Municipal Focus Vol 53

South African Municipal Magazine

www.municipalfocus.co.za

Volume 53

Leaders in Local Government Business Intelligence &

Leaders in Local Government Business Intelligence & Insights

ELECTIONS AND COVID

LEADING WOMEN OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION

SIMON MAMABOLO CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER ELECTORAL COMMISSION Volume 53

WOMEN’S MONTH

MUNICIPAL FINANCES

MUNICIPAL AUDIT OUTCOMES

MUNICIPAL NEWS

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LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

I

n this edition we celebrate the significant contribution made by leaders in local and provincial government, and highlight their role and commitment to the growth, revitalization and transformation of South Africa.

Our leading story features an interview with Sy Mamabolo, Electoral Commissioner of the IEC, on developments at the Electoral Commission in lieu of the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenges facing the Commission’s preparations in delivering free, fair and credible elections.

Indeed, this year’s municipal elections is the toughest challenge since 1994!

To celebrate Women’s Month, we pay tribute to the day, 9th August 1956, when more than 20 000 women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to petition against the

Nardine Nelson Publisher & CEO Kweda Media & Communications

enforcement of black women needing to carry passes under the Apartheid pass laws. We pay tribute to Mme Ruth, an iconic woman leader after whom the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality is named, whose contribution was the expansion of social infrastructure and services to poor households in the form of a basket of social services like free basic water, electricity, solid waste collection, sanitation and sewer connectivity – a true reflection of local government at work.

We showcase the work of present women leaders, the likes of Exec Mayor: Cllr. Ms NP Mposelwa, whose inspiring leadership has garnered the Senqu Local Municipality a 7th consecutive clean audit.

We profile the Women Leaders of the Electoral Commission whose task it is to manage the current Local

Government Elections in these very challenging times.

Our feature on Municipal Finances, covers the municipal audit outcomes of the 2019-2020 fiscus, with AG Tsakani Maluleke emphasising that disciplined financial and performance management is key to achieving improved audit outcomes and service delivery.

In Municipal News we showcase municipalities, who through good governance, and even in these very trying times, have delivered on their mandate to serve their communities, and have assured that the socio-economic conditions of the communities they serve improve.

As we celebrate Nelson Mandela Month, we reflect on the living legacy he bequeathed us - of gender equality, the rule of law, freedom of speech, and free and fair elections. We take a look at the Nelson Mandela Museum that offers the world an inspiring journey through the life of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.

As South Africa faces new and unprecedented challenges, Nelson Mandela’s entire life stands as a testament to the power of the human spirit.

Enjoy the read and keep safe!

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Municipal Focus

75 Years of dedication to Local Industry!

Putting South African Industry first should be our main priority in these challenges we currently experience. Our economy cannot achieve our goals if we import most of the products we use. A thriving manufacturing industry creates jobs and business opportunities, enables skills development and improves our competitiveness in global markets.

Procuring locally manufactured goods has obvious benefits for national competitiveness and economic growth. Therefore, the Local Production and Content initiative mandates minimum local content requirements for state tenders in designated sectors. For public procurement, South African National Standard (SANS) 1286:2017 defines local content as “that portion of the tender price that is not included in the imported content, provided that local manufacturing takes place and is calculated following the local content formula”. Standard available FREE at www.store.sabs.co.za When companies irrespective of the size ask how SABS can improve the quality of their products and services and consistently meet their customers’ expectations, then we confidently can say that Standards are the answer. Addressing various aspects of quality management there’s the well known SANS/ISO 9000 family. The Standards have continuously been updated to suit changing manufacturing environments. At SABS we say: “Start your Success, start with GET STANDARD SANS/ISO 9001”. Quality DOES count!

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FOCUS

Leaders in Local Government Business Intelligence &

WATER

MUNICIPALITIES

ELECTIONS

INFRASTRUCTURE

LOCAL

GOVERNMENT

COVER FEATURE

10 Elections and COVID-19 FEATURES

14 Leading Women of the IEC 26 Salga Assesses Preparations Ahead of Elections 32 Free State Public Works & Infrastructure 36 Mpumalanga CoGTA 40 Waste Management

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WATER

MUNICIPALITIES

ELECTIONS

INFRASTRUCTURE

LOCAL

GOVERNMENT

42 Nelson Mandela Museum 46 North West CoGTA & HS Budget Speech FEATURES

52 CONLOG - Utilities Solutions 56 2019-2020 Municipal Audit Outcomes 62 Outsourcing - FM Solutions

MUNICIPAL NEWS

66 eThekwini Municipality 70 Capricorn District Municipality 72 Steve Tshwete Local Municipality 74 Senqu Local Municipality 75 Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati DM

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South African Municipal Magazine

www.municipalfocus.co.za

Volume 53

Leaders in Local Government Business Intelligence &

Leaders in Local Government Business Intelligence & Insights

LEADING WOMEN OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION

ELECTIONS AND COVID

SIMON MAMABOLO CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER ELECTORAL COMMISSION Volume 53

WOMEN’S MONTH

MUNICIPAL AUDIT OUTCOMES

MUNICIPAL FINANCES

ON THE COVER SIMON MAMABOLO CHIEF ELECTORAL OFFICER ELECTORAL COMMISSION

MUNICIPAL NEWS

PUBLISHING EDITOR Nardine Nelson nardine@kwedamedia.co.za +27 82 739 3932

DISTRIBUTION GCIS, National Assembly, NCOP, National & Provincial Departments, Municipalities: Mayors, Managers, Heads

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All editorial, business and production correspondence should be addressed to Municipal Focus, PO Box 12454 Plumstead 7800. Manuscripts, illustrations and other material must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. No responsibility can be accepted for unsolicited material. The editor reserves the right to amend and to alter copy and visual material as deemed necessary. Copyright by Kweda Media & Communications. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any form or any means without prior permission of the publisher. The opinions expressed in Municipal Focus are not necessarily those of the publishers.

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

"When we postponed the registration weekend, we took a very difficult decision in the interests of saving the lives of voters, election staff, party representatives and all citizens while still preserving the constitutional requirement to hold elections."

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ELECTIONS AND COVID The toughest challenge for the IEC since 1994

T

he Electoral Commission (IEC) has had to contend with many challenges due to the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic currently wreaking havoc across the country. In this interview Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Sy Mamabolo, talks about the postponement of the 2021 Municipal Elections Voter Registration Weekend, and challenges facing the Commission’s preparations in delivering free, fair and credible elections.

The 2021 Municipal Elections have been hostage to fate from the very start. How has the COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions impacted planning for the elections since 2020, and does it continue to do so now?

SM: Without doubt, Covid-19 has impacted on the preparation for the 2021 elections. Firstly, the fact that we have had to work from home last year meant that our rate of preparation was reduced, in other words, the speed at which the preparations were on-going had to be reduced.

Secondly, the pandemic closed down the process of what is the limitation process undertaken by the Municipal Demarcation Board and so we ended up having to change the dates on which we were supposed to receive

the final wards. The plan was to receive the wards in July of last year but that did not happen. It became impossible because of the disruptions induced by Covid-19. We then ended up receiving the final wards in two instalments, in September and December last year. This meant that until we received the wards, we were not able to start our own internal voting district delimitations. Also, the current wave, or the third wave, has had a huge impact on the timing for the registration weekend. We have resolved to postpone the registration weekend to the 31st July to the 1st August, pending the outcome of the Mosoneke Inquiry.

How challenging has the year been to date from an operational perspective, given the usual challenges of budget cuts and union demands, in addition to the unusual challenges of COVID safety measure requirements and increased staff absenteeism as a result of Covid-19 infections?

SM: We have a growing number of infections affecting staff, as well as staff who have been exposed to persons who are infected. Close to 70 staff members are either in quarantine or in isolation as we speak. The reality is also that some

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS trying to minimise physical contact as much as possible, but when you deal with an election operation such as we do, it is almost impossible to avoid physical contact totally. So, whilst part of the recruitment and training processes are online, there is a minimum amount of time we need for physical contact. People have to have a feel of the voter management device because you can’t place a person in a voting station and have them operate a voter management device when they have in fact not seen it before.

of our landlords are reluctant to offer us the use of their facilities as voting stations, for fear of the transmission of the virus. But these are matters that we are dealing with, we will transcend these difficulties and ensure that the registration weekend is as successful as it ought to be.

Like all state institutions we have had to contend with significant reduction to baseline allocations. Last year we had to endure a cut of R165 million, in this current financial year R205 million had to be cut, the net effect is that we had to cancel the second registration weekend. Ordinarily, ahead of elections such as this, we would have two registration weekends but, on this occasion, we will have one due to the constraints on the fiscus.

The challenge we have is to balance two elements of the budget. Firstly, the cost of compensation, in other words, the number of staff we have, and on the other hand, an imperative not to significantly reduce our service offering to the South African population. So a delicate and judicious balance must be struck between those two imperatives.

We obviously are curtailing activities that will not have a bearing on the total quality of the service offering to the population. But it means it may be difficult to sustain continuous increases in the rates that we pay to electoral staff and the duration

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Municipal Focus

in which we employ our fixed-term contractual staff. The rates that we pay, as well as the length of time which we contract with fixed-term staff will be affected by these cuts.

To what extent have the innovations the Electoral Commission has launched to date – the e-recruitment, e-learning, voter management device, and online registration - been driven by the pandemic? Or did they pre-date COVID? SM: To answer your question, all these innovations were long in the offing, but Covid-19 gave greater impetus for them to be completed quicker than was originally planned. With e-recruitment and e-training we are

How does the Electoral Commission balance the need for innovation and serving poor, rural and unconnected communities with traditional services and communications tools? Or are innovations intended to serve all voters equally?

SM: We are quite alive to disparities that remain prevalent in South Africa.

Our society remains a society of uneven development characterised by uneven access to the digital economy. To that extent, we accept that all South Africans will not have access to online registration, which is why it is still important to maintain traditional forms of registration, such as registration weekend, to complement the new innovations. The new innovations are not a replacement of existing modalities of registration, they are just additional to existing methods that serve the needs of our diverse economy.

How will the imminent postponement of the July registration weekend for the 2021 Municipal Elections affect the Electoral Commission's voter registration drive?

SM: When we postponed the registration weekend, we took a very difficult decision in the interests of saving lives of voters, election staff, party representatives and all citizens while still preserving the constitutional requirement to hold elections. The postponement affects many aspects of planning because we have signed contracts with landlords for the 17th and 18th July, now we must very quickly make contractual changes with them to ensure that we account for the new registration dates. Also, we are holding significant material in warehouses, and as long as you hold significant material in your warehouses, you have an omnipresent risk of theft. We need to be sensitive to the idea of having as short a period as possible when we are warehousing.

We have that elongated risk if you want to call it that. Also, we now need to put a stop on our communication campaign which had started, and revise our communication message to reflect the new registration weekend.

We are busy with all those types of things, and we hope to have a quick turnaround to ensure that the message gets to all sections of society.

How many voters are currently not registered, and do you intend to make use of the time to increase voter participation, or is it a question of an already stretched budget becoming even more overstretched?

SM: It is estimated that about 8 or so million people are unregistered, but there’s a new hope that when we restart the registration campaign message, we will get to as many of those people as possible. A very important element of our communication strategy this time around in terms of the platform mix was the use of community radio stations which have a greater penetration in your more rural type of communities in the country. Another good thing is that with social media

campaigning the turnaround is quicker, you are able to change the message quickly, unlike with your traditional media like radio or tv where the turnaround is slower.

How will the postponement of the registration weekend impact the election timetable and the election date?

SM: At the moment, the impact of the change of the registration weekend is that we have reduced the election timetable from 86 days to 82 days.

The postponement of the registration weekend currently has no bearing on the planned election date that was announced by the President of the 27th of October, suffice to say that the Commission is awaiting the report of the Moseneke Inquiry as to whether a free and fair election in the prevailing COVID-19 climate is possible or not on that date.

How can your partners and stakeholders assist you in the coming months to deliver free, fair and credible 2021 Municipal Elections?

SM: The most important requirement from our partners is, let’s get the message out, let’s ensure that every citizen of the republic gets to hear the message about the new registration weekend, and let’s work with all political parties to ensure that the message from all political contestants can reach all South Africans, from the cities to the deepest rural areas in the country.

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LEADING WOMEN OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION

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LEADING WOMEN

of the Electoral Commission South Africa commemorates Women’s Month in August as a tribute to the more than 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 in protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women. While gender parity is a work in progress the world over, women continue to make their mark in elections management at the Electoral Commission, as evidenced by these women who occupy key leadership roles in the organisation.

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LEADING WOMEN OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION

COMMISSIONERS Vice-Chairperson and Commissioner: Ms Janet Love

C

ommissioner Janet Love has dedicated her working life to public service.

She joined the Electoral Commission as a part-time Commissioner in April 2016, and then full-time as Vice-Chairperson in November 2018.

Having played a role in fighting for freedom as an anti-apartheid activist in the 1970s, Ms Love returned to South Africa in 1990 and immediately became involved in negotiating South Africa’s new constitution and establishing its first government.

She was a member of the management team at the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) and also served as the Deputy Executive Director of the Transitional Executive Committee. This Committee was responsible for, among others, developing and overseeing the work of critical areas of government to enable elections to proceed under direction of the 1994 Independent Electoral Commission.

Ms Love served as a member of Parliament for the African National Congress in the first democratic Parliament from 1994 to 1999, and was a member of the 22-person Constitutional Committee of the Constitutional Assembly, the body responsible for steering the constitution-making process.

Ms Love then served in various government and civil society institutions, including working in the South African Reserve Bank for five years as head of strategic analysis dealing with various security risks relating to cash that affected South Africa’s financial stability.

Ms Love has a strong commitment to human rights and in her capacity as National Director of the Legal Resources Centre since 2006 she has taken up public interest and constitutional cases on behalf of marginalised communities and individuals.

Before joining the Electoral Commission in 2016, Ms Love also

Commissioner: Dr Nomsa Masuku

Dr Nomsa Masuku is an academic currently appointed as one of five commissioners of the Electoral Commission.

She has served in several positions in the Administration side of the Electoral Commission, culminating in the role of Deputy Chief Electoral Officer responsible for Outreach. She previously headed Standard Bank’s Corporate Social Investment Unit.

Before joining Standard Bank, Dr Masuku spent eight years working for the Electoral Commission of South Africa, where her portfolio included the strategic development of programmes that assisted the Commission in contributing to the entrenchment of constitutional democracy – including overseeing the provision and promotion of civic, balloting and voter education.

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Dr Masuku has a PhD in Applied English Linguistics from the University of Birmingham, UK. She has contributed to the body of work related to South Africa’s National Curriculum Statement and the protection of human rights, values and inclusivity. She has also worked with a number of women’s groups including Women and the Law in Southern Africa, the Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse and a range of civil society groupings focusing on youth.

Dr Masuku has a varied and eclectic range of interests including education, development issues, democracy and governance, policy development and implementation, and the personal development of women professionals.

served a seven-year term (2009 to 2016) as a part-time member of the South African Human Rights Commission.

Ms Love studied through the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of London and has post-graduate qualifications in public administration, development management and economics.

Commissioner: Judge Dhaya Pillay

Judge Dhayanithie Pillay is a defender of human rights and an expert in labour law.

She was appointed a Commissioner of South Africa’s Electoral Commission in November 2018.

Judge Pillay holds the position of an Extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria while serving as a judge of the High Court in Pietermaritzburg and Durban. She also served as an Acting Judge of the Constitutional Court from February to September 2021.

Before this she was a judge of the Labour Court of South Africa for 10 years until 2010.

Admitted as an attorney in 1982, Pillay was drawn to the plight of political detainees, specialising in human

rights and administrative law disputes arising from the various emergency and security laws in force at the time.

She was recognised as a human rights defender by the Amnesty International SA Durban Group in 2005.

After turning to labour law and industrial relations, Judge Pillay was selected to be involved in the drafting of key pieces of national legislation, including the Public Service Labour Relations Act, the new Labour Relations Act, and clauses of the Constitution relating to the Public Service Commission and Electoral Commission. She was a Senior Commissioner (part-time) of the CCMA since 1996 until her appointment to the bench.

Judge Pillay attained a doctorate in law from the University of Pretoria in 2020.

ADMINISTRATION Deputy Chief Electoral Officer: Corporate Services: Ms Akhtari Henning

With her significant financial experience, Ms Akhtari Henning is committed to making a difference in the lives of South Africa’s people and serving her country with a purpose.

