New levels of competence expected from municipal managers following finalisation of new regulations - more efficient and effective service delivery expected
It seems to have been a long time coming, but finally, it’s here. Following the amendment of the Municipal Systems Act in 2011, regulations providing for the appointment and conditions of employment for senior managers in municipalities was published in the Government Gazette today.
The Regulations provide for senior managers (those entrusted with the responsibility of managing municipalities) to have the relevant skills, competencies, expertise and qualifications before they are appointed into such positions.
More specifically, the regulations concerning the appointment of senior managers employed by municipalities aim to turn these managers into Service-Deliverers par excellence.
The objective of the regulations is to greatly increase competency levels across the 278 municipalities that occupy South Africa’s local government landscape.
The goal is to:
- Create a career path in local public administration, governed by the values and principles enshrined in Chapter 10 of the Constitution;
- Establish a climate for increased staff mobility in local government, by standardising human resource practices across the land;
- Ensure that municipalities recruit and retain suitably qualified personnel, particularly managers with scarce skills;
- Strengthen certainty and predictability, so maximising administrative and operational efficiency across municipalities;
- Entrench a coherent human resource governance regime, with adequate checks and balances; and thus
- Lay the foundation upon which municipalities can build the capacity to perform their work more productively, particularly in the delivery of services.
The regulations cover all contingencies to do with management appointments, including:
1. Principles to inform the development of staff establishments;
2. Regulating the process of appointing senior managers;
3. Prescribing minimum levels of skills, expertise, competencies and qualifications for senior managers;
4. Procedures for the recruitment, selection and appointment of senior managers (such as the principles of recruitment; advertising; the composition of a selection panel, the process of screening of candidates; interviews; re-employment of dismissed persons); and
5. As part of strengthening accountability, the regulations provides for a process of reporting on selection outcomes to the MEC and the Minister.
The Regulations place a 10 year ban, on senior managers who were dismissed for financial misconduct, fraud or corruption, from re-employment in any municipality. Lesser acts of misconduct are liable to banning decrees ranging between 2 and 5 years for, amongst others, breaching the Code of Conduct for Municipal Staff Members.
The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs is empowered to set limits to the salaries of senior managers, and whilst existing contracts will be honoured, all new entrants will be subject to new ceilings relating to the remuneration that they will receive.
The Ministry is committed to the professionalisation of the local government sector, and intends, during the coming year, to introduce parallel legislation governing the employment of the rest of the municipal employees, nationwide, after consultation with all stakeholders.
The bottom line is this: The nation is calling for service delivery but the delivery system is fragile. This is often due to a lack of relevant competencies at municipal level, crucially at the point of decision-making; municipal managers and those managers who report directly to them.
More often than not, there is no fault by the individual concerned; since the system in place is invariably a carry-over from centuries of indifference.
But just as we don’t want the economists of this world performing as surgeons, or the plumbers giving us investment advice, we can no longer afford to engage unqualified officials to manage the delivery of the services so urgently required by the deserving.
Your government is determined to break down all barriers impeding the delivery of services to people who are dependent on these services to live a better life.
The people deserve a smarter, faster, better informed service, and this is one of the ways of providing it.
Enquiries:
Tsakani Baloyi (Ms)
Cell: 082 052 0892
