Local Government Leaders developed through Municipal Governance Programme

Posted: 08 August 2019

SALGA in partnership with the WITS School of Governance held a graduation ceremony for the Leadership in Municipal Governance Programme at the Witwatersrand University on 8 August 2019.

The Programme is a professional training and development curriculum that was structured as a formalised certificated plan. It was designed to respond to the needs of local government political-administrative leaders in their executive and oversight responsibilities of developing municipalities.  

A key objective of the Leadership in Municipal Governance Programme is to advance the professional capabilities of public leaders as they structure their values as political representatives and members of the executive plan within municipalities.

In his address, Professor Trevor Fowler told graduates that “as representatives and servants, they have a unique role to achieve the society envisioned in our constitution.”

SALGA President Thembi Nkadimeng applauded graduates reminding them that “when leaders build their capacity they make better decisions, they engage differently with the community, they connect more confidently with peers and can solve problems.”

The National Development Plan, South Africa’s blueprint calls upon the government to draw on the energies of its people, growing an inclusive economy, building capabilities, enhancing the capacity of the state, among others.

“We want to have a well capacitated local government and the first foundation for doing so is to make sure you capacitate the practitioners at local government both elected and official,” said SALGA Municipal Governance and Capabilities Cluster, Rio Nolutshungu.

Mr Nolutshungu added that “it is important for everyone in a municipality to have a big picture of what governance looks like in a municipal environment.” Municipal officials further need to know what it is that municipalities need to be doing to be effective mechanisms in a developmental local state as envisioned in the National Development Plan.

Cllr Nkadimeng, highlighted that “the demand on local leaders are complex and dynamic and require constant refresh and renewal.” She explained that the organisation developed a leadership model which speaks to a cross-cutting set of capacities and competencies that will underpin everything elected leaders do in the execution of their mandate.

“You the graduates of the 5th Cohort of the Leadership in Municipal Governance Programme, have joined a distinguished group of learning leaders who are beacons of hope during difficult times,” said Cllr Nkadimeng.

The White Paper on Local Government states that the leadership of a developmental municipality should stay on top of developments and change. Therefore, as we anticipate the Local Government Election in 2021, SALGA will continue to rollout the development framework of our local government leaders.