This paper analyses poor service delivery at local government level, which is attributed to the politicisation of administrative components in municipalities, resulting in poor local governance. The public service delivery system has been perceived as one of the most important ways of reducing poverty through poverty alleviation programmes. As part of the South African government's cooperative system, key stakeholders in municipalities ought to adopt an integrated approach to public service delivery. An integrated approach to public service delivery demands that local municipalities, together with relevant stakeholders, integrate processes and services to ensure effective and efficient service delivery. This ultimately will result in an improved standard of living and sustainable livelihood for communities. With regard to public service delivery, local municipalities have the obligation of creating income opportunities people, especially the poor, with the sole aim of contributing towards poverty reduction and the realisation of the expectations of people, as stated in the South African government's White Paper of transforming public service delivery. The political interface in local municipalities greatly affects effective and efficient administration, as well as growth opportunities. Administrators, therefore, have the important function of ensuring that explicit assignments of objectives and administrative functions are wholly separated from the policymaking activities of government. This paper, therefore, suggests that municipalities adopt the merit system and abandon the spoils system that is highly characterised by political favours and political interferences. Political favours and interferences are dominant in local South African government, and they hinder the process of providing services equally.

This issue of the GSoD In Focus explores the contribution that the Global State of Democracy (GSoD) Indices can make to the review of progress on the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The GSoD Indices can be used to complement the official indicators of the SDGs, to acquire in-depth knowledge on trends in achieving the specific targets of individual SDGs. In this regard, the GSoD Indices can be used to provide data on the SDGs for poverty (SDG 1), hunger (2), health and wellbeing (3), education (4), gender equality (5), inequalities (10), sustainable cities and communities (11), peace, justice and institutions (16), and partnerships for the goals (17), as well as across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The research aims to analyze the causes of corruption, anti corruption measures that have been put in place, the challenges that have been faced in the implementation of these strategies and what can be done to improve them. Public sector officials have been seen engaging in corrupt activities and meeting their private gain at the expense of service delivery. Corruption is caused by a variety of factors, if they are not addressed corruption will not be successfully arrested and society will continue to suffer. Forms of corruption which include bribery, nepotism, gross mismanagement of council funds and misuse of council assets, selling of council assets at low rates and the bribing of council workers, have impacted negatively on service delivery. The research was conducted at Gweru City Council and questionnaires and interviews were used to elicit data from the informants. The anti corruption measures revealed include internal and external auditing, punishing of offenders, whistle blowing, use of the code of ethics among other strategies. However, these strategies have not been fully implemented to make them totally effective. The recommendations are that codes of conduct and strong independent oversight bodies should be put in place, improvement of remuneration, internal and external auditing will help curb corrupt practices, penalties should be stiffer but not discriminatory and whistleblowers should report cases of corruption without fear, the media should investigate, report and expose corruption without undermining the credibility of anti corruption efforts. Civil society organizations should be allowed to access and question council information and decisions.