Ms Henning joined the Electoral Commission at the start of April 2018 as Deputy Chief Electoral Officer for Corporate Services, where she is responsible for Financial Services, Human Resources and Support Services, Information and Communication Technology, and Legal Services.

Before joining the Electoral Commission she served in a similar role – as Deputy Director-General for Corporate Services – at Statistics South Africa for six years.

Ms Henning has hands-on experience as a Chief Financial Officer and has managed a significant team and budget, with multiple projects across a

vast logistical landscape. Her strengths lie in complex logistics, integrating resources – financial, human and tools of the trade. She has a proven record as a turnaround strategist and the ability to implement lasting solutions.

Ms Henning has experience of leading and overseeing a Public Private Partnership (PPP) process from the pre-bid phase to completion. She was Chief Negotiator for her department for the legal, labour and procurement contracts in this regard, and the negotiations and building period were fast-tracked with a clean audit record.

In fact, this was marked as the fastest PPP in South Africa.

Ms Henning has proven experience in the Public Finance Management Act, Treasury Regulations, and in establishing the King III governance requirements for the Public Sector Guide for National, Provincial and Local Government.

Ms Henning has achieved a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and completed her Articles of Clerkship at Ernst & Young Chartered Accountants.

In 2015, she completed the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School in Boston, in the United States.

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LEADING WOMEN OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION Chief Financial Officer: Ms Dawn Mbatha CA (SA)

Dawn Mbatha is an experienced and qualified Chartered Accountant, audit partner, consultant and finance executive with extensive management and operations experience in both the private and public sector.

Dawn is the Chief Financial Officer of the Electoral Commission, which has a budget of R2-billion, about a thousand staff, and an operational network of some 270 offices. She is also CFO for the Represented Political Party Fund.

She a former inspector with the Independent Regulating Board of Auditors. Former clients include the Development Bank of South Africa, ARMSCOR, Road Agency Limpopo, Eskom, Technology Innovation Agency, Eskom Treasury, MTN SP, Transnet Group, Airports Company South Africa, Department of Defence, and the International Market Centre (USA).

Dawn served on the interim board of Cricket South Africa (CSA). The interim board enabled the adoption of a Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI) in terms of the Companies Act (s60)

after reaching an agreement with CSA’s Members’ Council. By reaching this agreement, cricket in South Africa has

adopted a governance model which is best practice both in South Africa and internationally.

KwaZulu-Natal Acting Provincial Electoral Officer: Ms Ntombifuthi Masinga

As Acting PEO of the KwaZuluNatal office of the Electoral Commission for the last two years, Ms Ntombifuthi Masinga is responsible for the execution of all electoral projects across 44 municipalities in the province and ensuring projects synergy across three departments: Electoral Operations, Corporate Services and Outreach; the management of provincial operations budgets, ensuring delivery of provincial targets and risk management.

Key electoral projects that she has oversight over include voters’ roll development and maintenance, the delimitation of voting districts, identification of voting stations and provisioning of infrastructure thereof,

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procurement of election material, printing of ballot papers, electoral staff training, filling of municipal councilor vacancies and coordination of elections of other state-funded institutions. She is also responsible for liaison with relevant election stakeholders, including political

parties, government departments and the media.

Ms Masinga has been in the service of the Electoral Commission for 18 years. She has a BA Honours degree in Human and Education Studies, and a Master of Business Administration in Management Information Systems.

Limpopo Provincial Electoral Officer: Ms Nkaro Mateta

Ms Nkaro Mateta has served as the Electoral Commission’s Provincial Electoral Officer for Limpopo since 2007. Before that she was a director the Department of Local Government and Housing.

“In 2006 the Capricorn District Municipality was going through a transition, and I was assisting with the setting up of new structures and policies. When the PEO position was advertised for the IEC in Limpopo I was very interested. I had previously been involved in community negotiating forums and had some experience of helping to manage local elections. I realised what better way to make a contribution to this country than to further our democracy by helping to manage our election. I applied successfully for the post and in April 2007 I joined the IEC permanently and have never looked back.

Ms Mateta is responsible for the strategic planning and management of democratic processes in the province,

including elections. Her office’s activities are project based and so project management serves as a core for all their plans.

“While we are a rural province and have several challenges to deal with, we do so with determination and enthusiasm that we still rise above these challenges and manage to compete with less disadvantaged provinces. The challenges stem from a shortage of resources, which affects everything from poor infrastructure for use as voting stations, a limited road network on which to reach our voters, and limited funding for our municipal offices,” she explains.

Every election is different, but Nkaro maintains that each one is an improvement on the previous one, especially from a management perspective. Her hopes for the 2021 Municipal Elections? “I would like to see more activism from the political parties in our province. We have the lowest voter turnout in the country

(about 50% compared with the national average of 63%) and we need to bring up the numbers with the help of our stakeholders, particularly the political parties. I would like to see the youth turnout be higher and help communities who are struggling to see that that service delivery protests should be directed to the correct authorities,” she adds.

Mpumalanga Provincial Electoral Officer: Ms Gugu Langa

Ms Gugu Langa is the most recently appointed Provincial Electoral Officer in the Electoral Commission, having joined the organisation in April this year.

with Local Government, Provincial Government and the Mpumalanga House of Traditional Leaders.

Gugu has worked within the local government space for some 26 years, 19 of which have been serving in a managerial position.

She previously served at the Emakhazeni Local Municipality, Mandeni Local Municipality and the Lowveld Escarpment Regional Services Council (currently known as Ehlanzeni District Council).

Gugu joined the Electoral Commission from the South African Local Government Association (Salga), where she has worked for the past 16 years as the Provincial Executive Officer (Accounting Officer), now referred to as Provincial Director of Operations for Mpumalanga, responsible for 20 municipalities and working closely amongst others

Gugu has a BA Honours Degree (Clinical Psychology) from the University of Zululand and a Masters’ Degree in Public Administration from the University of Pretoria, along with various certificates in work-related fields. She is a staunch member of the Anglican Church of South Africa, and the President of the Mothers Union in the Diocese of Mpumalanga.

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LEADING WOMEN OF THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION North West Provincial Electoral Officer: Dr Tumelontle Thiba

Dr Tumelontle Thiba is Provincial Electoral Officer of the Electoral Commission’s North West provincial office.

Dr Thiba joined the organisation to serve in this role in January 2008.

Prior to this she was Executive Dean of Human and Social Sciences at the North West University, Mahikeng Campus. As much as Dr Thiba has always been passionate about teaching, so too has she been about learning, hence her PhD in English, with specialisation in Sociolinguistics.

“I applied for the provincial electoral officer position because I was interested in electoral democracy and contributing to sustaining and strengthening democracy in our country. When I joined the Electoral Commission, it was an exciting time and I wanted to be in that space,” she says.

The North West province consists of roughly 67% traditional communities and 33% urban communities. “Our approach, especially from a communication standpoint, has to be different in these communities. I am most proud of our stakeholder management in that ours is quality communication in a responsive manner and not only to meet the targets. We always exceed our core business and support service targets even in the face of harsh weather conditions, floods and service delivery protests.

“I can only give credit to my members of staff who always seek solutions first.

They have discipline, in the true sense of the English word; that of a culture of focus and efficiency at all times.

They all strive to achieve our common goals. The external issues we may face only serve to strengthen our provincial

Eastern Cape Provincial Electoral Officer: Ms Kayakazi Magudumana

The Electoral Commission in the Eastern Cape has been led by the enthusiastic and energetic Ms Kayakazi Magudumana since 2018. Born and bred in the Eastern Cape Kayakazi grew up in the former Transkei region, she graduated from Zululand University, and then returned to the former homeland to commence her professional career. She has been employed by the Electoral Commission since 1998, starting her career with the organisation in Mthatha.

At the time of her commencement with the organisation there was little formal structure in place, in the young institution, to the point that Kayakazi and her late colleague and mentor, Goodman Socikwa worked out of the

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boot of a car until office premises could be secured.

Ms Magudumana says that as a predominantly rural province, it is key to work closely with stakeholders, including the Office of the Premier, the Eastern Cape Legislature, Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, and the Eastern Cape House of Traditional Leaders, to name just a few.

The number of voting stations have grown from 3 100 in the 2005 Municipal Elections to 4 809 that will be in operation in the 2021 Municipal Elections – a growth of 55%. The voters’ roll has also grown from 2.5 million registered voters in 2005 to 3.2 million in 2021, an increase of 30%.

team as we all take the challenges in our stride and give our all even in the most trying of times,” says Dr Thiba.

REGISTER ANYWHERE, ANYTIME. Visit registertovote.elections.org.za to register for the 2021 Municipal Elections.

Scan the QR code to register to vote.

@IECSouthAfrica

0800 11 8000

SMS ID to 32810 (R1/SMS)

Municipal Focus

21

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ARE CONSULTANCY FEES AND MUNICIPAL SALARIES fruitless and wasteful expenditure?

T

he municipal skills shortage has reared its nasty head again. This was identified by the Auditor General (AG), Ms. Tsakani Maluleke, who briefed parliamentary committees on the 2019/20 local government audit outcomes and the Covid-19 relief funds expenditure in a session on 22 June 2021. One of the biggest concerns Maluleke raised during this session is the high usage of consultants at municipalities, writes Natashia Soopal, SAICA Senior Executive for Public Sector.

The cost of consultants at municipalities increased to R1 027 million in 2019-20 (2018-19: R847 million). The AG noted that 74% of municipalities had a recurring use of consultants, which indicates that these municipalities will not be able to comply with Section 122 of the Municipal Finance Management Act, No 56 of 2003 (MFMA), preparation of financial statements, without the use of consultants. The AG further cited the lack of skills (68%), lack of skills and vacancies (30%) and vacancies (2%) as reasons identified for the high use of consultants at municipalities.

Yet, despite the huge consultant expense incurred by municipalities, this still has not achieved the desired audit outcomes. 59% of financial statements prepared by consultants and submitted for auditing included material misstatements. Furthermore, the following audit outcomes were achieved by municipalities who used consultants: Financially unqualified – 97 municipalities (consultant expense of R517 million) Qualified – 60 municipalities

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Municipal Focus

(consultant expense of R352 million) Adverse – 5 municipalities (consultant expense of R53 million) Disclaimer – 10 municipalities (consultant expense of R105 million) Section 62 of the MFMA places responsibilities on the accounting officer of a municipality to manage the financial administration of a municipality. This includes ensuring that the municipality’s resources are used effectively, efficiently, and economically and that full and proper records of the municipality’s financial affairs are kept. However, based on the AG’s report to Parliament, this has not been achieved.

Interestingly, the majority of consultants were found to be ineffective based on circumstances that were outside their control. 51% of consultants were ineffective due to inadequate or lack of records and documentation which reflects a weak control environment, whilst the work of 9% of consultants was not adequately reviewed; and a further 17% of consultants just did not deliver.

The question that remains is whether the consultants’ cost or the salary of municipal officials who have been employed to support strong municipal finance management should be classified as fruitless and wasteful expenditure? Or should it be both in instances where a municipality used consultants at the same time as incurring salary costs, and yet still received a disclaimer as was the case of a municipality in Eastern Cape which paid R66 million in employee salaries and R24 million in consultancy fees.

The cost of consultants at municipalities increased to R1 027 million in 2019-20 (2018-19: R847 million).

The AG noted that 74% of municipalities had a recurring use of consultants, which indicates that these municipalities will not be able to comply with Section 122 of the Municipal Finance Management Act, No 56 of 2003 (MFMA)

The AG further cited the lack of skills (68%), lack of skills and vacancies (30%) and vacancies (2%) as reasons identified for the high use of consultants at municipalities.

SUPPORT

S

AICA believes that consultants can play a role by providing strategic partnerships that help municipalities identify innovative solutions that will improve municipal finance management and service delivery.

However, municipalities must also start holding officials and service providers accountable, reducing their administration costs, and improving service delivery.

Over and above this, SAICA believes that you cannot reduce the cost of consultants nor enforce the transfer of skills from consultant to municipal officials unless officials have the appropriate skills. These enhanced skills must also be matched by ethical and professional skills. It is on this basis that SAICA recommends the urgent intervention of appointing and/or upskilling finance officials who can perform accounting and reporting activities, as well as implement strong internal control. SAICA believes that this can only be achieved through the professionalisation of local government to ensure that finance officers within municipalities have the mandatory higher qualifications needed to perform the tasks assigned to them, as well as through the implementation and monitoring of minimum

competencies for all finance officials in local government. It is with this in mind that SAICA remains committed to working with local government to upskill finance officers through its Chartered Accountants [CAs(SA)], Associate General Accountant [AGA(SA)] and Accounting Technician [AT(SA)] designations.

About SAICA The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), South Africa’s pre-eminent accountancy body, is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading accounting institutes.

The Institute provides a wide range of support services to more than 50 000 members and associates who are chartered accountants (CAs[SA]), as well as associate general accountants (AGAs[SA]) and accounting technicians (ATs[SA]), who hold positions as CEOs, MDs, board directors, business owners, chief financial officers, auditors and leaders in every sphere of commerce and industry, and who play a significant role in the nation’s highly dynamic business sector and economic development.

Chartered Accountants are highly valued for their versatile skill set and creative lateral thinking, that's why all of the top 100 Global Brands employ Chartered Accountants.

LEARNING

NETWORKING

RESOURCES SAICA Media Contact: Kulani Chauke Project Manager: Corporate Communications SAICA Brand Division 011 479 0698 / 071 266 0019 kulanic@saica.co.za

Municipal Focus

23

LIMPOPO PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

LIMPOPO’S MUNICIPAL AUDIT OUTCOMES gives South Africa a glimmer of hope

T

he story of South African municipalities and the dire slippery slope into financial ruin they are on is perhaps one of the most sobering where the country’s financial health is concerned this year.

In releasing her 2019/20 Municipal Audit Outcomes, Auditor General Tsakani Maluleke’s report painted a gloomy picture. According to this latest look at municipalities countrywide, 1 in 4 face financial devastation, and irregular expenditure has reached a staggering R27 Billion in the year under review.

“We should all be worried because every citizen interacts with a municipality in some shape or form, and all municipalities benefit from funds that come out of the national fiscus. So all of us somehow contribute to municipalities around the country.

Therefore all of us should be worried when we can’t see or confirm where money is going,” said Maluleke.

In addition to the Auditor General’s findings, the Department of Corporate Governance’s State of Local Government Report found that 64% of municipalities are in financial distress with an increase of 15% in the 2019/20 financial year, 41% have passed unfunded budgets in the same year, 33% obtained qualified audit opinions in the 2018/19 financial year and 44% obtained an unqualified audit opinion in the same year.

However, amidst these troubling developments, the Auditor-General has announced some promising news in the form of significant improvements in Limpopo’s Audit Outcomes. She announced that the province, with the highest margin of persons living below

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Municipal Focus

the upper poverty line in the country at 72,2%, has completely done away with its disclaimer audit opinions all round. The municipalities have leaped from 6 unqualified Audits to 15.

Subsequently, the number of municipalities with Qualified Audits have dropped from 21 to just 10.

Noteworthy for the province is that it’s Modimolle-Mookgophong Local Municipality has jumped from an Adverse finding to a Qualified Audit Opinion. Capricorn District Municipality has continued to glow as it retained its clean audit, while Mogalakwena Local Municipality’s status has remained unchanged with its adverse finding.

This convincing turn around came about following Limpopo Premier Chupu Mathabatha’s announcement to implement an intervention to ensure municipal improvements in compliance to the Municipal Finance Management Act and Auditor General recommendations three years ago.

“We committed ourselves as a provincial government and our municipalities to drawing up a financial recovery plan and implementing it to the tee, especially after some of our municipalities were found to have invested monies into VBS,” said MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Basikopo Makamu.

“We committed ourselves as a provincial government and our municipalities to drawing up a financial recovery plan and implementing it to the tee."

“This strategy also makes sure that municipalities are assigned Municipal Finance Support staff, among other interventions,” said the MEC. He added that the clear and close step by step monitoring that audit remedial recommendations from the previous year are executed is also a big part of the answer.

According to MEC Makamu, the solution was found in a collaborative effort between the Premier’s office, the departments of COGHSTA and Treasury, and district and local municipalities.

The MEC said through these efforts, a team was formed, made up of political and administrative role players to offer support to municipalities in their individual and respective quests for financial integrity. “One example of how we accomplished this can be seen in how mayors are now required to attend every municipal audit steering committee meeting. These assess audit remedial plans and ensure that the planned actions will adequately address the audit findings given by the AuditorGeneral to each municipality.

