Standing Committee on Appropriations 17 August 2010 Role of SALGA in capacity building at local government level

1.  Standing Committee on Appropriations  17 August 2010 Role of SALGA in capacity building at local government level

2. Local Government Context Overview of the evolution and transformation of local government : Pre-interim phase (1994 – 1995); Interim Phase (1995 – 2000); Final Phase (2000 – beyond) which entails: Establishment (2000 – 2002); Consolidation (2002 – 2005)(Project Consolidate as key intervention); and Sustainability (2005 – beyond)(5 YLGSA/LGTAS as key interventions)

3. Context State of LG Report that resulted in the Local Government Turnaround identified a number of capacity constraints facing local government in the implementation of the system of developmental LG. The State of Local Government in South Africa Report recognises the needs for improved capacity and skills for both councillors and municipal officials Municipalities have poor skills base and lack of training and career pathing Lack of skills development programmes or committed training in many municipalities has come strongly to the fore during the assessment Under-investment in people, particularly where technical, management and leadership skills are required;

4. Context The LGTAS identifies the root causes for some of the problems in municipalities, which includes capacity and skills constraints  It further states that everyone must rise to the challenge of ensuring our municipalities are sites of excellence and they are led and staffed politically and administratively with office bearers and public servants who are responsive, accountable, efficient, effective, and carry out their duties with civic pride.  The LGTAS highlights the core areas of concern from the evidence-based findings such as serious leadership and governance challenges in municipalities and inadequate human resource capital to ensure professional administrations, and positive relations between labour, management and Councils. Five strategic objectives are identified that will guide the LGTAS interventions, one being to improve performance and professionalism in municipalities.

5. Context With regard to the skills and capacity of municipal officials, the following questions need to be addressed:  Is the municipality recruiting and retaining enough municipal officials and are these officials qualified and experienced? What are the vacancy rates in a municipality against averages? (organisational development and filling of critical posts/ recruitment and retention policies) What is the level of experience (number of years) of the municipal manager and CFO? (professionalise administrations) Do the municipal manager and CFO have a tertiary qualification? (professionalise administrations)  

6. A Multi-dimensional Approach to Capacity Building