ACKNOWLEDGING the fact that local government has generally failed to deliver effective and efficient services to communities and that this failure is seriously hampering Government’s efforts to build cohesive, sustainable and quality communities, President Jacob Zuma recently signed into law the Local Government: Municipal Systems Amendment Act 7 of 2011.
This Act now compels municipal councils to appoint non-political, qualified and competent municipal managers and senior managers to administratively lead and manage their municipalities.
In a further attempt to enhance the professionalisation of South African municipalities, the Institute for Local Government Management of South Africa (ILGM) recently afforded the Chairperson of its Regulatory & Professionalisation Committee, Dr Pravine Naidoo, the opportunity to initiate and pioneer the drafting of new legislation for submission to Parliament which would regulate all municipal managers and senior managers in municipalities.
Naidoo, based in Paarl as municipal director of strategic services, points out that it would be compulsory for all municipal managers and senior managers to register with the proposed Council and adhere to a Code of Professional Conduct & Ethics.
Any municipal manager or senior manager who is found to be guilty of corruption, mismanagement, maladministration, financial misconduct or any other misconduct by their municipalities, will be summarily, after due process, struck off the roll of local government management practitioners. It is also envisaged that a new professional post-graduate practice qualification would be made compulsory for municipal managers and senior managers in order to be professionally certified.
