Capacity building in the South African public sector has recently been under increased scrutiny. The main problem seems to be that capacity building initiatives are not necessarily addressing the real organisational needs of public sector institutions. Whether or not this is true, it is of great importance for public sector academics and practitioners to ensure that what is needed by the public is provided by capacity building services providers. The latest economic initiative of central government, under the auspices of deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the "Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative - South Africa" (AsgiSA), places a huge premium on economic development, job creation and poverty alleviation. In local government, a number of responsibilities are placed on municipalities in the search for effective and efficient service delivery. In line with AsgiSA, emphasis is placed on economic development and munic