Njabulo Khumalo

The term Human Resource Planning (HRP) can be used to achieve organizational objectives by understanding and planning for employees’ needs in the short, medium and long term in order to deliver desired results. Little research that has been conducted on HRP and most are from the private sector and none to be found in the public sector. This study was conducted in the public institution in South Africa. The literature consulted provides an overview that HRP solves current and future organizational problems by ensuring that the right people are in the right place at the right time. This is achieved by analyzing the current profile of the workforce and comparing it with future needs so that gaps, which need to be filled, can be identified. The paper intended to investigate the extent to which employees are well-resourced to perform their duties in centres of the municipality to the community. The investigation used mixed methods in its data collection. 45 participants participated in responding the self-administered questionnaire and seven participated in one-on-one interviews. The study found that half of employees who are working for the centres of the municipality includes supervisors who lack educational attainments, as they hold only grade 12 and no development was initiated. The study recommended the whole the municipality to establish and implement a promotion policy. All necessary equipment and tools provided were insufficient, as required by the Act, to provide all services to the public.

The paper aimed to identify the obstacles of Human Resource Planning (HRP) that affect workers in delivering quality services to public within the customer centres of the municipality located in South Africa (SA). Since, HRP is well known as a tool that resolves the existing and future organization obstacles by confirming that the right employees are placed in the right positions at the right time. The investigation of the paper used mixed methods, which encompasses both qualitative and quantitative methods in its data collection. From the target, only 45 workers completed a questionnaire and only seven supervisors participated in one-on-one interviews. Results reveal the lack of both internal and external factors, which include a shortage of workers to perform the duties of the municipal in the customer centres. This includes demographic issues, lack of education qualifications, recruitment policies, insufficient working tools, working environment and career growth. The recommendation is to implement a strategical recognition for good performance to workers and to look for other venues with enough space to deliver quality services. Lastly, there is a need to establish and implement strategies of promotion and growth within the municipality.

Stokvel is a type of ‘rotating savings and credit associations’ found only in South Africa (SA) which have an estimated value of R49 billion and a membership of 11,5 million, in a country with a populace of 57million and an informal economy with a total value of R160 billion – yet remain a hidden sector of the economy. This confirms that there is a shortage of the consulted literature on the model for integrating the stokvels into the economic policy framework of a municipality. Therefore, developing the stokvel industry could be key to poverty alleviation, reduction of unemployment and broadening equitable access to the ownership of the economy and capital accumulation; thus, improving the livelihoods and raising the standard of living. The objective of the paper is to determine the economic contribution factors of stokvels in the economic transformation of SA at a municipality level. The paper used a mixed methods design. A sample size of 395 stokvel groups’ respondents for the quantitative research was selected using a simple random probability sampling method. The response rate was 100 percent. For the qualitative part, six policy-makers were interviewed using the purposive non-probability sampling method. The paper revealed that the money saving and investment, business opportunities and job creation, and policy development were the main economic contribution factors of stokvels in SA at the municipalities. The paper recommended for policy-makers to formulate an economic transformation policy framework inclusive of stokvels and to adopt their economic contribution factors.

Academic employees face declining working conditions that may reduce the level of commitment to resource-constrained public higher education institutions. The purpose of the study is to examine whether strong social interactions at work affect academic employee commitment amid a poor state of physical working conditions in under-resourced public higher education institutions. A cross-sectional survey obtained data from 63 academic employees across six faculties at a large, under-resourced public higher education institution located in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Academic employees taught many under-prepared students, primarily from previously disadvantaged backgrounds, using limited physical resources. The linear regression (r = –.0.52, CR = 3.21, p = < .001) results showed that stable social interactions were associated with high employee commitment in resource-constrained institutions. Academic employees remain highly committed to the institution despite the poor physical working conditions. The study extends the affective perspective by showing that employees build regular social interactions to remain highly committed and overlook limited access to physical workplace resources. Leaders ought to create regular social interaction opportunities between employees to foster high employee commitment amid inadequate physical working conditions.