PRESENTATION

TO
THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON COGTA

LOCAL GOVERNMENT:
MUNICIPAL SYSTEMS AMENDMENT BILL,
2010

13 April 2011
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 1. OVERVIEW

 Background
 Challenges
 Objects of the Bill
 End

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 2. BACKGROUND
 The Constitution

o The Constitution places an obligation on

the national government and provincial government –

 by legislative and other measures, to

support and strengthen the capacity of municipalities
(s154(1); and

 to see to the effective performance of

municipalities of their functions section 155(7).
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 2. BACKGROUND (Cont)

 The Municipal Systems Act –

o provides a legal framework for local public

administration (Chapter 7)

o enjoins the Minister to regulate uniform

standards for municipal staff systems and procedures
(s72)

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2. BACKGROUND (Cont)
o local public administration must be governed by the
following democratic values and principles (s50):

 A high standard of professional ethics

 Efficient, economic and effective use of

resources

 People’s needs must be responded to

 Public administration must be accountable

 Transparency must be fostered

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 3. CHALLENGES

 All 283 municipalities develop their own systems and

procedures for municipal managers and managers directly
accountable to municipal managers that are incoherent
 These systems and procedures –
o have induced disparate HR practices (e.g. remuneration,
conditions of service, other macro benefits, etc.) that –
 are not consistent with the values and principles governing local
public administration
 are inconsistent and hinder the mobility of staff within the
sector

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 3. CHALLENGES (Cont)
o undermine the ability of municipalities to organise their
administration and employ personnel necessary for the effective
performance of their functions
o opened floodgates for the appointment of ill-qualified personnel
in leadership positions
o gave rise to a number of poorly governed and dysfunctional
municipalities
o led to the collapse of the rule of law in some municipalities due
to corruption, patronage, etc.)
o undermine efforts to entrench a culture of improved
performance and accountability
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 3. CHALLENGES (Cont.)
o blurs political/ administrative career paths with
political/ administrative infighting coming in the way of
service delivery

o have a created a situation where convicted

fraudsters and municipal staff dismissed for corruption and
financial mismanagement freely enter and exit local
government at ease

o attracted legal disputes from some municipalities

with money intended for service delivery spent on
defending labour disputes

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 4. MAIN OBJECTS OF THE BILL
 To address all these challenges, the Municipal Systems
Amendment Bill (the Bill) was developed and introduced into
Parliament in July 2010.

 The main objects of the Bill are to -

o Clause 2&3 (s54A&56): Appointment of municipal

managers and managers directly accountable to
municipal managers

 professionalise local government to ensure that

municipal administrations are staffed by appropriately
qualified and competent persons by providing for –
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4. MAIN OBJECTS OF THE BILL (Cont.)
 provide appointment procedures and competency
criteria for the appointment of municipal managers
and managers directly accountable to municipal
managers

 enforce the appointment requirements by fostering

mandatory oversight reporting to the MEC/Minister

 provide for the consequences/ annulment of appointments

made in contravention of this Act

 determine timeframes within which performance

agreements must be signed municipal managers and
managers directly accountable to them
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4. MAIN OBJECTS OF THE BILL (Cont.)
o Clause 5 (s56A): Political rights of municipal managers and
managers directly accountable to municipal managers

 prohibit municipal managers and managers

reporting to them from holding political office in a
political party managers

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4. MAIN OBJECTS OF THE BILL (Cont.)
o Clause 6 (s57): Employment contracts/performance
agreements of municipal managers and managers directly
accountable to municipal managers

 force municipal managers and managers

reporting to them to –
• sign employment contract before they
commence duty with the municipality

• conclude performance agreements within

stipulated timeframes (i.e. 60/30) and the
consequences thereof

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4. MAIN OBJECTS OF THE BILL (Cont.)

 delete the discretionary power of municipal

councils to appoint managers directly accountable to
municipal managers on a fixed term contracts (s57(7)

oClause 7 (s57A): Employment of dismissed staff

 enable the Minister to regulate the re-

employment of municipal staff who have been dismissed
for misconduct (categorisation)

 require that a staff member dismissed for

serious misconduct may not be re-employed in a any
municipality for a period of ten (10) years
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4. MAIN OBJECTS OF THE BILL (Cont.)

oClause 7 (s57A): Employment of dismissed staff

 mandate municipalities to maintain a record

of dismissed staff

 mandate the Minister to maintain a record of

staff members –

• who were dismissed for misconduct; and

• who resigned before finalisation of

disciplinary proceedings
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4. MAIN OBJECTS OF THE BILL (Cont.)

oClause 8 (s66): Staff establishment

 provide for the approval of municipal staff

establishment by the respective municipal
councils

 prohibit the bloating of municipal

administration in areas other than the core business of a
municipality or the appointment of person/s against posts
not provided for in the approved structure

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4. MAIN OBJECTS OF THE BILL (Cont.)
o Clause 9&11 (s67 &s72): Systems and procedures

 requires that systems and procedures adopted

by municipalities must be consistent with
national standards set by the Minister

 extend the Minister’s regulatory power to

make regulations relating to macro benefits such as
medical aid and pension benefits after consultation
with the Minister of Health and Minister of Finance

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4. MAIN OBJECTS OF THE BILL (Cont.)
o Clause 10 (s71): Bargaining council agreements

 make it mandatory for organised local

government to consult the FFC, Minister and any other
parties as may be prescribed

 require organised local government to take

into account the budgets, fiscal capacity and
efficiency of municipalities and national economic policies
in concluding any collective agreement

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4. MAIN OBJECTS OF THE BILL (Cont.)
o Clause 12 (s106): Voting in meeting

 stop the flagrant disregard of the law by

amending the Code of Conduct for Councillors to make it
a breach of conduct to vote or agree to any resolution
before council or committee of council which is in
conflict with any legislation applicable to local government

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 END

KE A LEBOGA
DANKIE
THANK YOU

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