Date: 24/11/2006
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government
Title: Mahlangu: Institute for Local Government Managers
Speech by Gauteng MEC for Local Government, Qedani Dorothy Mahlangu, at the Institute for Local Government Managers (ILGM), at Hilton Hotel
Programme Director, Mr Vusi Mavuso,
ILGM President, Mr George Seitisho,
Municipal managers present,
Former municipal managers,
Resolve Managing-Director, Mr Pasacal Moloi,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen:
I am humbled to address this auspicious occasion just eights months after the country's local government elections. I believe that the new crop of municipal managers who have gone through a vigorous assessment would indeed rise to the occasion by ensuring that as government we reach the 2014 millennium goals.
Allow me, therefore, to extend a warm word of welcome to the new crop of municipal managers and also bade farewell to those of you who have been a pillar of strength since the establishment of the new system of local government.
I hope that after all the formalities the new municipal managers would mingle with your predecessors to share best practices and the do's and don'ts in this critical position you are occupying.
The Department of Local Government in Gauteng deemed it fit that all municipal managers and Section 57 managers should undergo an intensive assessment process to ensure that we appoint capable managers in municipalities. As we all aware, local government is on the coal face of service delivery. Our task is to ensure that municipal services reach the poorest of the poor.
As municipal managers it is your duty to ensure that you have a clear understanding of the Municipal Finance Management Act and how the budget is working in your respective municipalities. It is also your task to ensure that you understand your role in interfacing with your political principles, being your executive mayors. Thus it is incumbent that we all move at the same pace, read from the very same verse and sing the same song. We must have a clear understanding of the five years local government agenda and the key priorities for this new term of office. It is equally important to have an understanding of what needs to be done to realise our developmental objectives and what are specific tasks of local government in realising our objectives.
Although much progress has been made in establishing new institutions of local government from 51 entities to 15 new local authorities in the province, municipalities are still facing challenges. There are municipalities which have not yet completed their institutional establishment, some have high numbers of vacant posts and there are deficiencies in professional posts such as finance and technical skills.
Realising that there are challenges with regard to financial expertise and technical skills, we are working with the Institute of Chartered Accounts (SAICA) and the Institute of Civil Engineers to address some of the challenges facing municipalities. However, this task rests on your shoulders as municipal managers.
Programme Director, one of the challenges facing local government is the provision of services. There has been a measure of progress in delivering services and extending infrastructure to poor communities but we are still faced with challenges of in-migration which poses a huge challenge on its own.
The scale and pace of infrastructure rollout is not strong enough to realise the targets we have set ourselves in the next term of office. We set have set ourselves targets of halving poverty and unemployment by 2014.
It is the responsibility of all municipalities to ensure that we meet the 2008, 2010 and 2012 targets of water, sanitation and electricity. Furthermore, to ensure that all the roads in the province are tarred by 2009. Therefore, as municipal managers you must play a leading role in ensuring that all these targets are met.
The past five years has taught us serious lessons about the relationship between the municipal managers and mayors. There were instances where municipal managers instead of giving strategic direction and leadership decided to question why certain decisions were taken.
The relationship between the mayor and municipal manager is important. You have to complement each other rather than compete. It is your duty and responsibility as a municipal manager to ensure that the relationship is harnessed and that all the resources are integrated.
Programme Director, one of the challenges you have to deal with is the mounting municipal debt which is standing at a staggering R16 billion. It is important to develop and implement strategies to deal with municipal debt and councillors' arrears.
Importantly, as municipal managers you must ensure that municipalities receive a clean audit report from the Auditor-General (AG). As the department we have set ourselves a target that by 2009 all municipalities must receive clean audit reports. Disclaimers and qualified audits should remain a priority in dealing with municipal finances. Under expenditure on operating budgets remains a problem. We must also ensure that we reduce the increasing level of debtors and grant dependency.
It is worth noting that this year the quality of municipal Integrated and Development Plans (IDP) has improved. All municipalities have submitted their IDPs on timeously, however, we still have a long way in realising that IDPs are an expression of government wide planning. Another challenge is the participation of sector departments in the IDP processes. It is the role of municipal managers to ensure that there is synergy and integration between IDPs and budgets.
Since the Gauteng's executive mayors and Premier Mbhazima Shilowa have reaffirmed their commitment to drive efforts to build Gauteng as a globally competitive city region, we need to pull out all the stops to ensure that we are geared towards that direction.
Programme Director, Gauteng is already a national economic engine, a powerhouse that propels significant sections of the county's economy and produces over a third of the gross domestic product (GDP). As a region, Gauteng is already the fourth largest economy in Africa.
Between now and 2014 Gauteng will emerge as one of the largest global city regions in the world. In other words the question should not be, whether we want to become a global city region but how do we develop a common perspective that can guide the development of Gauteng?
In conclusion, at the end of our tenure the public will judge us against our ability to deliver on the commitments we made of reducing poverty and unemployment, realising universal access to basic services such as water, sanitation and electricity, the tarring of roads, the eradication of bucket toilets and by ensuring that all municipalities receive clean audit reports from the AG.
I sincerely wish you all the best in your endeavours and look forward to working with you in making Gauteng a better place to work and live in. A Gauteng that is not just the economic powerhouse of the country and continent, but one that is recognised the world over.
I thank you!
