The Local Government Systems Amendment Act (Act 7 of 2011) was signed into law by the President on 2 July 2011.
In March when it passed unanimously through Parliament the Acting Minister, giving us a hint of the importance that this legislation holds, said, “Local government will never be the same again. This Bill will open a new chapter in local government and help turn it around into a responsive, accountable, efficient and effective local government system that will help accelerate service delivery.”
The Departmental press release from April this year reads, “in some cases Municipalities … are staffed with employees who are not necessarily qualified to undertake their duties. It is for this reason that this Bill makes it mandatory for Municipalities to employ appropriately qualified and competent people.”
The Department goes on to say, “the … Act is aimed at professionalising local government for improved service delivery and performance management…”
National CoGTA Circular 19 of 2011 says of this Act that it “outlines government’s resolve to professionalise local public administration.”
Section 3 of the Amendment Act, (adding section 54A and amending section 56), provides strict new rules governing the appointment of municipal managers and managers directly accountable to municipal managers to the extent that “any contract of employment entered into between the municipality and [the appointed municipal manager or manager directly accountable to the municipal manager] is null and void if the appointed person does not have the prescribed skills, expertise, competences and qualifications…”
Section 5 of the Amendment Act (inserting a new section 56A), requires that a municipal manager or manager directly accountable to a municipal manager may not hold any political office in a political party, whether in a permanent, temporary or acting capacity.
There can be little doubt that these changes seek to address the cancer of cadre deployment at the level of senior municipal management. For nearly 15 years now, political cadres have been deployed to positions of management regardless of qualifications. This Amendment now requires unambiguously that managers henceforth not be politically active and are qualified and able to perform the job at the level required for the turnaround of local government.
The states aims of this act include:
1. Professionalise local government by ensuring that the administrative apparatus of municipalities is staffed by appropriately qualified and competent persons to improve on service delivery.
2. Require employment contracts and performance agreements of municipal managers and managers directly accountable to municipal managers to be consistent with the uniform systems and procedures set nationally.
3. Prevent staff dismissed for serious misconduct (financial misconduct, corruption, fraud) from being re-employed in any municipality for 10 years. Other categories of misconduct now carry prescribed waiting or rehabilitation periods before a dismissed member may be re-employed.
4. Prevent the bloating of municipal administrations in areas that do not constitute the core business of municipalities by requiring municipalities to pass a staff establishment through council and only positions indicated on that establishment may be filled.
5. Amend the Code of Conduct for Councillors to make it illegal for councillors to vote in favour of a resolution which conflicts with any local government legislation.
There is little doubt that this legislation is a response to the ANC’s abysmal performance in Local Government. The opposition in this council has a responsibility to ensure that the measures taken in this Amendment Act are applied in this municipality henceforth.