The Effectiveness of the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) on Service Delivery: The Case of Kagiso Township in Mogale City Local Municipality

Local municipalities in the Republic of South Africa are prescribed by legislation to develop and implement an Integrated Development Plan (IDP). The IDP is a strategic tool that aims to assist local authorities in fulfilling their developmental mandate to communities by informing and guiding processes of decision making in a municipality. Municipalities have been struggling with the effective implementation of the IDP and as a result service delivery backlogs and protests have become a regular occurrence in most of the country. The study investigates challenges faced by the Mogale City local municipality in the implementation of its IDP and how this has impacted on service delivery in Kagiso Township and its community. The study employs a qualitative approach through the use of semi-structured interviews with municipal employees, community members and ward councilors. Data was analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis. The study suggests that poor public participation process, lack of intergovernmental alignment, capacity and resource constraints impacted negatively on IDP implementation therefore impacting on the delivery of services.