Issued by: Department of Local Government, Gauteng Provincial Government
24 November 2006
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government
Title: Mahlangu: Institute for Local Government Managers
Speech by Gauteng MEC for Local Government, Qedani Dorothy Mahlangu, at the Institute for Local Government Managers (ILGM), at Hilton Hotel
Programme Director, Mr Vusi Mavuso,
ILGM President, Mr George Seitisho,
Municipal managers present,
Former municipal managers,
Resolve Managing-Director, Mr Pasacal Moloi,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen:
I am humbled to address this auspicious occasion just eights months after the country's local government elections. I believe that the new crop of municipal managers who have gone through a vigorous assessment would indeed rise to the occasion by ensuring that as government we reach the 2014 millennium goals.
Allow me, therefore, to extend a warm word of welcome to the new crop of municipal managers and also bade farewell to those of you who have been a pillar of strength since the establishment of the new system of local government.
I hope that after all the formalities the new municipal managers would mingle with your predecessors to share best practices and the do's and don'ts in this critical position you are occupying.
The Department of Local Government in Gauteng deemed it fit that all municipal managers and Section 57 managers should undergo an intensive assessment process to ensure that we appoint capable managers in municipalities. As we all aware, local government is on the coal face of service delivery. Our task is to ensure that municipal services reach the poorest of the poor.
As municipal managers it is your duty to ensure that you have a clear understanding of the Municipal Finance Management Act and how the budget is working in your respective municipalities. It is also your task to ensure that you understand your role in interfacing with your political principles, being your executive mayors. Thus it is incumbent that we all move at the same pace, read from the very same verse and sing the same song. We must have a clear understanding of the five years local government agenda and the key priorities for this new term of office. It is equally important to have an understanding of what needs to be done to realise our developmental objectives and what are specific tasks of local government in realising our objectives.
Although much progress has been made in establishing new institutions of local government from 51 entities to 15 new local authorities in the province, municipalities are still facing challenges. There are municipalities which have not yet completed their institutional establishment, some have high numbers of vacant posts and there are deficiencies in professional posts such as finance and technical skills.
Realising that there are challenges with regard to financial expertise and technical skills, we are working with the Institute of Chartered Accounts (SAICA) and the Institute of Civil Engineers to address some of the challenges facing municipalities. However, this task rests on your shoulders as municipal managers.
Programme Director, one of the challenges facing local government is the provision of services. There has been a measure of progress in delivering services and extending infrastructure to poor communities but we are still faced with challenges of in-migration which poses a huge challenge on its own.
The scale and pace of infrastructure rollout is not strong enough to realise the targets we have set ourselves in the next term of office. We set have set ourselves targets of halving poverty and unemployment by 2014.
It is the responsibility of all municipalities to ensure that we meet the 2008, 2010 and 2012 targets of water, sanitation and electricity. Furthermore, to ensure that all the roads in the province are tarred by 2009. Therefore, as municipal managers you must play a leading role in ensuring that all these targets are met.
The past five years has taught us serious lessons about the relationship between the municipal managers and mayors. There were instances where municipal managers instead of giving strategic direction and leadership decided to question why certain decisions were taken.
The relationship between the mayor and municipal manager is important. You have to complement each other rather than compete. It is your duty and responsibility as a municipal manager to ensure that the relationship is harnessed and that all the resources are integrated.
Programme Director, one of the challenges you have to deal with is the mounting municipal debt which is standing at a staggering R16 billion. It is important to develop and implement strategies to deal with municipal debt and councillors' arrears.
Importantly, as municipal managers you must ensure that municipalities receive a clean audit report from the Auditor-General (AG). As the department we have set ourselves a target that by 2009 all municipalities must receive clean audit reports. Disclaimers and qualified audits should remain a priority in dealing with municipal finances. Under expenditure on operating budgets remains a problem. We must also ensure that we reduce the increasing level of debtors and grant dependency.
It is worth noting that this year the quality of municipal Integrated and Development Plans (IDP) has improved. All municipalities have submitted their IDPs on timeously, however, we still have a long way in realising that IDPs are an expression of government wide planning. Another challenge is the participation of sector departments in the IDP processes. It is the role of municipal managers to ensure that there is synergy and integration between IDPs and budgets.
Since the Gauteng's executive mayors and Premier Mbhazima Shilowa have reaffirmed their commitment to drive efforts to build Gauteng as a globally competitive city region, we need to pull out all the stops to ensure that we are geared towards that direction.
Programme Director, Gauteng is already a national economic engine, a powerhouse that propels significant sections of the county's economy and produces over a third of the gross domestic product (GDP). As a region, Gauteng is already the fourth largest economy in Africa.
Between now and 2014 Gauteng will emerge as one of the largest global city regions in the world. In other words the question should not be, whether we want to become a global city region but how do we develop a common perspective that can guide the development of Gauteng?
In conclusion, at the end of our tenure the public will judge us against our ability to deliver on the commitments we made of reducing poverty and unemployment, realising universal access to basic services such as water, sanitation and electricity, the tarring of roads, the eradication of bucket toilets and by ensuring that all municipalities receive clean audit reports from the AG.
I sincerely wish you all the best in your endeavours and look forward to working with you in making Gauteng a better place to work and live in. A Gauteng that is not just the economic powerhouse of the country and continent, but one that is recognised the world over.
I thank you!
Issued by: Department of Local Government, Gauteng Provincial Government
24 November 2006
Advertisement
EMAIL THIS ARTICLE SAVE THIS ARTICLE FEEDBACK
To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
