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Polity
Published: 31 Aug 2010
DA: Doman: Address by DA Member of Parliament, on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, National Assembly, Cape Town (31/08/2010)
Date: 31/08/2010
Source: The Democratic Alliance
Title: DA: Doman: Address by DA Member of Parliament, on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, National Assembly, Cape Town


A survey of Productivity SA in 2008 revealed that SA has the world's highest brain drain and the worst skills shortages of 55 countries surveyed.

In the consolidated general report on the local government audit outcomes for 2008-09 published recently the auditor-general gives reasons why remedial action was not taken by municipalities on audit outcomes of prior years. I quote :

• Failure by the leadership to adequately deal with the level of vacancies and instability at senior leadership level, i.e municipal manager, CFO positions and acting positions
• Ineffective recruitment, training and supervision of finance staff.

The skills shortage crisis in local government is one of the main reasons for non-delivery by municipalities. For instance, since the first democratic local government elections in December 2000, the civil engineering professionals in the local government sphere were reduced from 2 500+ to less than 1 300, effectively halving the capacity within 10 years. And let me remind you that between 1994-2000 capacity was not lost and it went well because of shared responsible transformation, but the moment the ANC got their hands on the levers of power at municipalities, capacity imploded.

Cadre deployment, however, at ANC controlled municipalities has been the biggest culprit which robbed local government of skilled people.

The first step in Cadre deployment is of course to get positions vacant. In the few years that the ANC controlled Cape Town Metro 84 senior managers were given nice packages with the ratepayers money. The ANC alienated so many professionals that they are not prepared to be employed directly by municipalities anymore, but only placed there by agencies like the Development Bank.

These professionals now simply work as contractors as the necessary skills are not developed internally at municipalities. The contract positions, the so-called Section 57 appointments, have been totally misused to appoint cadres who show plenty of party loyalty, but little in the way of practical skills for handling their tasks. Given this, why would staff ever be motivated to train or improve themselves if their career path is set not by their performance, but by political connection?

It is in the preliminary report of the adhoc committee on service delivery that at a number of public meetings even ANC supporters complained about nepotism and Cadre deployment.

Indeed, the whole concept of contract positions has backfired. Instead of creating excellence we as lawmakers intended it has been misused for political expediency and it has lead to the destabilization of senior management at municipalities. One of the biggest. mistakes that the ANC made was to repeal the Profession of Town Clerks Act (Act 75 of 1988), the Municipal Accounts Profession Act (Act 21 of 1988) and other profession standards without replacing them with proper ones. No wonder that the Institute of Municipal Finance Officers points to the lack of professional recognition - and the current status on the appointment and regulation of municipal financial officers - as the main reasons for the lack of financial skills at municipalities. Only now a bill is before Parliament considering to set professional standards for positions and in appointment procedures. If it will be adhered to it gives some hope for the future.


Figures indicate that there is at all times at least a 12% vacancy rate in Section 57 appointments - that is, municipal managers and managers reporting to municipal managers. At any given time, another substantial percentage is suspended for various reasons, caught up in lengthy disciplinary procedures. Then there are those appointees who fill positions but do not have the necessary skills and expertise. South Africa has a shortage of skills in general, but this is compounded in local government by the fact that more than 100 rural municipalities find it impossible to attract the necessary skilled people. If Buffalo City Local Municipality in East London which is inspiring to become a metro in the near future does not have one graduate engineer, where does this leave all the other municipalities in the country?

The SA Institution of Civil Engineering says that only 51% of housing projects are successfully completed, mainly due to skill shortages. This shortage carries over to existing infra-structure as well, where maintenance is regularly neglected. The impact of poor maintenance reduces the quality of life for our citizens as broken pumps leave sewage in the streets. It compromises their health. Electrical malfunctions leave houses in the dark, and power cuts erode business prospects. It also means loss of income to municipalities because less water and electricity are sold.

In sum, skills shortages reduce economic growth and job opportunities in South Africa and negatively affecting municipal service delivery across all sectors.

If we start to look for solutions, the political mistakes - some unintended - must be acknowledged and corrected.

First, cadre deployment must be stopped. Councilors, especially ANC councilors, must appoint staff in a balanced way, as our Constitution and laws intend. The DA believes that the concept of fit-for-purpose must be applied where transformation, equity, skills expertise and experience are all in balance.

Second, stop leaving positions open if a suitable cadre is not available. It is a pity and a travesty that skilled people are overlooked due to the ideological blinkers of political leaders at municipalities.

Third, too many municipalities fail to enter into performance agreements so that staff can be held accountable, or rewarded, for their efforts. These agreements need to be based on a rational criteria and receive proper evaluations from trained managers and mentors before paying bonuses. This will encourage staff to undertake training, to improve their skills.
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Fourthly, The Department of Cooperative Governance, Salga and the Local Government SETA should put in a concerted effort to come up with applicable training programmes and ensure it is of good quality. It is disappointing that the Department is still struggling to complete a skills audit of all municipalities. We are in total darkness about how this has progressed. A complete skills audit for the sector will go a long way in identifying what our needs really are and how they can be addressed.

Fifth. Another solution would be that the private sector second experienced staff to battling municipalities to rebuild capacity, offer solutions to structures and systems and provide on-the-job-training. Outsourcing by way of a Section 78 type-of-approach, over a fixed period of time, will also be necessary to address the present shortage of skills in local government.

Six, In this regard, we also need partnerships with professional organizations who, according to evidence given to the ad-hoc committee on service delivery, have not only quantified the shortages but also stand ready to address them.