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The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Sithole Mbanga as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The appointment of Mr. Mbanga is effective from July 1, 2023, and comes after a rigorous, open, transparent, and merit-based selection process that upheld the highest organisational standards in recruitment.

Mr. Mbanga, who takes over from Mr. Xolile George who was appointed as Secretary to Parliament in June 2022, brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in many areas, including operations and strategic planning, and has extensive executive-level experience in public sector governance. 

Mr. Mbanga most recently served as the CEO of South African Cities Network (SACN), a network of South African cities and partners that encourages the exchange of information, experience, and best practice on urban development and city management.

Mr. Mbanga has held various managerial positions in the public and private sectors, including the Local Government Support and Learning Network (LOGOSUL) and the National Business Initiative (NBI).

SALGA President, Cllr. Bheke Stofile says: “Mr. Mbanga joins SALGA at a pivotal moment in our organisation's evolution, as reflected in our 2022–2027 strategic plan which is prefaced against global, continental, national and local imperatives. We are confident that he will lead and provide the muchneeded strategic direction the organization needs and move the organization to greater heights”.

“Mr. Mbanga brings considerable experience to his new position, and his transformative and collaborative leadership style is consistent with SALGA's dedication to providing effective and efficient service to our member municipalities.

“I also want to express my gratitude to the SALGA executive leadership that provided the organisation with the necessary glue to keep SALGA together until a new CEO was chosen. At such a crucial time, they went above and beyond a call of duty, and this is sincerely appreciated,” says Cllr. Stofile.

SALGA looks forward to building on its accomplishments under Mr. Mbanga’s direction, including 10 consecutive clean audits from the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA), an expansion of the organisation’s influence on continental and international decision-making forums, and providing SALGA member municipalities with services that enable them to carry out their developmental mandates. In particular, SALGA looks up to Mr. Mbanga’s leadership to use the solid organizational performance, 
especially in respect of audit outcomes, as a basis for facilitating improvement in municipal audit outcomes and strengthening local government to be better posed to accelerate service delivery.

SALGA wishes Mr. Mbanga every success in his new role.
 

Issued by South African Local Government Association