Acta Universitatis Danubius. Administratio, Vol 9, No 2 (2017)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of outsourcing public services as a strategy to improve the quality of service delivery by local authorities. The aim was to find out the causes for the poor service delivery by local authorities. A quantitative research approach was used and questionnaires were used to collect data from the respondents of the study. A chi-squared tests was used to determine the relationship between outsourcing and services quality. The key findings were that the causes for poor service delivery by local authorities were corruption, lack of citizen participation, lack of funds and political interference. Outsourcing was seen to bring quality and affordable services for the public while costs savings and emergence of hidden costs were the financial implications unveiled for the local authorities. Social costs, accountability for public service delivery and quality shading were cited to be the outsourcing challenges. A strong positive relationship between outsourcing and quality of services was determined. Outsourcing was seen as a feasible strategy to use so as to improve service delivery by local authorities.