An Investigation of the Impact of Leadership Development Programmes on Councillor Leadership Effectiveness

Abstract

The global demands on politicians across all levels (local, sub-national and national levels) have increased exponentially and placed a strain on them to develop themselves to be agile to the evergrowing demands of the constituencies they serve. The South African political context is no exception to these global demands, infact there are more challenges which are exarcebated by the low maturity levels of democracy. In South Africa politics is now regarded as a career and is a job to many political leaders who otherwise would be jobless given the high unemployment rate in the country. This has resulted into the political arena being a highly contested space sometimes even characterized by political killings because of the competition for the positions of councillors. The political positions also enable some unscrupulous councillors to have access to resources and begin to amass them for themselves and their friends and families. This therefore necessitates the need for politicians (councillors) to be developed to be able to rise above these challenges and lead with integrity. It is for this reason that this study investigated the impact of leadership development programmes on councillor leadership effectiveness of eThekwini Municipality ward councillors. The article used quantitative research methodology to collect and analyse data. The study found that leadership development programmes have a positive impact on councillor leadership effectiveness. It therefore recommended that councillors’ leadership development programmes should be intensified and councillors should be allowed to pursue academic studies (diplomas and degrees) to enable them to face challenges of local government.