Pretoria – The South African Local Government Association (Salga) concluded its three-day 2015 National Members Assembly (NMA) with a commitment to support the Back to Basics programme.
This year’s NMA coincided with South Africa celebrating 15 years of democratic local government. It was held under the theme ‘15 Years of Democratic Local Government – Consolidating and Deepening Vibrant, Developmental and People Centred Local Democracy’.
Addressing the media at the end of the conference in Midrand, Salga national chairperson Thabo Manyoni said Salga viewed the Back to Basics programme as the cornerstone in building responsive, caring and accountable municipalities.
The programme aims to get the basics right, such as fixing street lights, leaking taps, collecting refuse and generally responding to citizens’ service delivery needs.
“Salga is in full support of Back to Basics and has during this NMA rallied all municipalities to serve citizens with pride and care, addressing the basic functioning of our systems and infrastructure, and communicating regularly and honestly with citizens on our programmes, including where there is a lack of progress and its resolution.
“We call on all key role players to rally behind the National Development Plan (NDP) and the Back to Basics programme in support of our vision to build better communities and a prosperous South Africa,” Manyoni said.
The NMA is the second highest decision-making body of Salga and it is held every 30 months in between conferences. Since the last NMA in Cape Town in 2013, strides have been made to ensure that municipalities are increasingly capacitated, resourced and that there are better outcomes, value and impact for the resources deployed.
Manyoni said in the 15 years since the establishment of Salga, there has been a remarkable increase in the access to basic services such as water, sanitation and electricity.
“We have made strides in building a more cohesive and inclusive society. The housing developments have created vibrant communities that have a range of basic facilities including crèches, clinics and schools,” he said.
Manyoni said conference delegates also discussed the non-payment for services by residents as a setback to municipalities.
“While we have a responsibility to provide sustainable services, citizens, businesses and indeed government departments also have a responsibility to pay for the services they use,” he said.
The NMA was also addressed by President Jacob Zuma, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan and Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti.
Premiers, municipal political leadership, municipal managers and chief financial officers from 278 municipalities, MECs responsible for local government, the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, Parliament and Provincial Legislatures and the President of the Pan African Parliament, the President of the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa and the Secretary General of the United Cities and Local Governments also attended the NMA. – SAnews.gov.za
