidance regarding administrative processes and procedures associated with research. One of the approaches to clarifying the roles and responsibilities...

Background: In South Africa, municipal service delivery is characterised by a low level of motiva... more Background: In South Africa, municipal service delivery is characterised by a low level of motivation amongst employees, poor service quality and a high level of citizen dissatisfaction, often resulting in violent protests. Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between municipal employees’ motivation and quality of services delivered. Setting: The study was conducted at a selected municipality in the Western Cape province, which is unnamed for ethical reasons. Methods: In this quantitative study, two main hypotheses were advanced to examine the relationship between employee motivation and service quality, and six hypotheses tested the relationship between leadership, job satisfaction, career growth, organisational culture, physical work environment, work group teams and service quality. The sample consisted of 121 employees selected from a target population of 219 using simple random sampling technique. A five-point Likert-scale survey questionnaire was administ...