In many instances, the local sphere of government has seen an inability to retain skillful personnel, some of whom are essential in the process of ensuring state funds are prudently used and accounted for. The MEC explained that paying attention to this has also been an important part of turning the challenging situation around.

“There has been stability provided by the Department of Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs to the level of municipalities as far as reducing the high staff and management turn-over.”

“There are no adverse findings whatsoever. A leapfrog improvement unprecedented on any vernacular.

“We particularly reserve a word of gratitude to the Capricorn District Municipality that has again retained its clean audit, we want to recognize their consistent efforts and congratulate Executive Mayor Councilor John Mpe, and both his political and administrative leadership and staff,” said MEC Makamu.

Another impressive contrast the provincial government has achieved in comparison to the national trend is in its submissions. Where there has been a showing of increase in the number

of municipalities that have not made submissions, Limpopo has successfully submitted all requirements to the Auditor General.

The MEC said however that the ultimate goal is yet to be reached.

“The model that we have implemented to achieve these results was a targeted intervention approach, specific to every municipality’s individual challenges through coordinated efforts between COGHSTA and the Provincial Treasury. This strategy has proven to be effective, and we will continue to practice it until all our municipalities are no longer found wanting.”

“The fact that this has been executed this well in Limpopo is a clear demonstration of effective and efficient leadership at a political and administrative level of our municipalities. Its political leaders providing on-hand leadership and administrative management and staff applying themselves ceremoniously.

“I want to thank all the staff involved at COGHSTA, The Provincial Treasury and all municipalities, including their political and administrative leadership, for the sterling work done,” he said.

Makamu said he reserves his utmost gratitude to Limpopo Premier Chupu Mathabatha for the outstanding leadership and guidance he continues to provide.

Written by COGHSTA MEC’S OFFICE TEL: 015 285 5000/015 294 2000 WEBSITE: http/www.coghsta.limpopo. gov.za

Municipal Focus

25

SALGA

SALGA ASSESSES PREPARATIONS ahead of elections

C

onvened by SALGA, and held in the midst of the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic in SA, the National Members Assembly(NMA), which ran from 13 to 14 May, took the form of a hybrid event, with a limited number of delegates attending in person at the Radisson Blu Gautrain Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg.

Government, heads of chapter 9 institutions, civil society, the research community and other relevant stakeholders within local government were brought together for engagement covering a wide range of local government topics with the aim of improving service delivery.

Held under the theme, “Guiding the Transition: An opportunity to renew as we usher in the 5th Term of Democratic and People-Centred Local Government”, the NMA assessed preparations for the upcoming local government elections on October 27 and adopted a management and transition framework for the 5th term of democratic local government.

SALGA President Cllr. Thembi Nkadimeng delivered the opening address, saying conversations at the two-day event should translate into practical action plans to strengthen municipal capacity and performance, which in turn will help improve service delivery outcomes over the next five years of local government.

Delivering the keynote address, Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) Hon. Amos Masondo, pointed out that many countries across the globe and international institutions such as the United Nations

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Municipal Focus

CEO of SALGA: Xolile George

(UN) regard South Africa as having one of the most progressive Constitutions.

He said South Africa’s Constitution enjoys high acclaim for how it defines a constitutional democracy with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary.

“Under our Constitution, a municipality has the right to govern, on its initiative, the local government affairs of its community, subject to national and provincial legislation,” said Hon Masondo.

Panel discussions on the first day included a critical reflection on the 4th term of democratic local government with SALGA President Cllr. Thembi Nkadimeng neatly outlining the role of SALGA as the national membership body of South African municipalities mandated to support, promote and improve local government and expressed SALGA’s efforts to improve the financial reporting quality and processes of

Government, heads of chapter 9 institutions, civil society, the research community and other relevant stakeholders within local government were brought together for engagement covering a wide range of local government topics. their member municipalities across the country.

“Look at SALGA, 8 clean audits in a row. What are we trying to do now?

We’re transferring what we are good at, adopting municipalities. With the limited resources we have, we’ll adopt 10 municipalities per financial year, and take our expertise as SALGA to municipalities to assist. We can’t be bystanders when we realize that there’s a problem,” said Cllr Nkadimeng.

NCOP chairperson Hon. Amos Masondo acknowledged the numerous critical local governance challenges that needed immediate attention, but stated that local government has made meaningful progress in transforming the lives of the country’s black majority, who had been denied participation in political and economic life under apartheid.

“People who are saying that there’s nothing at all that has been done are removed from reality. If you open a tap, there’s water, there’s electricity.

There may be problems about supply and outages, there are roads, rubbish gets picked up regularly,” said Hon. Masondo. “This is not to say that there are no problems, problems are there but we must not also deny the reality of things and progress that has been made since 1994.”

Prof Jaap de Visser, Director of the Dullah Omar Institute, University of the Western Cape (UWC), recommended political parties improve their candidate selection lists ahead of the October 27 municipal elections. He argued that such mechanisms would sift the “opportunists” from the “real leaders”. He said, “Political parties must ask themselves what should disqualify a person to run for election.”

Hon. Lechesa Tsenoli, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) emphasized on the importance of SALGA’s Integrated Councillor Induction Programme (ICIP), which caters for newly elected and returning councillors with the aim of improving professional practice and institutional capacity in local government. “SALGA often conducts induction programmes for councillors so that those are new are able to catch up fast and they learn from those who were there and equally they learn from others who have moved on to other spheres of government who can provide them with the perspective of the necessary intergovernmental relations that are a critical part of local government.”

In the panel discussion on “The state of readiness for the electoral transition”, Thabo Manyoni, Municipal

Demarcation Board (MDB) Chairperson briefed the NMA on the delimitation of the municipal wards in preparation of the 2021 municipal elections. He noted that on the 1st of December 2020, the MDB successfully handed 4 468 ward boundaries to the IEC to prepare for the Local Government Elections in 2021,” said Manyoni.

Glen Mashinini, chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) updated the NMA on the institution's state of readiness for the elections. He noted that on voter registration all 23,146 voting stations around the country will open to assist new voters to register and existing voters to check and, where necessary, update their registration details.

He said, the Commission will be taking into cognizance the many uncertainties of the current environment, especially how COVID-19 is turning out, but up until the Commission has received a scientific report and indications from Cogta and the Department of Health, “we as the commission feel that we cannot deviate from what is expected of us by the Constitution. We have to discharge our duties accordingly.”

Maj General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, representing the South Africa Police Service(SAPS), also gave a status update on the SAPS’ safety and security state of readiness, expressing confidence that all safety and security measures have been put in place to create an environment for free and fair elections to take place and that hotspots in the country have been identified and will be prioritized.

In the panel discussion on “A reflection on the implications of legislation on the 5th term of local government”, Senzo Mchunu, Minister of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) lamented the growing distrust and poor image associated with the public sector.

He said public sector workers and government officials needed to obtain the requisite skills and qualifications to perform their duties and also desist from corrupt practices.

SALGA President, Cllr Thembi Nkadimeng

removing the vestiges of colonialism and apartheid racism were important to build a truly non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous society.

On the second day, delegates continued to share their views on a wide range of local government topics with the aim of translating discussions into actionable strategies to improve citizens' perceptions and experiences of local government in South Africa.

In the panel discussion “Managing the transition”, Hon. Nkosinathi Mthethwa, Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, spoke about the transformation of South Africa’s heritage landscape.

He emphasized that processes of removing the vestiges of colonialism and apartheid racism were important to build a truly non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous society.

Hon Minister Mthethwa also spoke on how certain monuments, symbols, signage’s and statues in public spaces carried a history of oppression and tyranny and that it was important for South Africans to begin having conversations on what their role should be in a democratic dispensation.

Municipal Focus

27

SALGA “Do we create a concentration camp of unwanted statues with a narrative or do we leave it to those who still value them to preserve them thus running a risk of reigniting old right wing nationalism by privatizing public property, do we allow for juxtaposition of these statues as it is the case in the Union Building where President Mandela is given prominence and centrality while Hertzog was moved to a less prominent space?” Hon Mthethwa asked.

Hon. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) spoke about the feasibility of conducting free and fair elections under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She emphasized that while the country was ready to hold elections in October, several other considerations, including the legal, socio-political, health and practical would also be assessed.

Hon Minister Dlamini-Zuma said that the considerations surrounding the municipal election date will be determined by the infection (rate).

She said that if the result was that we can’t have elections because of the pandemic, “then we will have to consider going to the Constitutional Court to ask for an extension because the 27th of October is actually the last constitutionally accepted day we can have elections.”

In the panel discussion “Managing key aspects of the transition”, SALGA Chief of Operations (COO), Lance Joel, among others, outlined the process of once-off gratuity payments to nonreturning councillors. He explained that the payments, which would be based on the pensionable salary of each non-returning councillor, would be preceded by strict screening which includes checking tax states of individual councillors with SARS. He added that the purpose of these payments are meant to provide financial relief to non-returning councillors so that they can adjust at a time where they are no longer in the public office, and to assist them to meet their financial obligations.

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Glen Mashinini, Chairperson of the IEC updated the NMA on the institution's state of readiness for the elections.

Hon Minister DlaminiZuma said that if the result was that we can’t have elections because of the pandemic, “then we will have to consider going to the Constitutional Court to ask for an extension because the 27th of October is actually the last constitutionally accepted day we can have elections.”

It was indicated that a total of R139 million was paid to eligible recipients from 2011 to 2014 with more than 4000 applications having been received. In 2016/17, more than 5,500 individual applications were screened and a total of R274 million was paid. For 2021, a request for funding to the National Treasury was made and R350 Million has been set aside – still based on 3-month salary.

Rio Nolutshungu, Chief Officer: Municipal Capabilities and Governance at SALGA, outlined some critical elements of the SALGA Transition Management Plan (TMP) for the 5th term of democratic local government, including SALGA’s Integrated Councillor Induction Programme. He explained among others, that the purpose of the induction programme is to help ensure that new councillors understand their duties and responsibilities in the field

of municipal governance, that they understand local government policies and procedures and to equip them with the skills and knowledge needed to undertake their role as a councillor.

Elias Msiza, from the Municipal Councillor Pension Fund (MCPF), explained the role of the Fund, saying it was established in May 1988 in terms of the Pension Benefits for Local Authorities Act 105, 1987 in order to service the retirement needs of Municipal Councillors. He explained the various benefits offered by the Fund to its members, which include housing loans, funeral and death benefits, among others. He said that the Fund had an active membership of 5447, and that as of 31 March, 2021, the value of the asset fund stood at over R2.4 billion.

SALGA President, Cllr Thembi Nkadimeng, subsequently brought the NMA to a close, saying she was confident that the discussions emanating from the NMA would translate into actionable strategies to improve service delivery outcomes over the next five years of local government.

The NMA declaration was adopted and can be accessed on: http:// www.salga.org.za/event/nma21/ documents/Special%20NMA%20 Declaration.pdf.

RETIREMENT SAVINGS

POSITIVELY IMPACTING THE LIVES OF MEMBERS, their families and their communities, today and tomorrow

WHAT SETS THE NEW NFMW APART

•

The National Fund for Municipal Workers has grown to be the largest retirement fund in the Local Government industry and with more than 55 000 active members employed at municipalities throughout South Africa, it is clear that NFMW is the fund of choice.

The Fund's vision is to positively impact the lives of members, their families and their communities, today and tomorrow - and its mission is to be a trusted custodian who grows members' investments and keeps members informed along the way to a secure retirement.

Rationalisation/Restructuring of Local Government Retirement Funds The proposed rationalisation/ restructuring of Local Government retirement funds will allow members to move to the fund of their choice and take up membership at that fund. Retirement funds will be required to undergo an accreditation exercise to ensure that they meet the criteria as set out by the South African Local Government Bargaining Council (SALGBC).

The Local Government retirement funds sector restructuring/rationalisation is meant to ensure that members receive value for their contributions and save as much as possible towards their retirement. This process is also meant to ensure that all retirement funds are properly governed and that retirement funds put the interest of members first.

Mr Leslie Ndawana, the NFMW's Principal Executive and Chief Executive Officer delivered the following message on the proposed rationalisation/restructuring of local government retirement funds: The NFMW supports the proposed retirement funds restructuring exercise as we believe that members who are locked into funds due to the current restrictions, should be given the freedom to choose retirement funds that are cost-effectively managed, practise good governance and responsible investing in order to provide members with desirable retirement outcomes. The Fund will partake in the accreditation process as the criteria pose no threat to wellmanaged and cost-effective funds, like the NFMW. Rather, this provides funds

Their members are at the centre of everything they do: decisions, behaviours, and the strategies in the management of the Fund.

The Fund's purpose of existence is to financially secure the future of its members.

• Service excellence • Low administration costs translate to less of members’ contributions towards the cost of administration and more towards savings.

• The NFMW has an excellent longterm investment performance track record on par with the best global balanced managed portfolios in South Africa and ahead of other local government retirement funds. like the NFMW with an opportunity to grow in membership and assets resulting in a further reduction in costs, improved benefits and even better returns for our members.

The earliest anticipated implementation date for the window period during which members will be allowed to move from one fund to another is still to be confirmed. A detailed fund comparison on costs, benefits and investment performance will be made available so that members and potential members can compare accredited funds before deciding on which fund to participate in or transferring between funds.

We will, as always, ensure that you are updated on any new developments in this regard.

We look forward to continuing to serve our members beyond the rationalisation exercise.

Municipal Focus

29

POPIA

THREE COMMON POPIA MYTHS thoroughly debunked

S

outh African organisations in the public and private sectors now have to ensure they are fully compliant to the provisions of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).

This leaves every organisation that collects, processes, shares, or stores the personal data of South African citizens, organisations or legal entities at risk of being in contravention of POPIA's provisions, if they haven’t implemented reasonable organisational and technical measures to protect personal information.

POPIA establishes eight minimum requirements for the lawful processing of personal data, but the provision most fraught with risk is arguably security safeguarding. Here, cybersecurity professionals play a vital role in protecting the organisation not only from cyberattacks, but also the subsequent regulatory risks.

Since many public sector organisations handle large volumes of citizen data, it’s important that they understand the requirements of POPIA. And as they work to become compliant, it’s worth pausing to ensure they are not caught out by these three common POPIA-related myths:

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Municipal Focus

1. "Breaches only apply when data leaves the organisation" The traditional view of a data breach is one where data is 'stolen' from an organisation's systems.

However, data does not need to leave the organisation for it to be considered a breach. POPIA applies to any unauthorised access to personal information.

The global rise in ransomware attacks - such as the recent headlinegrabbing attack on a US oil pipeline - adds more risk for organisations.

Data that is encrypted in an attack constitutes a data breach.

Mimecast’s State of Email Security Report 2021 found that half (47%) of all South African organisations suffered a ransomware attack in the past year.

2. "I can outsource my compliance " Many organisations believe they can simply outsource their responsibility of compliance to an external service provider, but this could put themselves - and their data - at immense risk.

No one vendor or solution can ensure full POPIA compliance.

A vendor - for example Mimecast - can certainly help organisations become compliant to some provisions. But, there are multiple other moving parts that organisations need to attend to if they are to be fully compliant.

3. "Any data breach puts me at risk of penalties" Under Chapter 3, Section 19 of POPIA, organisations must take appropriate measures to prevent "(a) loss of, damage to or unauthorised destruction of personal information; and (b) unlawful access to or processing of personal information."

The key here is to take 'all reasonable steps' to protect personal data.

Organisations can still be considered compliant even if they fall victim to a data breach, provided they can prove that they took every reasonable step to prevent such a breach.

The alternative - suffering legal, financial and reputation damage - is simply too damaging to the organisation to even consider.

By Brian Pinnock, cybersecurity expert at Mimecast

Contact Information Mimecast South Africa Sandton Gate , 4th floor 27 Minerva Avenue Glenadrienne Sandton 2196 Tel Local: 0861114063 Tel Int: +27 (0) 11 722 3700 Email: meabdr@mimecast.com

Be compliant Simplify POPIA management for email.

Pervasive security, cloud archive and continuity services.

info.mimecast.com/BeCompliantPopia

FREE STATE PUBLIC WORKS & INFRASTRUCTURE

“To uphold good governance and accountability, the Department has a functional Shared Audit Committee that sits quarterly to evaluate the work done including matters raised in the Risk and Ethics Management Committee,” read a statement by the Executive Authority, MEC Tshidi Koloi.

