With service delivery in our municipalities continuing to be a hot topic, the study of Mhlonipheni Kunene was not only particularly relevant, but also saw him obtain a PhD in public management and governance during the Autumn Graduation Ceremonies of the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Vanderbijlpark.

Dr Caiphus Mhlonipheni Kunene

In his thesis, Evaluation of training and development of public servants for effective service delivery in the Kwazulu-Natal Department of Social Development, Mhlonipheni looked at training and development programmes, specifically training with regard to effective public service delivery. He contributed to new knowledge by developing a new model for training and development for effective service delivery.

The model was founded on seven crucial steps:

1. Identifying whether or not training and development required responses to the need for effective service delivery;

2. Ascertaining the final impact of training and development vis-a-vis the resources available in the department;

3. Stating the desired outcomes and changes that the perceived training and development would bring to the department in relation to effective service delivery;

4. Developing communication channels that would enable managers, employees and customers to have an input in the learning content of the training and development manual and also align it to their workplaces;

5. Expanding the training and development base while preserving the quality of training and development programmes;

6. Maintaining working relationships and providing training materials to higher education and professional organisations for verification of the quality of the training material and,

7. Developing an evaluation plan to understand the effectiveness and outcomes of training and development for effective service delivery.

More about Dr Kunene

Born on 25 November 1966 in Johannesburg, South Africa, Caiphus Mlonepheni Kunene matriculated at Ekucabangeni High School in Nquthu, KwaZulu-Natal in 1985. He was registered for a National Diploma in Public Management at Mangosuthu Technikon in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal from 1989 until 1991. In 1994 he became a training officer in the Public Service Commission of the former Kwazulu-Natal provincial government. He was promoted through the ranks

and became chief training officer and continued to pursue his studies. His efforts came to fruition in 2005, when he completed a master’s of administration and political science with distinction at the University of Zululand. In 2008, he was promoted to Manager: Human Resources Administration in the Department of Social Development. 

His study was promoted by Prof Costa Hofisi.