A new year, a new momentum for the goal of inclusive and resilient communities

Posted: 03 January 2022

An event-filled year has passed and a new one has begun with local government already taking active steps to embed itself more deeply into the fabric of South African communities.

New councils consisting of 9473 public representatives including Speakers, Executive Mayors or Mayors, Members of Executive Committees, Members of Mayoral Committees and Chief Whips, were elected for metropolitan, district and local municipalities following the 1 November 2021 municipal elections.

These new councils have now entered their first 100 days in office, and this is usually an indicator to how well will the new 5-year term of Democratic Local Government be.

The goals and objectives of new councils will primarily focus on what matters most to residents, communities, and local businesses. The first few months of the 2022 calendar are therefore poised to be a busy and productive period for public representatives serving at the local level of government.

SALGA has emerged from its 25th anniversary celebrations with the next two and a half decades already in mind. Together with its stakeholders, partners and member municipalities, SALGA is looking forward to maintaining a trajectory that will guarantee its success for another 25 years and beyond.

SALGA is now in the last quarter of its 5-year strategic plan 2017-2022. A strategic planning process is underway to establish a new strategy, which will give the organisation a solid vision, mission, and key objectives and goals to achieve over the next five years.

One of the largest events in SALGA’s calendar for the 2022 year will be the hosting of provincial conferences from 11 January - 3 February and a national conference later that month.

Attendees will include Mayors, Councillors, local government representatives and government Ministers, the media, academia, and members from private and community sectors.

Lastly but not least, despite significant progress made in the country’s vaccination rollout, the Covid-19 pandemic is far from over.

Getting vaccinated remains our best chance to defeat this deadly invisible foe and we should continue protecting ourselves and others by wearing face masks, sanitising our hands and practicing social distancing.

Follow hashtag:

#20YearsofDemocraticLocalGovernment, #25YearsofSalga, #InspiringServiceDelivery and look out for more activities planned for the 20 Years of Democratic Local Government on the SALGA website: www.salga.org.za and all our social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.