South Africa's Public Administration for Community Service (PACS) introduces an innovative approach to the study of Public Administration at the local level in South Africa. It is particularly informed by the growing emphasis on local governance and service delivery in the Republic of South Africa. PACS lays great emphasis on applying Public Administration principles to local governance issues towards achieving the four pillars of Public Administration (efficiency, effectiveness, economy and equity). The book adopts a multi-disciplinary approach that not only provides knowledge of local government administrative processes such as policy, human resources and finance, but also incorporates applied development knowledge areas critical to local governance such as development theories, study of community-based organisations and advocacy, community governance and monitoring and evaluation. This corpus of knowledge provides a multi-disciplinary scope to the study of Public Administration at the community or local level, which is vital to building a critical knowledge and skills base poised to tackle the huge challenges in local government in South Africa.

Prof Edwin Ijeoma is the former Chair and Head of Department of Public Administration at the University of Fort Hare. He is a Professor of Policy and Public Sector Economics and is a recognised scholar in Public Sector Monitoring and Evaluation. He was a pioneer Research Specialist at the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Secretariat in Johannesburg and serves as Policy Adviser to several public sector and development institutions in South Africa and abroad. Professor Ijeoma is the editor of Africa’s Public Service Delivery and Performance Review (APSDPR), a public sector Monitoring and Evaluation Journal.