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WE ARE ON TRACK with our budget injunctions amid Covid-19

T

he Department has managed to deliver on its promised Policy Initiatives as captured in the Budget Vote of 2020/21 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

As it is known, especially within the Public Service, a lot of budget reprioritisation has taken centre stage since the pandemic graced our shores.

Also, it is important for the Department to mention that our Annual Performance Plan (APP), takes cue from our Five Year Strategic Plan which covers the period, 2020/2025 (Medium Term Strategic Framework – MTSF).

The Department’s objective is to manage the implementation of programmes and strategies that lead to the development and empowerment of communities and contractors.

In light of the Covid-19 difficult period, the Department managed to perform satisfactory under the following areas: • Administration • ICT • Works and Infrastructure • EPWP • PMU • Property Management Portfolio

MEC Tshidi Koloi

As part of our efforts to make sure that business processes are not hampered and that the requisite skills are in place in the Department, the post of the Chief Financial Officer and that of the Head of Department were filled. These two posts were filled through the appointment of Ms. Allison Adams and Mr. Ernest Mohlahlo respectively.

“To uphold good governance and accountability, the Department has a functional Shared Audit Committee that sits quarterly to evaluate the work done including

Municipal Focus

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FREE STATE PUBLIC WORKS & INFRASTRUCTURE

The Department has adopted a strategy to refurbish and maintain old buildings that are no longer in use with an estimated budget of R136.4 million over the next three years

DELIVERY OF INFRASTRUCTURE:

matters raised in the Risk and Ethics Management Committee,” read a statement by the Executive Authority, MEC Tshidi Koloi.

In our efforts to enhance business processes during this period of COVID-19, the Department embarked on improving efficiency through the deployment of technologically advanced solutions related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

Some of these advancements include: • E-submission • MS Teams for virtual meetings • Centralised Departmental WhatsApp Group to enhance communication internally • Intensify the use of the Social Media Platforms in an effort to enhance and promote the publicity and marketing of the work and achievements of the Department.

As part of our input to the Provincial stance towards preparing and dealing with COVID-19, we facilitated the provision of accommodation facilities for isolation and quarantine. This was done through availing state - owned accommodation facilities located across the Province.

The Resorts facilities were revamped and reconditioned to make sure they adhere to the Covid-19 norm and standards as set out by the Department of Health. These Government owned accommodation sites include:

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Municipal Focus

• • • • • • • • •

Gariep Dam Nature Resort Koppies Dam Resort Willem Pretorius Resort Soetdoring Nature Resort Seekoeivlei Resort Sterkfontein Dam Sandveld Resort Tussen die Riviere Resort, and Phillip Sanders Resort

The Head of Department reiterated in his opening remarks captured in the Annual Report that the Department managed to complete nine more maintenance projects, three TRP projects located in Botshabelo, Steynsrus and Odendaalsrus, as well as the construction of a new school in Bethlehem.

As an infrastructure implementing agent for other Departments, we will once again focus on completing old projects and embark on new projects in the current financial year, 2021/22.

The project management processes of the Department has been realigned to ensure improved service delivery.

THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS WILL START AND BE IMPLEMENTED DURING THE 2021/22 FINANCIAL PERIOD: • Thandanani Clinic and Rheederspark Clinic (Welkom) • Trompsburg Special School and Hostel (Xhariep)

The Department has adopted a strategy to refurbish and maintain old buildings that are no longer in use with an estimated budget of R136.4 million over the next three years. These buildings will be used to accommodate Provincial Departments for office space/accommodation and this will lead to a reduced use of rented buildings.

BUILDINGS TO BE RENOVATED IN 2021/22 MTEF PERIOD: • QwaQwa Office, Maluti A Phofung office • Agriculture Office (Ladybrand) • Thusanong Building (Bloemfontein) • KGI Building (Kroonstad) • Agriculture office (Odendaalsrus) • Phase 2 of Tshireletsong Centre & Old Reserve Bank Building (Bloemfontein)

Poluro Hoopstad School

• Oranjekrag School Hostel (Xhariep) • Phase 2 Construction: Charles Mopeli Stadium (Phuthaditjhaba) • Boitumelo Special School (Thaba Nchu) • Morena Tshohisi School (Harrismith) As the custodian of provincially owned state properties the Department has a mandate of maintaining these properties. The immovable asset register currently has a value of R11,1 billion with 4 872 immovable assets.

One of our key empowerment and short to long term employment drivers is the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). The objective of the EPWP, especially the current Phase 4, is to provide work opportunities and income support to the poor and unemployed through the labourintensive delivery of public and community assets and services.

Through this, the EPWP would be contributing towards the elimination of poverty, reduction of inequality and creation of employment.

The Programme consists of the following Sub-Programmes: • Community Development Sub Programme • Innovation and Empowerment Sub Programme • Coordination and Compliance Monitoring Sub Programme The Department in partnership with SALGA facilitated the creation of 9 392 work opportunities within the local government sphere. A total of 61 966 work opportunities were created by all spheres of government in the Province.

A total of R328 474 million for municipal services and R436 235 million for property services was paid, though we acknowledge it was insufficient, and plans are in place to address the deficit.

17 emerging contractors under the Contractor Development Programme (CDP) were allocated infrastructure projects. This was part of phase 2 of the CDP, aimed at developing emerging contractors to become sustainable construction entities.

Under our Public Works, Construction and Maintenance Programmme we concluded the following projects while others are nearing completion: · · ·

Hoopstad: GM Polori School Warden: Silindukuhle School Zastron: Mooifontein School

· · · · · ·

Clocolan: Ruang Tsebo School Bloemfontein: Old Eureka Hostel Bethlehem: Rehopotswe (Bohlokong) New Primary School.

Bloemfontein: Grassland New Primary School Bloemfontein: Matla Phase 2 Welkom: Leboneng School Hostel.

The condition assessment report of various buildings has been concluded, which includes Mofumahadi Manapo Hospital, Dr JS Moroka Hospital, Boitumelo Hospital and Bongani Hospital. These hospitals will be refurbished in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), on behalf of the Department of Health.

Six hospitals in the Province were administered with water saving projects/interventions, where about R14.7 million was saved under the year 2020/2021.

Issued by: Communications & Media Liaison Unit Public Works & Infrastructure OR. Tambo House Bloemfontein 9301 Enquiries can be directed to: Mlu Maqubela Tel: 051 492 3773 Cell: 082 326 2919 Email: maqubelam@fsworks.gov.za

Municipal Focus

35

MPUMALANGA COGTA

POLICY AND BUDGET SPEECH SUMMARY EC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in Mpumalanga, Ms BP Shiba tabled the Department’s Policy and Budget Speech in June this year, focusing on service delivery improvement, support for municipalities and the traditional leadership in Mpumalanga.

The service delivery improvement covers the period between 2016 and 2019, and the support mechanisms will be implemented in the 2021-22 financial year. The summary of the speech is as follows: • •

• •

The number of households with access to water increased from 1 090 892 to 1 134 864.

The number of households with access to flush toilets(sanitation) increased from 607 082 to 848 484 in the same period.

Access to electricity was increased from 1 123 038 to 1 200 132 for the last five years.

The number of households with access to waste removal declined from 594 892 to 499 500. As a remedy, the Municipal Infrastructure Grant(MIG) framework has been revised to allow municipalities to procure solid waste removal trucks through their MIG allocation to improve access to refuse removal.

MEC Busisiwe Shiba

For water intervention, MEC Shiba stated the following: •

Aging and dilapidated infrastructure will be prioritized and addressed. In addition, the exponential sprawling of legal and illegal settlements, as well as lack of budget allocation of maintenance infrastructure, will be given attention.

•

In the MIG expenditure R986 million was prioritized for water and sanitation.

•

36

•

Partnering with the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA), the Department of Water and Sanitation, and the DBSA supported PPMU in the Department, the challenges of water and sanitation will be reduced.

•

The Rand Water Board is also being considered to improve the operations and maintenance of our Treatment Plants and to train personnel controllers to meet the standards and classification grading.

MEC Shiba highlighted a good expenditure of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) by the majority of municipalities in Mpumalanga, giving hope that infrastructure challenges will be addressed, for the improvement of service delivery.

Through the support of the DBSA, the Department will initiate processes of reviewing Spatial Development Frameworks (SDFs) of Nkangala, Thembisile Hani, Dr JS Moroka, Victor Khanye, Emalahleni, and Emakhazeni municipalities.

Many municipalities were able to spend 100% of their MIG expenditure with an exciting 83% performance in this regard. However, the Department will assist Dipaleseng, Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme and Govan Mbeki as severely affected municipalities.

The Department has completed a Spatial Land Use Management for the Lekwa Municipality and also committed to supporting the Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme, Dipaliseng, and Bushbuckridge municipalities to finalize their land use scheme as required by SPLUMA.

Municipal Focus

MEC Shiba expressed support by the Department for the success of the Local Government Elections to be held on 27 October 2021, through the establishment of the District and Provincial Task Teams, to ensure that the voting stations have access roads, water, electricity, and network connectivity.

MEC Shiba announced the proclamation of the Customary Initiation Act, No.2 of 2021 by President Ramaphosa, on 4 June 2021, to prevent fatalities in the practice of Ingoma, through the establishment of the Provincial Initiation Coordinating Committee (PICC).

MEC Shiba stated that the focus for municipalities will be on institutional and administrative capacity through the recruitment and filling of critical posts such as Municipal Managers, Chief Financial Officers, Director Corporate Services, Director Technical Services, Director Community Services, and Director Development and Planning.

MEC Shiba emphasized the Department’s commitment to support poverty alleviation initiatives in rural areas, through the Agrarian Revolution and Invest-Rural Master Plan. The Invest-Rural Master Plan pays special attention towards the development in agriculture, agro-processing, mining, manufacturing, land development, and retailing, while the Agrarian Revolution focuses on identification of land for agricultural development and farming purpose.

MEC Shiba announced the decision to dissolve Lekwa Municipality by the cabinet on 12 May 2021, with the appointment of the Administrator, Mr Johann Mettler, who has vast and rich experience, knowledge, and expertise. She stated the decision to pursue good governance was completed through the implementation of investigations of section 106 (1) (b) of the Local Government Municipal System Act, 2000, in Govan Mbeki, Lekwa, Dr JS Moroka, Dr Pixley ka Isaka Seme and that the outcomes of those investigations was handed over to the Municipal Councils.

MEC Shiba stated that the focus for municipalities will be on institutional and administrative capacity through the recruitment and filling of critical posts

Municipal Focus

37

CELL C

FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE A JOURNEY TO CHANGING LIVES

T

he pulse of South Africa’s

government entities are feeling

Government is its people

the financial pinch of a struggling

and ensuring effective and

economy in an age where the

efficient service delivery to

pandemic has made digital access

all communities in a bid to fulfil its

an imperative. The need to cut down

mandate of building a united and

on costs and still do much to deliver

successful country. However, it may

critical services to communities, with

prove to be a challenge to operate

extremely limited financial resources,

at the desired pace due to online

is at an all-time high. To build a bridge

migration, a struggling economy,

between cost and access, one looks

insufficient tax collection leading to

for innovative solutions, flexibility and

constrained funding, and the global

affordability – flexible terms and offers

COVID-19 pandemic which has further

that are customised and affordable.

put economic and social pressure on the country in many ways.

The world is now firmly in the digital age and the global pandemic has accelerated the move to online – adding onto the existing socioeconomic challenges such as unemployment. The impact of the pandemic has been the adoption of

We are aware of the socio-economic challenges we face in our country and the pressing need for both government and the private sector to create innovative solutions and spearhead initiatives to address them.

a remote working culture for South Africa’s public and private workforce as well as e-learning for students to keep

Government also has an expressed

the country moving forward.

intent to drive 4IR or digital transformation and invest in skills

The acceleration in online migration

development to not only drive overall

has brought challenges such as access

country economic growth but also

to stable connectivity and affordability.

use new technologies to drive service

Entities have to bear the responsibility

delivery and local economic growth.

for both government and the private sector to create innovative solutions and spearhead initiatives to address them. Understanding the connectivity needs of Government has been our key focus in advocating affordability and flexibility. This is evident with our competitive voice and data offers on Epic and Pinnacle packages available for local government in one contract. No one knows what the future holds. Therefore, there is a need for options that can accommodate any future changes.”

There is synergy between Cell C and the Government – both entities are on a digital transformation journey and working towards regaining financial strength with the key goal of changing lives. Additionally, both Cell C and the Government are working towards digital inclusion for all South Africans so they are empowered with access to knowledge, services and social engagement. It is this synergy that then allows for a solid and fruitful partnership to build a united and successful country.

Government is as impacted as the

digital inclusion is a key focus area,

private sector. Connectivity in this

not only for the Government, but for

climate has become a vicious cycle

us at Cell C too. We are aware of the

– access to the internet requires

socio-economic challenges we face

“We are invested in the growth of our country and the success of our municipalities. Being a relatively smaller telecommunications service provider, we are agile, enabling us to change in order to meet the connectivity needs of local government. We can walk this journey together, the journey to economic growth, youth empowerment, job creation and digital

data, which is a cost. However, many

in our country and the pressing need

inclusion,” concludes Mkhize.

of ensuring this access and paying Simo Mkhize, Chief Commercial Officer

for it.

at Cell C says, “In the age we live in,

38

Municipal Focus

WE’RE READY TO

CHANGE YOUR WORLD. Cell C is equipped to meet the needs of Government through tailor-made, innovative solutions.

Our strategic partnerships enable us to offer cost-effective and flexible packages complemented by quality network coverage.

Don’t you think it’s time to choose a truly South African telecommunications partner that is genuinely committed to local suppliers and uplifting our community?

CHANGE YOUR WORLD

BY PARTNERING WITH CELL C.

EMAIL: government@cellc.co.za

Municipal Focus

39

WASTE MANAGEMENT

PIKITUP’S CO-PRODUCTION MODEL CREATES EMPLOYMENT

T

he impact of Covid-19 on South Africa’s ailing economy has resulted in a huge loss of jobs. Gauteng, particularly Johannesburg which is the epicenter of economic activity in the country has been adversely affected.

The recent Statistics South Africa unemployment rate results bear this point out. However, despite the scientific confirmation of such a fact, one needs to drive around the City to witness firsthand the negative impact of unemployment.

The number of people begging or advertising their skills to potential employers is rising unabated. The long winding queues for unemployment insurance and social grants bear testimony to the large scale of unemployment facing the country.

Although an atmosphere of despair is pervasive in the country pursuant to unemployment and the outbreak of Covid-19, strides are being taken to address the unemployment challenge.

The City of Johannesburg’s waste management company, Pikitup has introduced the co-production model to contribute to efforts aimed at reducing the current 32.5% unemployment rate.

The co-production model in essence entails that Pikitup in rendering its waste management and minimization mandate, should do so in conjunction with local communities or residents.

This approach gives credence to Pikitup’s long held view that it cannot achieve the highest standards of cleanliness possible without the participation and involvement of local communities.

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Municipal Focus

The co-production model in essence entails that Pikitup in rendering its waste management and minimization mandate, should do so in conjunction with local communities or residents.

The co-production model has created about 2025 jobs in all the regions of the City. In terms of the model, each

ward in the City will be capacitated with 15 Expanded Public Works Programme Employees, who will assist with waste management activities.

The model’s approach entails the appointment of co-operatives, nonprofit companies and exempted micro-enterprises, to ensure improved waste management services in the City of Johannesburg. Forty eight (48) of such companies will in turn appoint the above mentioned number of employees on a rotational basis to assist Pikitup with litter picking, street cleaning and rendering

We are aware of the socio-economic challenges we face in our country and the pressing need for both government and the private sector to create innovative solutions and spearhead initiatives to address them.

The education and awareness creation aspect of the jobs that the appointed employees are charged with is anticipated that it will contribute immensely to the preservation of the remaining landfill airspace.

Currently, recycling efforts are gaining traction in high income areas of the City and Pikitup has a target of diverting the following waste streams away from the landfill sites: 50% percent of green waste during the 2020/1 financial year, 85% of builders’ rubble by 2021 and 85% of dry waste.

This effectively means that 1 720 984 tons of such waste must be diverted away from landfills.

education and awareness programmes to residents about the value of a clean environment and the value of recycling as well as identification, clearing and /or reporting of illegal dumping when it occurs.

It is against this backdrop that the education and awareness campaigns by the appointed employees seek to raise awareness and encourage local residents not to include such waste in their bins but to dispose of it in Pikitup’s waste disposal facilities situated in all the seven regions of the City.

The city is fast running out of landfill airspace and the four landfill sites collectively have less than five years of landfill airspace remaining.

