The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Service Delivery: An Empirical Analysis of Lepelle-Nkumpi Local Municipality

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on service delivery using the Lepelle-Nkumpi local municipality as a reference point. The constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 postulates for universal and adequate provision of services to rural communities. Many local municipalities in South Africa are facing unrelenting service delivery challenges and backlogs. Many municipalities are characterized by upheaval incidences of poor provision of water, electricity, sanitation, and refuse collection services among others. On the other hand, the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the service delivery challenges in almost all the municipalities. This paper followed a quantitative approach for data collection and analysis to ascertain the impact of COVID-19 on service delivery.   The paper relied on the theory of social change as a theoretical lens and interpretation of research findings. The 'primary data was collected using a questionnaire from 449 households in selected wards in the municipality. Moreover, systematic sampling methods was used to select household participants.  The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on service delivery. The chi-squared method was used to judge the goodness of fit between expected and observed results coupled with a coefficient of correlation to determine the magnitude and the direction of the relationship between COVID-19 and service delivery. This paper found that Lepelle-Nkumpi municipality was overwhelmed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Services such as water, electricity, sanitation, and refuse removal collection were not adequately provided during the pandemic. This paper recommends among others the use of ICT for service delivery during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.