Local government management workshop Higher Certificate in public management 19 march 2016

Introduction Lecturer/Facilitator Andrew Tucker B Com LLB, Attorney of the High Court of South Africa Contact details: andrew.tucker46@gmail.com

Workshop programme 08:30 – 09:30 Course Overview 09:30 – 09:35 Break 09:40 – 10:00 Assignment Questions 10:00 – 10:30 Your questions and problem areas

Resources www.letslearnmore.weebly.com

Introducing Local Government Local government is a type of government which focuses on the specific needs of people, within specific areas, boundaries, and is commonly known as a municipality. For example, the Ethekwini municipality which is allocated in the Durban. Local municipalities exercise legitimate authority because of the free and fair elections which South Africa manages through its constitution One of the major challenges are the limited resources and the unlimited needs of the people within communities The functions of the municipalities involve the delivery of services, planning, budgeting, etc. Local government has specific powers, given by the central or provincial government, within a specific area

Why is local government so important Local government forms the basis for a democratic society. Important Terminologies Local Authority: Can be defined as an organization with elected and appointed officials which operates within a designated area. The Constitution of South Africa gives the right to the local government structures to govern. Local Governance Here the organizations like civil society become important, where partnerships between the government and the community are encouraged

Local government Constitution reigns supreme Spheres of government Co-operative government

Co-operative government Section 41 of the Constitution contains the principles of co-operative government See pages 13 – 14 of Study Guide

Nature of local government A local area and local community formed by common interests, whether rural, urban or regional; Participation by a local community in the government of its local affairs – grassroots democracy; A local political unit with executive and legislative powers of government as the third sphere of government, and powers of taxation to control, regulate and develop local affairs and render services by means of co –operative government.

Constitutional provisions Chapter 7 of the South African Constitution of 1996 deals with local government Sections 151 - 164

Supremacy of constitution & LG status Constitution is our supreme law – everything tested against the Constitution Constitution provides for local government status

National & provincial government powers National and Provincial Government have power to ensure municipalities perform their functions efficiently and effectively

Principles and goals of local administration 195. Basic values and principles governing public administration 1. Public administration must be governed by the democratic values and principles enshrined in the Constitution, including the following principles: a. A high standard of professional ethics must be promoted and maintained. b. Efficient, economic and effective use of resources must be promoted. c. Public administration must be development-oriented. d. Services must be provided impartially, fairly, equitably and without bias. e. People's needs must be responded to, and the public must be encouraged to participate in policy- making. f. Public administration must be accountable. g. Transparency must be fostered by providing the public with timely, accessible and accurate information. h. Good human-resource management and career-development practices, to maximise human potential, must be cultivated. i. Public administration must be broadly representative of the South African people, with employment and personnel management practices based on ability, objectivity,  fairness, and the need to redress the imbalances of the past to achieve broad representation. 

The developmental tasks of local govt

Values & principles in the public sector The values & principles governing public administration Difference between ethics & professionalism Legislative support Institutions that the values apply to

The 9 values & principles See pages 21 - 26

Challenges and issues Ethics Corruption Efficient use of resources Accountability

Reality of Local Government Backlogs in service delivery Need to recognise the connections between urban and rural areas Transformation of municipalities are urgently needed Relationships between the municipalities and the communities need to be established

Features & characteristics of local govt See pages 32 - 37

Structures & functionaries for local governance Institutional structures Political structures & key functionaries Administrative structures & key functionaries Civil society

Categories of municipalities Section 155 (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 makes provisions for the following categories of municipality: ● Category ‘A’: a municipality that has exclusive municipal executive and legislative authority in its area; ● Category ‘B’: a municipality that shares municipal executive and legislative authority in its area with a category C municipality within whose area it falls; and ● Category ‘C’: a municipality that has municipal executive and legislative authority in an area that includes more than one municipality.

Functionaries (Political) Speaker Executive Mayor Mayor Mayoral Committee

Functionaries (administrative) Municipal Manager Treasurer / CFO See page 60

Services rendered by local authorities See pages 103 - 104

Contemporary issues & challenges Strategic management Ethics Risk management Information management Knowledge creation

Financial Management Budgets & control Revenue generation Legislation

Assignment questions