The dire need for communities to adopt responsible waste management through recycling is an imperative to reduce waste that ends up at landfill sites.

The additional resource will also ensure that the street cleaning activities of Pikitup will be improved to assist ensuring that 9000 km of streets will be kept clean. However, it must also be emphasised that such a reality is only possible if residents refrain from dumping waste illegally and also refrain from littering.

The city is fast running out of landfill airspace and the four landfill sites collectively have less than five years of landfill airspace remaining.

Municipal Focus

41

HERITAGE

The Nelson Mandela Museum, spread over three historic sites, tells Mandela’s story with impact of its reality, set as it is in the authentic landscape of his beginnings.

Nelson Mandela Museum: entrance

42

Municipal Focus

NELSON MANDELA MUSEUM

A

fter Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990 and became South Africa’s first democratically elected president in 1994, he was given gifts from people, governments, institutions and nations. His footprints left imprints all over the world and the world wanted to acknowledge his contribution.

Mandela accepted the gifts on condition that he would donate them to the people and that they would be displayed near his home village of Qunu and it was decided to create the multi-faceted Nelson Mandela Museum.

Ten years to the day after his release on 11 February 1990, the Nelson Mandela Museum opened its doors. Today this constantly evolving legacy is housed at Mvezo, the Nelson Mandela Youth and Heritage Centre in Qunu and the Bhunga Building in Mthatha.

The Nelson Mandela Museum, spread over these historic sites, tells his story with impact of its reality, set as it is in the authentic landscape of his beginnings.

Nelson Mandela insisted it was not just to be a static collection and tribute to him, but a living memorial to his values and vision. It was to inspire and enrich all who visit it, serve as a catalyst for development, and should share the heritage and resources linked to him.

His gift is a living one, one that embodies his commitment to the principles of human rights, freedom, peace and democracy.

The Nelson Mandela Museum is at the centre of the Mandela legacy and celebrates that legacy through a variety of projects that include:

• A reference library with a definitive collection of books about Nelson Mandela • Hosting youth leadership camps at the Nelson Mandela Youth and Heritage Centre, at which our future leaders are provided with an active learning experience that encompasses human rights, democracy, indigenous knowledge systems and national history • Conceptualising exhibition programmes that illustrate his vision and values, his life and times.

The Nelson Mandela Museum is of enormous importance to the heritage of the Eastern Cape and for the whole of South Africa. Ensuring that Nelson Mandela’s legacy is protected, treasured and given the support to grow and develop, while helping our people to grow and develop, is a responsibility that is not taken lightly.

Bonke Tyhulu, as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nelson Mandela Museum, has a mammoth task of accurately communicating and inspiring positive change in society through the legacy values of Mandela - those of ubuntu, integrity, innovation, stewardship, service excellence and development and learning.

We spoke to the CEO on the advantages of the Museum’s partnerships, his aspirations for the Museum and the effects of the recent Covid-19 pandemic on heritage spaces like the Nelson Mandela Museum.

The Nelson Mandela Museum is involved in several strategic partnerships, what is the importance of the Private & Public Sector partnerships and sponsorships? i.e.: Mercedes Benz?

CEO: Mr Bonke Tyhulu

Any form of partnership is highly appreciated in museums in general as they assist in developing content and promoting that to the public.

As social partners it also ensures that there is consistent engagement in terms of what is expected from outside, and this museum can improve and satisfy that expectation without any hindrances. With sponsorships, the museum is able to continue with its programming and accessing new audiences. It adapts its content and operations. An example is the Mercedes Benz sponsorship; the vehicle will be used as a mobile museum that will enable the museum to reach out to the most inaccessible areas.

The Nelson Mandela Museum is positioned as the “gateway to the Wild Coast”, what are the advantages of the Museum’s location?

The Nelson Mandela Museum is of enormous importance to the heritage of the Eastern Cape and for the

Municipal Focus

43

HERITAGE whole of South Africa. Ensuring that Nelson Mandela’s legacy is protected, treasured and given the support to grow and develop, while helping our people to grow and develop, is a responsibility that is not taken lightly.

The museum is situated at Qunu, along the N2 highway, south of Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. Of course there are many advantages to that, firstly, close proximity to the Wild Coast, one of the busiest areas in the Eastern Cape, ensures that there is sharing of visitors and continuation of visitor experience without much interruption, and as a gateway, it is easily accessible by both air and road transport. Another advantage is that the museum is within close proximity to all the original sites associated with Tata Nelson Mandela.

Covid-19 has impacted heritage spaces - what has been the effect of this, and the measurements that the Nelson Mandela Museum has put in place in the interest of the well-being of the Museum’s staff and visitors?

Indeed, Covid-19 has affected a number of industries and the museums are some of the worst hit because they predominantly depend on physical visits from its clientele. In order to limit the effects, the museum has been proactive in ensuring safety of its employees and visitors by immediately introducing audio guides and self-guided tours.

Covid-19 protocol compliance was prioritised and we secured the building and the exhibitions ensuring sanitation happens before entry to

Nelson Mandela Museum: inside

the building and also continues once inside the building. There is also visible directional signage indicating the sanitization stations. Face and nose masking is also a priority and entry is not allowed without wearing it properly. There is also a Covid-19 compliance officer who monitors the implementation of these measures.

Tell us about the innovations that will keep your business moving forward?

One of the innovations was the virtual tours, though enforced by Covid-19.

Through this initiative, the museum’s content remains in the public domain, meaning that whilst there cannot be many physical visits to the sites of the museum, at least through technology, people in different parts of the world can still access the museum.

Secondly the museum has continued

to use its social media platforms to engage the public and is still able to keep the public well aware of what is happening.

What are the future aspirations of the museum?

One of the main goals is to turn the Nelson Mandela Youth and Heritage Centre situated in Qunu, that serves as a catalyst for youth and community development programmes, into a hub of cultural activities. Plans to that effect are underway. These include the renovations to the site, the long walk to freedom film set exhibition complex, etc.

How do you see the role of the Nelson Mandela Museum within the National and International Space?

The role of this museum is to continue influencing national and international trends. Continuing with its role of being an African museum that inspires society. The museum inspires society in many forms. We remain a trend setter and a reliable partner at a global level.

The declaration of Mandela International day in 2009 by the United Nations was embraced by the Nelson Mandela Museum as one of its key initiatives to preserve the legacy and values of Nelson Mandela by making a difference in the lives of the needy and to inspire debate on topical matters that affect South Africans.

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Municipal Focus

Know your wards for the 2021 local government elections #KnowYourWards Province

Drop a location pin to find your ward in real-time.

Choose an image of street maps, satellite images, etc.

Municipality Ward No.

Add an address to know in which ward it is situated.

Print the electronic map.

Share the link via email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Google+

Visit the web App now Scan to view the map

or

Visit:

https://arcg.is/aCWji

For more information visit: www.demarcation.org.za

012 342 2481

Municipal Focus

45

NORTH WEST COGTA BUDGET SPEECH

Residents across the municipalities of the province are hungry for effective delivery of services, free from acts of corruption and maladministration.

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

will be Priority in the North West!

MEC Cwaile addressing the community of Tosca during a service delivery blitz

P

remier of the North West, Prof Tebogo Job Mokgoro, appointed Mmoloki Saviour Cwaile as the new MEC of NW CoGHSTA on Saturday 21 November 2020, four months after the passing of former MEC, Gordon Kegakilwe, who succumbed to COVID-19 related illness.

Implementations of House Resolutions.

Honourable MEC Cwaile delivered his inaugural budget speech on Wednesday 2 June 2021, committing the Department’s R674 228 000 budget to key projects that will provide services to the people of the North West Province in line with the Province’s Annual Performance Plan.

Before his appointment, MEC Cwaile was the Chair of Chairs in the North West Provincial Legislature and Chair of the Standing Committee For Legislative Review and

Residents across the municipalities of the province are hungry for effective delivery of services, free from acts of corruption and maladministration.

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Municipal Focus

SOME OF THE 2021/2022 BUDGET SPEECH HIGHLIGHTS: The following municipalities have been placed under Section 139 (1) (b) of the Constitution: Ramotshere Moiloa, Ratlou, Madibeng, JB Marks, Ditsobotla local municipalities and Dr Ruth Segmotsi Mompati District Municipality, respectively. Through the intervention Madibeng has saved R9 million per month previously spent on water tankering. Through a series of engagements with the Brits Industrialist, the industrialist have paid R92 million that was owed to the municipality.

MEC Mmoloki Cwaile (far right) and Premier Prof Tebogo Job Mokgoro (fourth from left) with Members of the Executive Committee of the North West House of Traditional Leaders during the official opening of the House.

(1) Improved financial sustainability (2) Improved audit outcomes (3) Compliance with legislative prescripts (4) Increased administrative stability (5) Improved project planning and implementation.

Local Government Elections

Special Investigations Unit (SIU) Investigations The Municipal Managers and Chief Financial Officers of JB Marks and Ratlou local municipalities were put on suspension following recommendations by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).

Support to Municipalities The Department developed five (5) Key Result Areas in line with legislative requirements namely:

The Provincial Disaster Management Centre will work with disaster management teams, law enforcement agencies and other relevant stakeholders to mobilise resources to respond to any incidents on the day of the elections.

Municipalities have been directed to conclude their business with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), including the appointment of the Municipal Electoral Officers(MEO’s).

The Department will work with the South African Local Government Association(SALGA) to induct new councillors and ward committees

after the local government elections.

Community Development Workers 293 Community Development Workers(CDWs) have been transferred back to the Department from the Office of the Premier. Their work is to facilitate community development and forge relations with various government entities.

Community Works Programme 20 900 Community Works Programme participants have been deployed in all municipalities. They have registered impact in various wards in projects, such as providing support in school feeding schemes, Early Childhood Centres and community gardens.

CoGTA(national) will train them in areas such as agriculture, the paving of roads, the fixing of potholes and Early Childhood and Development Centres to create exit opportunities from the programme.

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NORTH WEST COGTA BUDGET SPEECH Expanded Works Programme This financial year, 118 young people to be appointed as ‘Youth in Waste’, through the Expanded Public Works Programme(EPWP). The programme is intended to address illegal dumping and educate communities on creating a clean environment.

Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) The Department has enlisted the services of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant Agency(MISA) to work with municipalities to fast track some of the infrastructure projects, create regulatory policy faculty and enable ease of infrastructure planning and implementation.

The Development Bank of Southern Africa(DBSA) will establish a Project Management Unit(PMU) in the Department to assist municipalities with project and project execution to better manage infrastructure and asset management.

Spatial Planning The North West Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Bill to be gazetted and be subjected to public participation.

Health District The district municipalities shall move at speed to implement district health services as devolved from this Health Department to district municipalities.

MEC Cwaile (right) with the Mayor of Kgetlengrivier (left) during a meeting to resolve on provision of water and sanitation

Intervention on Water and Sanitation Departments’ of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and Water and Sanitation developed a “5-year water and sanitation reliability plan” for all districts. The plan will identify key deliverables in the water sector and identify roles and responsibilities of all role-players in the sector. All districts have established work streams on water and sanitation for overall compilation, adoption, management and implementation of the plan.

Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC) R262.52 million was requested by affected municipalities, i.e.

Kgetlengrivier, Kagisano-Molopo, Lekwa-Teemane, Greater Taung, Mahikeng and Naledi local municipalities to repair damaged infrastructure.

Municipalities were advised to prioritise their Municipal Infrastructure Grant(MIG) allocation to repair and re-work the infrastructure damaged as a result of the floods.

The PDMC will continue to support departments to develop and implement their disaster management plans.

Traditional Affairs The Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act, 3 of 2019 commenced on 01 April 2021 as determined by the President under Proclamation No. 38, published in Government Gazette No. 43981 of 11 December 2020. All provincial legislation will be aligned to the TLKA. The Act has amended the Section 81 of Municipal Systems Act to allow for more meaningful participation of traditional and Khoisan leaders in the affairs of the municipalities.

MEC Cwaile (left) during a site visit to the Brits Water Treatment Plant

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Municipal Focus

Composition of new traditional councils to be done before end of this financial year.

NORTH WEST HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

2021/22 BUDGET SPEECH HIGHLIGHTS • The department has set aside R320 million for the upgrade of informal settlements.

• Since it was appointed, the North West Rental Housing Tribunal has received 220 cases and thus far, it has resolved 93 cases.

• In building relationships, the department has signed a memorandum of understanding with the South African Women in Construction.

• The department has committed 40% of its Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG) budget for procurement aimed at women owned or women partner companies, companies owned or run by people living with disabilities, as well as youth owned companies.

• An agency of the department, (North West Housing Corporation) is working on registering the first Public Private Partnerships in the province with an effort to develop mixed developments and smart cities in Mahikeng, Madibeng Lanseria, Potchefstroom,

Rustenburg, Marikana and Mogwase.

• The housing corporation will continue to intensify the implementation of the Title Deeds Restoration Program. Thus far, 5068 title deeds transferred to home owners, 2179 post 1994 title deeds transferred to owners, 61 houses built for military veterans.

• The housing corporation will resuscitate a 30-unit rental housing project located in Mahikeng (Unit 14). This rental accommodation is aimed at civil servants who need accommodation.

• Two thousand and forty houses have been constructed around mining towns, 3038 rural housing units constructed (excluding mining towns and veterans) and 86 FLISP subsidies disbursed.

• In the current financial year, the department will service 6007 sites, purchase land and finalize township establishments, for which R358 million has been budgeted.

• The department will prioritize the elderly, women with dependants as well as people living with disabilities in provision of housing.

• To achieve faster and better results to cover more of our citizens than if we were walking the route alone, we require “a holding of hands” with the private sector, as building houses for our people is not only government’s obligation.

• We call on the private sector to come on board and ensure that they also show acts of selflessness just like our great leaders, Tata Nelson Mandela and Mama Charlotte Maxeke for the development of our people and our communities.

• The department is modelling it’s planning along the District Development Model which aligns the work of the three spheres of government.

• The department will continue to work together with local municipalities, sector departments, stakeholders and role players to ensure we provide holistic housing programmes for our people.

SUSTAINABLE Human Settlements and Improved Quality of Household Life Number of title deeds transferred to new home owners

5068

Number of pre 1994 title deeds transferred to home owners

2179

Number of post 1994 title deeds transferred to home owners

2128

Number of post 2014 title deeds transferred to home owners

2640

Number of serviced sites delivered through a range of programmes in the housing code

6007

Number of military veterans houses constructed

61

Number of houses constructed around mining towns

2040

Number of rural housing units constructed (excluding mining towns and veterans)

3038

Number of FLISP subsidies disbursed

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Municipal Focus

86

Together, we can build a capable, ethical & developmental South Africa.

Strengthen

Establish

• • • • • •

• • • • •

Service delivery Reputation & credibility Ethical practices Audit outcomes Risk identification & mitigation Management

A robust ethical approach Stronger stakeholder relationships Efficient & economic ways of working A competitive edge Full control through performance measurement

Ensure

Decrease

• •

• • •

Accountability Employees are highly skilled & competent professionals through up-skilling

Costs Wastage Complexity

Assisting Local Government and Municipalities to strengthen their Procurement & Supply Chains and help deliver better services to communities. Now is the time.

Email saenquiries@cips.org.za to find out more.

UTILITIES SOLUTIONS

CONLOG FIT FOR PURPOSE METERING SOLUTIONS

A

long the electricity value chain, the specification of electricity meters occurs in conjunction with the design of the generation, transmission and distribution networks per the application. However, on reaching the consumer, the meter is no longer designed around the application. In most cases, the end users’ energy demand profiles are given little consideration.

In any municipality or city, electricity consumers have diverse profiles ranging from small households with a few appliances to large consumption footprints and some with rooftop solar installations. However, the same electricity meter specifications are purchased and installed across residential types and light business districts, leading to wasted municipal

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Municipal Focus

budgets. It is at the metering tender stage where municipalities and metering manufactures can rectify this.

was to purchase ‘one size fits all’ meters to meet a broad set of specifications.

In any municipality or city, electricity consumers have diverse profiles ranging from small households with a few appliances to large consumption footprints and some with rooftop solar installations.

Tender specifications influencing metering solutions

Before technology advancements changed the market, municipalities lack of choice led to high-end meters installed across end-user demand profiles. The best course of action for municipalities to pursue to cater to the typical household electricity profile

A typical tender will request the meter form factor, current rating, communication type, functionality and compliance (refer Graph 1).

Usually, the request is for a split meter where the metering element and the customer interface are physically separate components. While a split meter is more tolerant of tampering, it is more challenging to maintain when a fault is on the customer’s side.

