By Tabisa Mntengwana
June 12, 2009

LOCAL government needed to address public perceptions of its performance, said Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Sicelo Shiceka at the National Members’ Assembly (NMA).

The assembly met over two days at the Regent Hotel in East London, on 10 and 11 June. Invited to attend by the South African Local Government Association (Salga), guests included councillors, cabinet ministers, executive mayors, mayors, Speakers of council, ambassadors and municipal officials.

They were in town to look into various challenges concerning municipalities and into the country’s economic difficulties.

Speaking about service delivery, Shiceka pointed out that local government was faced with a serious reputation crisis. “During several research surveys conducted regarding public perception on spheres of government, local government has always scored the lowest. Even the latest research results point to that sad perception.”

He added that local government was called upon to respond to these challenges with its own organisational programmes and processes.

Giving his views on the global and national economic difficulties, Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe said these would negatively affect masses of people, especially the poorest of the poor.

However, he was optimistic. “I am also confident that when it comes to the crunch, Salga will not be found wanting in providing the indispensable leadership required to bring about the reality of a caring society.”

He also emphasised the need to eradicate the bucket system of sanitation. “We [the government] need to give fresh impetus to our commitment to ensure that there is delivery of clean water, decent shelter, proper sanitation and sustainable livelihood in urban and rural areas alike.”

Challenges like this should make Salga more determined to address all its binding constraints such as capacity building, so that the tasks of poverty eradication, employment and empowerment, among others, could begin in earnest.

Welcoming guests to Buffalo City Executive Mayor Zukisa Faku, said: “My task is to welcome you to Buffalo City, but please allow me to also use this opportunity to express our support, as a council, for the Members’ Assembly.”

She said the issues discussed at the assembly were the core of the constitutional mandate of local government.

In the second session, Amos Masondo, the chairperson of Salga and the executive mayor of Johannesburg, spoke about a number of issues, including municipal councillors’ pension fund, local government pension fund, councillor support and remuneration, and salary and wage negotiations.

He confirmed that Salga would look closely at matters including job evaluations and divisional bargaining, the youth, women and children, people with disabilities and labour concerns.

The day wrapped up with a series of commissions looking at issues such as restructuring the electricity distribution industry, community development strategies, municipal institutional development and the remodeling of organised local government.

Shiceka said that a turnaround in local government was a priority and urged municipalities to take this seriously as the country approached the 2011 local government elections.

“Municipalities should have a service delivery and comprehensive infrastructure plan that seeks to address backlogs over the medium to long term.”

According to a press statement issued by Salga, the two days allocated to the National Members Assembly will ensure that local government continues to lift the bar and strive towards a better quality of life for every resident and citizen.

“We will continue to strive for and ensure that the voice of local government continues to be heard, that capacity is built, that best practice is identified and knowledge shared among all member municipalities,” reads a press statement.

The assembly continued on the second day with a report back from the first day’s commissions and a presentation of the adoption of Buffalo City Declaration.