Combo meters are inherently more straightforward and cheaper; however, where tampering will be a risk factor for the municipality, a split meter is more fit-for-purpose.

The increase in rooftop solar PV systems will progressively determine the functionality of meters in the residential and C&I markets.

As this market of distributed energy resources (DER) grows, and the relevant legislation is published, municipalities will require net metering functionality.

Historically, combo meters were the first type of prepaid meters available.

In comparison, it is more expensive to install a split meter because of the different wiring arrangements. It also results in municipalities replacing conventional or combo meters with similar form factor to save on the costs of installing a split meter.

In South Africa, the 100A rated electricity meter is only required for approximately 7% of consumers. At the same time, a 60A meter could address 85% of consumers’ profiles and be significantly cheaper for the municipality.

In terms of tender communication specifications, whether to use Radio Frequency or PLC is determined by the municipality’s objective and existing metering infrastructure. If the aim is to

achieve basic interoperability between multiple manufacturers’ meters, PLC connectivity based on open standards is preferred. However, if the purpose is to achieve reliable connectivity

In South Africa, the 100A rated electricity meter is only required for approximately 7% of consumers. At the same time, a 60A meter could address 85% of consumers’ profiles and be significantly cheaper for the municipality. independent of the consumers’ load profile, radio frequency would be preferred. Internationally, there is significantly more research and development into radio frequency technology than there is for PLC.

Unpacking four metering fit-forpurpose elements While considering value over cost, the element of functionality needs careful consideration in a fit-forpurpose metering solution. For instance, measuring power quality (harmonic distortion, dips, swells, etc.) requires advanced electronics within the meter, which adds significantly to the cost. The challenge is deciding on the value the function delivers to the municipality and whether this value will be used.

The increase in rooftop solar PV systems will progressively determine the functionality of meters in the residential and C&I markets.

As this market of distributed energy resources (DER) grows, and the relevant legislation is published,

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UTILITIES SOLUTIONS result in wasteful expenditure, and a very poor return on investment.”

During the tender process, municipalities are more likely to request a 100A meter solution for all of their customers. However, considering that the maximum current requirement for most end-users is 60A, municipalities are missing out on a cost savings of up to 15% on the meter.

A further 15% cost saving can be realised where the tender specifies radio frequency over PLC communications. While the typical requirement in terms of functionality may include four quadrant measurement, time of use support and profile logging, careful consideration must examine the probability of using these functionalities for most customers.

Graph 1: The elements included in a typical electricity meter tender

municipalities will require net metering functionality. However, this element adds additional cost to the meter. It will, therefore, not be fit-forpurpose to deploy all meters with this functionality where the vast majority of customer do not have nor intend to install a DER. The dominant functionality, which gives the most value for cost, is AMI. By adding a data concentrator in the customer area, the meters can be monitored remotely. This system provides valuable data such as tamper information, electricity consumption and buying patterns. The investment cost is relatively small versus the value gained by adding AMI support to

meters – and is an excellent example of fit-for-purpose across all customer profiles.

Regardless of which meter and specifications are selected, compliance to the relevant specifications is mandatory for a fit-for-purpose solution.

Desigan Govender, Product Manager at Conlog, states: “In achieving a fit-for-purpose metering solution, municipalities must carefully consider the meters’ application. Know why you’re specifying a feature, and only choose those that will add value to yourself or your customer. Don’t adopt a one size fits all approach – it may

In summary, where municipalities specify a fit-for-purpose matrix solution, the physical meter purchased could be 40% cheaper than a typical requirement; and these can be used for 85% of the customer profiles. The cost-saving also filters down the value chain, such as lighter cables, lower capacity transformers, cheaper circuit breakers and reduced copper theft.

Taking a fit-for-purpose approach also enhances the municipal budget by allowing for more meter rollouts, which decreases the number of unmetered connections and increases the customer base, resulting in improved service delivery and revenue. www.conlog.com

Graph 2: The potential cost-savings when selecting a fit-for-purpose solution

Specification

Typical Requirement

Fit for purpose requirement

Form Factor

Split Meter

Split Meter

Current rating

5 (100)A

5(60)A

15%

Communication type

G3 PLC, Cenelec A Band

RF, ISM band

15%

Functionality

4 Quadrant, TOU, logging

Active energy only

10%

Compliance

SANS1524, STS, ICASA

SANS1524, STS, ICASA

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Municipal Focus

cost reduction

IT’S WORTH REMEMBERING WHAT WE DO, WHY WE DO IT AND OUR VALUES

BUILDING

COMMUNITIES For the past 36 years, the Kagiso Trust has collaborated and worked with South Africans to achieve a society that offers justice, equity and freedom from poverty.

Over the years, the trust has invested heavily in the transformation and development of our basic and higher education system to enhance the quality of life of our children and set them on the path to future possibilities. We work with government and partner organisations to address critical challenges facing our education ecosystem. We have developed proven models in education aimed at delivering long-lasting results for our learners and offering them opportunities for a better future.

OUR VISION

OUR MISSION

A prosperous, peaceful, equitable and just society

To contribute to development through sustainable funding, with like-minded partnerships and innovative scalable development models

OUR STRATEGIC GOALS: • EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT PILLAR To extend educational development programmes • SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PILLAR To promote and support socio-economic development • INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING PILLAR To support strategic institutional capability development for sustainability

OUR VALUES • Integrity • Accountability • Passion for Development • Hands On, Bottom Up Approach

www.kagiso.co.za

• FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY PILLAR To ensure financial sustainability of Kagiso Charitable Trust

CONTACT 011 566 1900 info@kagiso.co.za

Municipal Focus

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MUNICIPAL FINANCES

REPORT ON THE 2019-2020 LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUDIT OUTCOMES

F

our months before the 2021 local government elections scheduled for 27 October, AuditorGeneral(AG) Tsakani Maluleke tabled a consolidated general report on the local government audit outcomes for the 2019-20 financial year - a full year after the completion of the financial year under review.

In tabling the report, the AG emphasised that the progressive and sustainable improvements required to prevent accountability failures, or to deal with them appropriately when they do occur, do not exist.

“Audit results under the outgoing administration have demonstrated little sign of improvement and we have observed the deteriorating state of local government. When it took over, the administration inherited 33 clean audits. Unfortunately, it has now regressed to only 27 clean audits.

We therefore call on leadership to embrace their responsibility to drive change if we are to make a difference,” says Maluleke.

Impact of COVID-19 The Minister of Finance granted local government a two-month concession on the deadline to submit financial statements, which severely affected the AGSA’s normal audit processes and timelines. In addition, the AGSA performed a real-time audit at the same time as the normal audits and the unavoidable challenges of auditing during a pandemic further contributed to the audits running into April 2021.

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Offices of the Auditor-General South Africa

Reflecting on the 2018-19 report In the previous financial year, the AG delivered a very direct message that local government finances were under severe pressure and were not being managed as they should, and warned that short-term solutions were not going to bring about the change needed and were often both costly and ineffective.

The following solutions were put forward: • Investing in preventative controls, which is more effective than having to deal with the impact of accountability failures, including

financial loss, fraud and corruption, the misuse of public resources, and service delivery failures.

• Significantly improving monitoring, review and oversight by senior officials, municipal leaders and councils.

• Using our reports, briefings and engagements to identify key areas that need attention and would benefit most from implementing preventative controls, such as our status-of-record reviews, which alert municipalities to risks during the year and act as an early warning signal.

• Effecting consequences for accountability failures.

The AG emphasised that disciplined financial and performance management is key to achieving improved audit outcomes and service delivery.

She noted that local government finances continues to be under severe pressure as a result of nonpayment by municipal debtors, poor budgeting practices and ineffective financial management. The financial position of just over a quarter of municipalities is so dire that there is significant doubt that they will be able to continue meeting their obligations in the near future. Almost half of the municipalities are exhibiting indicators of financial strain, including low debt recovery, an inability to pay creditors and operating deficits.

“Unfortunately, we have not seen evidence of these messages being taken to heart,” says Maluleke, “and hence we are reporting that poor audit outcomes remain prevalent, while we also recognise the net improvement year on year.”

State of the 2019-2020 Municipal Finances AG Tsakani Maluleka revealed that there was R26 billion in irregular expenditure at municipalities in the 2019-2020 financial year. The actual figure can be much higher as the financial statements from some municipalities were not credible, while others did not submit their statements in time for the audit.

The impact of municipal creditors not being paid is well-known and the AG added that “local government loses billions of rands annually because of interest and penalties, which form a significant portion of the R3,47 billion of fruitless and wasteful expenditure reported in 2019-20”.

The AG has expressed concern that after all the years of the AGSA reporting shortcomings and making recommendations, municipalities have still not mastered the basics of financial reporting, with only 28% being able to submit quality financial statements for audit purposes. This highlights prevailing weaknesses in the processes that underpin effective financial management, including those relating to the preparation of the in-year financial reports necessary to monitor a municipality’s budget and expenditure.

The Cost of Municipal Financial Reporting “The cost of financial reporting has amounted to over R5 billion, based only on the salary cost of finance units and the cost of financial reporting consultants, which accounts for 18% of the total cost. Only 2% of municipalities used consultants to bridge the vacancy gap, while others paid consultants even though their finance units are well capacitated,” explains Maluleke.

What is equally concerning, she adds, is that the use of consultants was not necessarily effective.

64 % of municipalities did not provide adequate records, appointed consultants too late, or did not manage the consultants’ work properly to benefit from their appointment – effectively outsourcing responsibilities.

Disclaimed municipalities Despite all our previous messages, actions taken by oversight, initiatives implemented by national and provincial departments, and some municipalities even being placed under administration, 22 municipalities had received disclaimed opinions by 4 June 2021. Another four municipalities that had disclaimed opinions in the previous year have not yet submitted their financial statements for auditing.

At least five of the disclaimed municipalities have been under administration for two years or more.

Despite this, the AGSA sees a prolonged state of poor performance and therefore remains concerned

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MUNICIPAL FINANCES about the effectiveness of the administration process.

The AG explains that these municipalities received funding during the year in the form of conditional grants and an equitable share of revenue raised nationally to enable them to operate and deliver essential services to the communities they serve. “However, we did not find auditable proof of what was done with the money from the time it was received to account for what was left in the bank at year-end,” she adds. A lack of complete and proper records inevitably leads to unreliable financial reporting during the year and at year-end, which is likely to result in substantial harm to these municipalities and compromise their ability to deliver on their service mandate.

“We therefore notified the relevant municipal managers of 21 material irregularities in terms of the Public Audit Act. In their response, these municipal managers are required to clearly articulate what caused the material irregularity. They must also commit to actions that will prevent any further harm and ensure that there are consequences for those responsible for the dire state of their municipality. If they do not respond appropriately, or do not implement the actions to which they have committed, we will implement remedial action,” Maluleke continues.

The municipalities’ performance reporting was even worse than their financial reporting. It is not surprising that citizens experience poor service delivery from municipalities if less than a quarter of them could provide us with quality performance reports to audit. After addressing the AG’s findings, just under half of the municipalities managed to publish performance information that was reliable.

“We once again observed widespread non-compliance with legislation and reported material noncompliance at 86% of municipalities,” says Maluleke.

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Auditor-General: Ms Tsakani Maluleke

“As in previous years, non-compliance with supply chain management legislation was prevalent, significantly contributing to the irregular expenditure of R26 billion. This amount is likely to be even higher, as just over a third of municipalities were qualified on the completeness of their disclosure or were still investigating the full extent of the irregular expenditure.”

The AG was also unable to audit contracts worth R1,43 billion as municipalities did not provide the required documentation and evidence to support the procurement processes. At year-end, the cumulative amount of irregular expenditure not dealt with stood at R79,22 billion, which demonstrates that municipalities do not implement consequence management. We call on the incoming administration to address this as a matter of priority. We view this in serious light and will not hesitate to take serious action should the accounting officers not act.

Material irregularities The poor state of financial and performance management in local government, as evidenced by the audit outcomes, resulted in material financial losses at some municipalities and substantial harm to their ability to deliver on their mandate. The amendments to the Public Audit Act, which came into effect on 1 April 2019, provide the AGSA with the mandate to report on these matters as material irregularities and to take action when municipal managers do not deal with them appropriately .

“In the second year of carrying out our expanded mandate in local government, we significantly expanded our work by implementing the process at fifty-seven auditees, which was a significant increase from the nine auditees that were the subject of our first year of implementation. By 11 June 2021, we had issued notifications for 96 material irregularities against municipalities,” says Maluleke.

A total of 75 of the material irregularities related to noncompliance with legislation that resulted, or is likely to result, in a material financial loss totalling an estimated R2,04 billion. These material irregularities merged in four key areas: • procurement and payments, • interest and penalties, • revenue management, • and investments and assets These are all matters that we have been reporting as areas of vulnerability for a number of years, including as part of this year’s audit outcomes. These are not complex issues; rather, they are some of the basic disciplines and processes that should be in place at municipalities, such as procuring at the best price, paying only for what was received, making payments on time, recovering the revenue owed to the state and safeguarding assets.

Good preventative controls would have made all the difference in preventing or detecting these matters before they became so material.

“As mentioned earlier, we identified material irregularities where municipalities received disclaimed opinions. By 11 June 2021, we had issued notifications of these material irregularities to the municipal managers of 21 disclaimed municipalities, because we identified

that these irregularities have caused substantial harm to their institutions.

As the material irregularity process is continuous in nature and not affected by the audit cycle, we continue to assess the findings from our audits that could potentially be material irregularities,” Maluleke explains. “If confirmed, and once the municipal managers have been notified, we will report on these matters in our 2020-21 reports.”

Based on the responses to the notifications and the actions being taken to resolve the material irregularities reported in the previous year, we can conclude that we are starting to see signs of a behavioural change by most municipal managers towards responding to our findings in a decisive and timely manner.

However, there are some instances where we have not seen the required response (as outlined on page 102 of the report). The support of mayors and councils is crucial when it comes to resolving material irregularities, but this is an area where we have not yet observed any significant uptake or commitments.

A call to leadership AG Tsakani Maluleke emphasises that “the audit office is convinced that if municipal leaders at both administrative and political level, supported by their provincial leadership, are fully committed to turning around local government and moving it towards the capable, efficient, ethical and developmentoriented institutions envisaged by the constitution, improvements are bound to follow. We have seen great results where leadership has taken definite strides towards a better future for the communities they serve”.

We encourage councils, Parliament, provincial legislatures, as well as the political and administrative leadership, to play their part effectively to ensure accountability for government spending and improvement in the lives of the citizens of this country. Ethical and accountable leadership should drive the desired change.

Special report on the financial management of local government’s COVID-19 initiatives

Provinces AG Maluleke emphasises that, despite the uniqueness of each province, the need for leadership to step up and turn the tide is transversal. Therefore, we call on provincial authorities to hold municipalities to account.

At the same time as tabling the general report, AG Maluleke released the results of the real-time audit on local government expenditure on COVID-19-related initiatives.

This is the third special audit report on

Good preventative controls would have made all the difference in preventing or detecting these matters before they became so material.

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MUNICIPAL FINANCES the financial management of the relief funding government made available in response to the pandemic.

AGSA performed the audit at 43 municipalities that were selected based on: • the portion of the funding that municipalities were paid – we included all municipalities that had been paid more than R16 million each from the conditional grants allocation by the end of August 2020 • the top three contributors to irregular expenditure in each province, based on the irregular expenditure incurred for the 2018-19 financial year • the municipalities identified through our environmental scanning of media reports, Special Investigating Unit (SIU) reports and Public Protector reports.

For the remaining 214 municipalities not selected for the real-time audit, AGSA audited and reported on the use of funds from April to June 2020 as part of the normal 2019-20 audit cycle.

Striking resemblance between the two reports The AG reports that the findings from the real-time audit her office performed on the COVID-19 initiatives “shows a striking similarity to the

poor outcomes and other findings we are reporting in the 2019-20 general report. The impact of compromised control environments and poor financial and performance management was even more pronounced in the midst of a pandemic, when vulnerable citizens relied on local authorities to keep them safe from harm”. She adds that while emergency response and quick actions were required, these were not supposed to be “at the expense of careful planning and the disciplined execution of controls that prevent transgressions, loss, fraud and project failures”.

•

•

Key findings and audit observations at a glance The municipalities that were subjected to the real-time audit were allocated a combined R14, 4 billion out of the R23,937 billion that was announced for the municipal response to COVID-19.

Of this amount, 42% had been spent by 31 March 2021. AGSA made the following observations regarding the funding that had been spent: • It is difficult to plan and operate in an emergency when sufficient information is not always available and swift action is required. The impact of weaknesses in needs assessment and demand planning were, however, amplified in these

•

•

circumstances. Where funds were used for quarantine sites and temporary shelters, inadequate planning by some municipalities resulted in the facilities being over or under used.

Similarly, when it came to providing emergency water and additional sanitation, community needs were not adequately assessed and delivery planned according to those needs.

The procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) also bore testament to the haphazard manner in which municipalities responded to the crisis – we found little evidence of proper needs analyses being conducted before procurement took place, resulting in either insufficient or excess PPE being procured.

Poor workmanship, project delays and non-adherence to infrastructure-related requirements were observed on water and sanitation projects, and on projects related to providing shelters for the homeless. The water tanks were not always filled and, where sanitation facilities were provided, they were not serviced regularly, resulting in the required impact not being achieved.

When it came to the management, storage and use of PPE, we found that the same deficiencies we

“The impact of compromised control environments and poor financial and performance management was even more pronounced in the midst of a pandemic, when vulnerable citizens relied on local authorities to keep them safe from harm”.

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Municipal Focus

“Finding and implementing sustainable solutions for the crisis in the municipal landscape should be a common goal for all in local government”.

previously reported in relation to the education and health sectors were also prevalent at municipalities.

Says Maluleke: “In our report, we once again highlight the significant deficiencies in the procurement and contract management processes, and report on the inadequate controls meant to ensure that payments are only made for goods and services that are delivered at the right time, price and quality. We are particularly concerned about unfairness in the awarding of government business and that sufficient care was not taken to protect against overpricing, as we identified a number of instances where municipalities paid excessive prices for goods and services”.

She adds that municipalities did not respond to the increased risk of fraud in a crisis situation by adjusting their fraud risk management processes and implementing strong preventative controls. As a result, auditors identified irregularities, poor internal controls, and indicators of potential fraud.

Procurement documents not provided The AG says audits were also frustrated by payment and procurement documentation not being provided for auditing.

This is a recurring theme in local government, where our ability to audit is sometimes limited by claims that documents are missing or by a lack of response to our requests. As we did with our first two special reports, we will share our findings, fraud risk indicators (such as those records that were not provided for audit) and data analyses with the Fusion Centre, which has the investigative and law enforcement abilities needed to dig deeper and follow through on these results.

“With few exceptions, municipalities missed an opportunity to display the responsive, caring and ethical leadership required in a time of disaster. When you are responsible for people’s lives, every rand should be spent with care. However, in the midst of the pandemic, municipalities continued to plan poorly and misappropriate the funds made available to them,” notes the AG. “We are particularly concerned about the municipalities’ inability to produce records to support the current spending as the covid-19 relief spend has occurred recently and therefore it should not be a struggle to produce these documents. We will continue to audit the covid-19 funding as part of our normal annual audit, including at those municipalities not selected for this real-time audit,

and will report further observations in our next general report for local government.”

Conclusion – moving towards an improved local government Maluleke concludes, “Finding and implementing sustainable solutions for the crisis in the municipal landscape should be a common goal for all in local government.

The relevant role-players should work together to strengthen the capacity, processes and controls of municipalities, which will enable credible financial and performance reporting, compliance with key legislation, sound financial management, and improved service delivery. As the audit office, we are committed to continuing to play our part in improving local government audit outcomes”.

We reiterate our message that “ethical and accountable leadership should drive the required change”, and we call on the incoming leadership to take this message to heart if they aim to realise improved outcomes.

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OUTSOURCING

THE OUTSOURCING OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT SERVICES IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR A sustainable pathway to inclusive stakeholder value through partnership

O

ver the past few years, there has been much debate and discourse around the topic of job creation. Against a backdrop of an unemployment rate that continues to increase year-on-year and more than 63 % of the country’s youth (ages 1524) that are currently unemployed, it is clear that South Africa is in desperate need of a new trajectory that will curtail job losses, boost the economy and create a desperately needed environment that is geared towards growth and job-creation.

The role of organized labour in society The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice through setting international labour standards. One of its core objectives is the achievement of decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. Similarly, the South African government has also pledged its commitment to the attainment of decent work and sustainable livelihoods for all workers and has undertaken to mainstream decent work imperatives into national development strategies. At the core of decent work is job security, a living wage and the right to join a trade union.

The job market in South Africa can be classified into economies: The Real Economy and the Parasite Economy.

In the Real Economy, employers

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pay their workers a living wage.

These jobs provide the income, benefits, and security necessary to participate robustly in the economy as a consumer and taxpayer. It also drives production and demand and creates tax revenues that support the Government’s developmental agenda in service to its citizens.

On the other side of the spectrum, however, lies the In the Parasite Economy where employers fail to pay their workers a living wage and where companies (both large and small) cling to a business model where they pay less than the minimum. Nonstandard hiring practices, such as casualisation and labour broking, fall under this classification and these practices are prevalent in both the private and public sectors.

Separating the wheat from the chaff: outsourcing is not labour broking Somewhere along the way, and because of noises made largely by unions and labour interest groups, outsourcing has been lumped together with labour broking.

Consequently, these two terms are today being used interchangeably.

This is an unfortunate, inaccurate and unfavourable characterization of outsourcing. Labour broking couldn’t be any further from outsourcing.

• Labour broking is more inclined towards temporary or casual employment arrangement and is, by its very nature, transactional.

It is a means to an end and

Jamie Louw, Financial Director at FM Solutions and Director of Afroteq Advisory

leaves no lasting benefit after such an arrangement is done.

No cognizance is given to the longevity of employment or the quality of work from an ongoing employment perspective. As a consequence, it has in some instances been exploitative and has a checkered record in respect of its core intention, which is rooted in a “cheap” labour deployment approach.

• Outsourcing differs dramatically from any form of labour broking in that it creates fixed-term and permanent employment.

Employees are entitled to the full benefits of employment and are afforded protection under the Labour Relations Act. Outsourcing is a legal form of contracting in the public sector, and in fact, serves as an essential cog underpinning the government’s ability to render services to all stakeholders in South African society.

The benefits of outsourcing facilities management (FM) services to private industry experts Outsourcing is not a new trend. It emerged for the first time in the 1950s but was only truly recognized as an attractive business strategy in the 1980s thanks to the fact that it allows companies to hone in on their core competencies, while outsourcing the non-core activities which may detract or hinder organisation success.

It is important to recognize that outsourcing on its own is not a silver bullet. It requires commitment and discipline in the outsourcing process to reap the benefits, as it impacts people, processes, methods and equipment.

Outsourcing facilities management means that the maintenance of government’s buildings and assets are transferred to a thirdparty organisation. This has been established practice for several years and has been effectively deployed in many public sector settings.

For South Africa, outsourcing this non-core function holds significant benefits for the public sector given our own unique set of socioeconomic and political challenges: - Risk Management and failure reduction through accountability systems – Through effectively managing risk, the appointed FM service provider ensures that key assets are appropriately maintained, measured and managed. This information helps government more appropriately manage its facilities, reduces the risk of failure and allows for

better planning in respect of operating costs and replacement programmes. Fruitless and wasteful expenditure is reduced in the process. Accountability systems are also created, with roles and responsibilities clearly defined.

- Value creation and compliance focused – by outsourcing maintenance services to specialists in the private sector, Government quickly gains access to competent and skilled service providers in areas where they are currently lacking expertise.

Moreover, Government is ensured of compliance with laws and regulations through appropriate records and standards which are maintained.

- People and talent management, skills transfer – Through on-thejob training and training initiatives, the appointed service provider develops proper succession plans that allow for skills transfer and upward mobility of staff.

For the government, dignified, meaningful and permanent

work opportunities are created that reduce unemployment and increase access into the economy for citizens.

- Process integration and improved decision-making – When FM processes are integrated through outsourcing, it empowers Government to make more timely, well-attuned and appropriate decisions in respect of the portfolios and facilities it operates - Development of sustainable, trusting relationships – As objectives are met and efficiencies improve, a more sustainable, trusting relationship is formed between the outsourced service provider and the government department. This allows for a more united approach to FM outsourcing and helps eliminate misguided perceptions.

With all the above in mind, FM outsourcing arrangements must have at its centre a mutually beneficial, reciprocal approach that ensures that the appointed company partners with the State to ensure sustainable value creation that impacts all stakeholders.

Opinion Piece by Jamie Louw, Financial Director at FM Solutions and Director of Afroteq Advisory For more information visit www.fm-solutions.co.za

www.ilo.org https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/events/pdf/ expert/7/05_ILO.pdf

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CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER PROFILE

SANDILE MNGUNI RETURNS TO CITY AS CFO and aims for clean audit outcome

S

andile Mnguni has officially been appointed as eThekwini Municipality’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Mnguni said he is looking forward to the challenge and aims to play a vital role to ensure the City achieves a clean audit outcome. He will also focus on accelerating service delivery.

Although the City has performed well by achieving unqualified audits and a clean audit outcome in the past, he believes achieving a clean audit again is not impossible.

“A clean audit is where I would like us to be again in the near future,” he said.

He said the role of Treasury is critical to service delivery, as good financial management supports financial sustainability which ultimately has a positive impact on service delivery.

“I am fortunate because I have previously worked in the City, so I understand the environment, the people and the systems. Taking on this new role is a very exciting time for me.”

Mnguni’s main priority for the shortterm will be to understand the organisation’s strategy and priorities as recently approved by Council.

Thereafter he will work with the Treasury team to craft a plan of action that will support the achievement of the approved strategy and priorities over the next 12 months.

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Sandile Mnguni eThekwini Municipality’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

His second priority will be to provide leadership to the Treasury team on the Annual Financial Statements (AFS) process to ensure that credible AFS are completed on time and submitted to the AuditorGeneral by the end of August as required by the Municipal Finance Management Act. Mnguni is looking forward to the support of senior management, political leadership and other important stakeholders including Business, National Treasury and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

He said the role of Treasury is critical to service delivery, as good financial management supports financial

sustainability which ultimately has a positive impact on service delivery. Mnguni has over 15 years management experience and has worked for Ithala Development Finance Corporation as the Group CFO and was previously the eThekwini Municipality Head of Expenditure. He has also held the position of Senior Manager: AuditorGeneral South Africa.

He is a Chartered Accountant by profession and holds a B.Com. Honours in Accounting and an MBA. He is currently registered for his PhD at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and is expected to conclude his studies next year.

MUNICIPAL

NEWS K E E P I N G YO U U P -T O - D AT E W I T H T H E L AT E S T A N D M O S T R E L E VA N T N E W S I N S O U T H A F R I C A

eThekwini Municipality Major revamp attracts investment

Capricorn District Municipality

Setting the bar high with another clean audit

Steve Tshwete Local Municipalilty

A shining example of good governance

Senqu Local Municipality 7th consecutive clean audit

Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality Tribute to Mme Ruth Segomotsi Mompati

Municipal Focus

65

MUNICIPAL

NEWS ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY

Mahatma Ghandi Road Precinct attracts investment A major revamp of the Mahatma Gandhi Road Precinct is currently underway by the City. The rejuvenation project tackles bad, abandoned or derelict buildings which are being revamped while ploughing millions into various infrastructure upgrades.

These strides aim to transform the precinct into a space for investment opportunities.

The revamp is part of a public-private partnership, with both sectors investing to transform the area into a safe zone. The City has committed itself to working with various sectors to eradicate bad buildings.

There are an estimated 80 bad buildings within the inner city, of which 39 buildings are within the Mahatma Gandhi Precinct. Of these, 21 have completed renovations following a mayoral engagement with business and property owners. A block of flats

81 Gillepsie Street, Student Central – After

81 Gillepsie Street, Student Central – After (above) Russell Curtis, Invest Durban Unit, Mohamad Nizan Mohamad, Malaysian High Commissioner, Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda, Werner Otto, Mosaic Group, Ms. Zekhe Msiya, Property Manager of the Student Central Building, and DCM Phillip Sithole in front of the renovated Four Seasons Hotel, which has been converted into student accommodation.

81 Gillepsie Street, Student Central – Before

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in Trafalgar Lane was demolished in 2019. After the demolition, the owners of another problematic building in the area approached the City for advice to turn around the building. eThekwini Mayor Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda conducted a walkabout along the Mahatma Gandhi Road Precinct with investors and City officials on 21 May to gauge progress.

He said the area is a strategic location for catalytic development, adding that the City is fast tracking this to stimulate economic growth, international investments, job creation and tourism.

“Work is currently underway to ensure that the precinct meets all these goals.

Since we started investing in the upgrade of the area, we have seen a keen interest from investors.”

5 Pickering Street - After

WHEN IS A BUILDING CONSIDERED A “PROBLEM BUILDING”?

When property owners or occupants do not regularly maintain their buildings and minor issues are not repaired, this leads to major issues compounding and escalating repair costs.

Buildings also fall into a state of disrepair when there is a deceased estate and the property is abandoned due to family conflicts over ownership.

5 Pickering Street - Before

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NEWS Some of the work undertaken includes the extension of the promenade, the watermains reticulation project, the public realm upgrade and the success of the problem buildings programme.

As part of the rehabilitation programme, some buildings have been converted into student accommodation with illegal bars and bottle stores closed. This has positively contributed to the upliftment of the surrounding areas.

The City has also initiated the R30 billion Point Waterfront Development project that is a public and private sector investment.

Deputy City Manager for Economic Development Phillip Sithole outlined catalytic projects taking place in the area.

He said the R230 million Point Watermains Project provides an upgrade and greater security of water supply for the inner city and for future planned growth. This project is expected to be completed by year end.

546 Mahatma Gandhi Road - After

HOW CAN I CONTACT THE PROBLEM BUILDINGS UNIT Contact 031 311 7245 or email: problem.buildings@ durban.gov.za.

Alternatively, you can visit their offices for assistance at First Floor, Room 130, City Engineers Building, 166 K. E. Masinga Road, Durban 4001 546 Mahatma Gandhi Road - Before

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“It is estimated that the central business district will grow from 70 000 to 450 000 people and 250 000 work opportunities created by 2040,” he said.

The City is also improving sidewalks, replacing existing paving, realigning stormwater drainage, improving road markings and associated infrastructure with the provision and maintenance of vehicular access to adjacent properties and parkade areas.

Mayor Kaunda said the promenade extension, launched in 2019, was a bold statement of spatial transformation by taking a beach node and opening it up to the public. The development will soon fulfil its envisioned goal of attracting investment.

Listing economic spin-offs from the promenade extension, Mayor Kaunda was pleased that the project delivered on radical economic transformation objectives. Over 40 percent of subcontracting opportunities benefitted local businesses.

He said, “This infrastructure investment is a catalyst to the Point Waterfront Development to be undertaken over the next 10 years.

The first phase of the Point Waterfront Development includes a hotel and retail mall. The second phase will boast residential and commercial facilities. The third and final phase, being a mixed-use development, will include an iconic 55 storey building that will change the skyline of Durban in the harbour mouth.”

“The Point Waterfront Development will create a total of 17 500 jobs during construction and 11 000 jobs

Lihle Phewa, Head of Development and Planning Unit explains work being done to Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda, and Malaysian High Commissioner, Mohamad Nizan Mohamad, while Daniels Pentasaib, Manager, Building Inspectorate looks on.

once operational. To date, 1 500 jobs have been created. The project will inject about R200 million to the City’s revenue annually,” Kaunda added.

During the Point Precinct tour, officials also visited the new Durban Cruise Terminal construction site. The project is currently underway and is set to make Durban a more desirable destination for cruise ships. The terminal is a vast improvement from Durban’s N-Shed, which had served as a makeshift cruise terminal for many years.

Not only does this boost confidence for local businesses along the precinct and attracts valuable international tourists from cruise liners but the venue can also be used to host workshops and events, and will have several African elements in its design and structure.

The terminal development dovetails with the Municipality’s beachfront

Listing economic spinoffs from the promenade extension, Mayor Kaunda was pleased that the project delivered on radical economic transformation objectives.

Over 40 percent of subcontracting opportunities benefitted local businesses.

promenade extension and will allow cruise passengers to access the central beachfronts with relative ease and safety. The green and energy efficient cruise terminal will boast a host of features and facilities and is set to boost the local economy and tourism industry.

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NEWS Capricorn District Municipality

sets the bar high with another clean audit Capricorn District Municipality has proved to be a consistent benchmark for other municipalities in terms of perfecting financial management systems to achieve a clean audit.

For the second year in a row, CDM managed to cement its place at the top as one of the 27 municipalities in the country to achieve a clean audit opinion for the 2019/20 financial year from the Auditor-General.

Still the only one in Limpopo, this clean audit confirms that CDM has got revered financial management and governance systems in the province, and among the best in the country. It also confirms that “we have once again managed to ensure that every cent that was spent from the budget was fully accounted for, with not a single transaction of irregular or wasteful expenditure”, says Executive Mayor Cllr John Mpe. “This was not an easy feat”, he says. ”Clean audit is a result of extensive process and by definition, not just a finger-click away. Several cross-cutting and transversal challenges had to be surmounted in order to present credible financial statements to the Auditor-General that honestly reflect the state of affairs in that reporting period”, Mpe says.

He explains that before the first clean audit, CDM achieved an unqualified audit opinion for five consecutive years. He says in 2016, they made a promise when they assumed their term of office to build adequate competent internal capacity to perfect their financial management system.

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Executive Mayor: Cllr. John Mpe

This resulted in transitioning from an unqualified audit with 18 findings in 2015/16, to 8 findings in 2016/17, and then to a mere 1 finding in 2017/18 - and eventually made history by achieving a clean audit for two years in a row – 2018/19 and 2019/20.

This, he says, is not CDM’s historic achievement alone, but for all local municipalities in the District. Through requisite support given to them to help them account better for water services transactions, they were also able to improve their own audit performance. “I therefore wish to take this opportunity to congratulate Molemole, Blouberg and LepelleNkumpi local municipalities for achieving unqualified audit for the financial year 2019/20. We are concerned about Polokwane for having regressed over the years from unqualified to qualified audit performance since the last financial year and maintaining such qualified outcome this year. We are however

comforted and encouraged by the fact that in the past year, no municipality in our District received an adverse or disclaimer audit opinion. This improvement means that the entire district is closer to perfecting financial management systems by clearing all findings and achieving key aspirations of Operation Clean Audit”, Mpe says.

A clean audit opinion therefore speaks volumes about CDM’s commitment to compliance with the financial and audit management systems and processes. “Our aim now is to ensure that we channel the same energy and commitment into getting our performance audit right so we can connect it to accelerated and tangible service provision to the rural and poor communities in our district”, Mpe says. This means a clean audit must mean something to ordinary people in our communities by translating it into everyday delivery of services such as water supply, sanitation, disaster management, local economic

development, spatial planning and land use, among others.

Every entity, whether private or public, has a goal to achieve a clean audit. But that doesn’t come cheap or easy. There is a lot of work, skill and commitment that goes into achieving it. It is more than just about accounting. It is about compliance and accountability.

Mpe says for CDM it all began by laying a proper foundation through recruitment and retention of qualified and skilled personnel with the capacity to meet the complexities of accounting better for every cent spent in the budget. “We make staff appointments based on nothing but merit”. He says most organs of State can achieve their targets if they get this right.

CDM’s clean audit also speaks volumes about the municipality’s commitment to be consistent in living up to its vision as the ‘Home of Excellence’ on which other district and local municipalities can benchmark.

Executive Mayor with Members of the Executive Management of CDM led by Thuso Nemugumoni in Pink dress

“But credit goes to all employees for keeping us at the top by living up to our mission ‘to deliver in an efficient manner through competent people, and we hope that this will go a long way in inspiring other municipalities to do better and improve governance”, Mpe explains.

Executive Mayor receiving clean audit certificate from Auditor General office in Limpopo

He also thanked the Municipality’s Audit Committee and Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) for their contribution to the clean audit achievement, and for keeping the municipality in check to do well in matters of governance and delivery. He added that it was not by accident that CDM managed to please the office of the Auditor-General for a second year in succession, and for that, he certified CDM as the best in managing finances, accounting better for the monies and for compliance to local government financial management laws and regulations.

As municipalities have concluded their financial year on 30 June, confidence lingers high that CDM intends to retain the clean audit. Mpe has committed that, “with the right guidance, oversight by MPAC and other Council Committees and political will, CDM remains on the right track to retain the clean audit for a third year in a row”.

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NEWS Steve Tshwete Local Municipality

A shining example of good governance For the past 20 years, Steve Tshwete Local Municipality (STLM) has been a glaring example of good governance and excellence.

Adv. Khenisa says that bagging another clean audit manifests that the municipality is on the right track of serving the residents of STLM.

Amidst rampant corruption and the collapse of many municipalities, the municipality is currently ranking well in good governance comparisons, and for the past five years it has been awarded clean audits.

He shares that this achievement is a result of working together with all municipal stakeholders, comprising of council members, staff members, residents and business owners, who all contributed to the success of the municipality.

In a recently tabled report by AuditorGeneral (AG) Tsakani Maluleke on the local government audit outcomes for the 2019-20 financial year, STLM is among 27 municipalities out of 257 municipalities across the country that received a clean audit.

The audit focused on four areas, namely the annual financial statements, audit of performance objectives, compliance and internal controls, and was conducted based on the international auditing standards for the year under review.

This report makes STLM the best performing municipality in the implementation of Local Economic Development (LED).

STLM Municipal Manager, Advocate Bheki Khenisa, says that the continuous clean governance is a result of collaboration and teamwork of all members of STLM “whose common thrust is to serve our people and ensure that no one is left behind when it comes to the delivery of all government services”.

He also attributes this success to the municipality’s consistent commitment to accountability, which comprises efficiency, integrity, transparent operations, performance in service delivery and administrative excellence.

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The Municipal Manager explained that good payment rates by ratepayers and proper internal controls have helped the municipality to render “the highest quality of continued service delivery for the residents of the municipality”.

Conducive environment for business “We pride ourselves in proper and effective planning, steering, implementation and monitoring capacities. Our structures are effective, and our operations are rational and transparent. For years, the municipality has facilitated a conducive environment for business through good governance and excellent service delivery,” says Adv. Khenisa.

Executive Mayor: Cllr. Diphala Motsepe

contributed to significant improvements in access to services for the municipality’s dwellers.

The municipality is manned by 58 councillors, of whom 29 are ward representatives and 29 proportional representatives, the Executive Mayor is assisted by six members of the Mayoral Committee, the Speaker, the Chief Whip and the Municipal Manager, who heads the administration.

Ideal location

Unlike many South African municipalities facing revenue collection challenges, Adv. Khenisa says STLM has been enjoying a more than 95% payment rate since 2005. This is despite the financial crisis brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

He explains that the stable revenue stream has built a financially sound and sustainable municipality well-positioned for thriving business activities for this Category B municipality. This has also

Ideally situated less than 150km from Pretoria and 170km from the country’s economic giant Johannesburg, the municipality is home to South Africa’s only stainless steel manufacturer, Columbus Stainless, which provides more than 2 000 job opportunities. It also has strong agricultural components and is situated in South Africa’s maize triangle. The municipality’s economy is abundantly supported by a mining and industrial income base.

Businesses in the area have benefitted immensely from the municipality’s world-class and well-maintained infrastructure and its proximity to economic hubs. The municipality’s location along the N4 makes it possible and convenient for businesses to easily access Mozambique and the port of Richards Bay. The municipality has intensified its support to businesses by providing excellent service delivery. The businesses in the area enjoy an extensive well-constructed and regularly maintained road network, a landing space that can accommodate small and large aircraft and the highest level of water management, certified with Blue Drop Status. With three Eskom Power Stations located within the municipal area and various mines supplying necessary coal, businesses and residents benefit from a stable electricity supply.

is appropriate communication to keep them well informed, and we actively involve them in decision-making processes. This demonstrates that their interests are in good hands,” he explains.

Staff development a driving force behind success Adv. Khenisa reveals that the municipality also puts a lot of value in the development of staff in order to deliver quality services to the residents, “Our staff are service-oriented, and we promote a culture of excellence from the top to lower levels. Everyone is encouraged to set the bar high.

We have stringent internal controls, self-assessment tools and monitoring mechanisms, such as performance measures and a code of ethics. We have also adopted a variety of protocols and procedures to minimise the risk of misstepping and to promote the public’s trust and confidence in our governance practices,” he said.

Municipal Manager: Bheki Khenisa

The fund will exclusively benefit businesses located in the municipality, have black majority ownership, have black-women participation and are commercially sustainable, among other things.

Consistency is key Clean governance spin-offs Adv. Khenisa says the secret to the municipality’s success lies in consistency, “We pride ourselves on consistent administrative excellence and transparent operations. These principles lie at the heart of good governance and sustainability. We are very consistent with good governance to the people we serve. We believe they are the guardians of the public’s interest, and our duty is to provide them with an attractive environment in which to live and work.

We also believe in strong partnerships with them as we believe they have various roles and responsibilities to play in the municipality. We see members of the public as an active force in helping design and create effective public services. We ensure that there

The success of the municipality has seen it scooping several kudos, including a Municipality of the Year Award at the Govan Mbeki Human Settlement Awards.

These achievements have attracted strategic partners for the municipality that have, in turn, been beneficial for the residents and local businesses.

Recently, STLM, together with the National Empowerment Fund (NEF), set aside R50 million towards the Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) Fund to benefit black-owned and managed SMMEs situated in the municipality.

The municipality contributed R20 million, with the NEF committing R30 million for qualifying transactions on a 40:60 ratio.

The municipal area includes Middelburg, Mhluzi, Hendrina, Kwazamokuhle, Rietkuil, Pullenshope, Komati, Presidentsrus, Naledi, Lesedi, Kranspoort, Blinkpan, Koornfontein, Kwamakalane, and Doornkop.

The venture aims to promote SMMEs, township industrialisation and stimulate and diversify economic growth and industries.

“We aim at closing economic gaps that were generated by, amongst others, the Covid-19 pandemic. This initiative will also ensure our vision of becoming the best city in South Africa in service delivery, innovation, good governance and inclusive growth,” said Adv. Khenisa.

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NEWS Senqu Local Municipality

Sound financial management earns the municipality a 7th consecutive clean audit aspects; the financial statements are free from material misstatements, there are no material findings on the annual performance report and lastly, there are no material findings on noncompliance with key legislation.

This is the 7th year of the achievement, making Senqu Municipality one of the Eastern Cape Province’s top run municipalities, no small feat in light of the global pandemic.

The Mayor of Senqu Municipality, Mrs NP Mposelwa, is filled with pride to announce the Municipality’s achievement of a clean audit for the 7th year in a row.

The Auditor-General’s report on the financial statements of the municipality as at 30th June 2020, had no findings or material errors.

A clean audit is an unqualified audit and a “clean audit” relates to three

We have put in the effort and worked hard to ensure that we received and maintained clean audits, which also tells a positive story of how well this municipality is managed. A story of disciplined spending that achieves value for money; responsible financial planning and budgeting; high levels of execution; performance reporting; adherence to legislation; meticulous billing and collecting practises; careful planning of projects; and commitments to creditors and the community being honoured.

Under the management of Mr MM Yawa, the Municipal Manager, we strive towards excellent governance, effective internal controls and strict adherence to supply chain processes.

We have a zero-tolerance approach to corruption.

The municipality believes that stable and consistent leadership leads to better governance and has brought stability between Politics and Administration.

Since 2001 we only had 3 Mayors, 1 serving 2 full terms and the other 2 both serving a full term each.

We had the same Accounting Officer since 2001 and all Senior Managers that supported the Accounting Officer served a minimum of 15 years.

The municipality is fully supportive of the sub-contracting legislation as this is an excellent means of stimulating economic development in the municipal area and in particular to promote the growth of SMME’s.

While there is always room for improvement, we will strive to pursue this prestigious achievement next year while providing outstanding service delivery to our people.

One Municipality, One People, One Destination Issued by Senqu Municipality Communications Email: vanzyl@senqu.gov.za

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Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality

A tribute to Mme Ruth Segomotsi Mompati In this article we pay tribute to former Mayor, struggle icon, former Member of Parliament and the Ambassador of South Africa in Switzerland, Mme Ruth, as she was affectionately known.

Mme Ruth, who passed away in a Cape Town hospital on 12 May 2015 at the age of 89 after an illness, was born in Tlapeng village, near Vryburg, in the then Western Transvaal. The Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality (formerly Bophirima District Municipality) in the North West, where she was born, and later served as Mayor, is named after her.

In April 2015 Government honoured her as a struggle veteran, with a sculpture situated in the Hayes community Park in Vryburg, North West. The sculpture, renovated by the National Department of Public Works, was unveiled by the then North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo. He said honouring Mme Ruth when she was still alive was the decent and right thing to do.

the struggle I was involved in.

I dedicate it to all South Africans; especially the people of Vryburg and women of this country. The sculpture must always be seen as a mark of unity, which all must embrace”.

She is remembered as the former typist of the Mandela and Tambo law firm and a leader of the anti-pass laws in the early 80s.

Mme Ruth’s commitment to fight for the liberation and emancipation of this country forced her into exile, only to return later to form part of the delegation that opened the dialogue with the South African government at Groote Schuur in 1990.

On 10 August 1992, a day after the anniversary of the historic Women’s March to Pretoria in 1956, Mme Ruth addressed the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid in New York on the issue of women’s rights, with a view to redress the historical injustices that had been exacerbated by apartheid.

“Recognising and celebrating the exceptional role Mama Ruth played in the liberation struggle could not be any better than this, as this will help us never to forget our past. We thank you Mama Ruth for having laid a solid foundation for us,” he said.

In 1994, she was elected among a first generation of African National Congress (ANC) MPs to the National Assembly, where she served until 1996 before being posted to Switzerland as an ambassador for four years.

In her acceptance speech, the struggle stalwart said: “This statue symbolises the struggle of all races because it is

In 2000, she returned to Naledi Local Municipality in Vryburg, her home town, to serve as a mayor until May

2010, becoming the first crop of leadership to set up the foundation of local government.

As we celebrate and build on the achievements of the past, we shall take inspiration from Mme Ruth’s leadership and her willingness to serve. Local government has come a long way since its establishment in 2000 – a firm foundation has been laid which we should reflect and build on as we lead up to the 2021 Local Government elections.

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NEWS Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality A Leader in the Truest Form Women leaders in local government have fearlessly and bravely broken down stereotypes and proven day-byday that their political participation, representation, decision-making and influence is impactful on the communities that they serve.

One such women, Councillor (Cllr) Merriam Malatji, Mayor of Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality, has demonstrated what true leadership looks like. The second born of seven children, her activeness in politics was evident from a young age, and she has consistently strived to capacitate herself for work in local government and amongst communities.

(Cllr) Merriam Malatji, Mayor of Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality

Cllr MM Malatji grew up and attended school in Namakgale, Mopani District, Ba-Phalaborwa LM. From 2006, and at a young age, she participated in the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) as well as the African National Congress Women’s League (ANCWL).

That same year she was elected as Deputy Secretary in the ANC Phalaborwa branch where she rose to Deputy Chairperson of the African National Congress (ANC), a post she held until 2011. As her prominence grew, she was nominated to serve as Chairperson of the ANC in the Zakes Ngoasheng Branch as well as Chairperson of the ANCWL. In 2011 she served as Ward Councillor and midterm was appointed as a full time Cllr, heading up the Infrastructure Portfolio. In 2016 she served as Speaker of the Ba-Phalaborwa Council all the while serving as the Secretary of the

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Women’s Caucus and the Treasurer of the ANCWL between 2011-2014.

In 2016 Cllr Malatji was once again nominated as Chairperson to lead the Salome Masiye branch, which she continues to spearhead in this position to date. No stranger to breaking glass ceilings, she also currently serves at the sub-regional level as the Chairperson and is the first woman ever to fill those shoes in the Phalaborwa sub-region.

With a heart to serve, Cllr Malatji is a true foot soldier who has hit the ground running in various NGOs over the years including Thushanang Day Care Centre.

As Convenor of the ANCWL in the subregion, she is also an advocate for the upliftment of women and youth in the community, particularly because she too grew up in a child-headed family after her mother’s passing at an early stage in her life.

Not one to shy away from hard work, Cllr Malatji is a self-starter who, when challenged by poverty, attempted various business initiatives such as the Ikageng Burial Society for 65 women in her community to put food on the table.

She is mother to one daughter with two granddaughters. A lover of all things local and home-grown.

A humble servant-leader, always ready to roll up her sleeves and work for her community. Her passion for the community is what has been her driving force and kept her active in politics. She serves as she leads – with humble integrity.

Today she serves as the Mayor of Ba-Phalaborwa LM, but also campaigns daily on Gender Based Violence (GBV) matters and the education of those most affected by poverty.

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