Pretoria – The South African Local Government Association (Salga) President, Parks Tau, says the body’s new leadership must learn from its predecessors to change the socio-economic landscape of municipalities.
Speaking at Salga’s national conference in Johannesburg on Thursday, Tau said while progress has been made in the provision of basic services in the last 16 years of democratic local government, these gains stand to be eroded if poverty and inequality are not addressed.
“The current socio-economic climate and context of high unemployment -- particularly among the youth -- poverty and inequality pose steep challenges to our development trajectory and threaten to erode the gains we have made in many areas to date,” he said.
During its four-day conference, Salga elected and confirmed its national office bearers and the national executive committee that will preside and lead the sector, guided by Salga’s Strategic Framework 2017 – 2022.
Tau said the new leadership must take lessons from its predecessors.
“We must learn from their wisdom and continue our journey in that spirit if we are to build on the gains made and inspire the delivery of basic and quality services, economic growth and spatial transformation,” he said.
Tau acknowledged the outgoing national executive committee for the strong and admirable leadership it demonstrated during the 2011 – 2016 term.
He said a stable local government brings about efficient service delivery that makes a meaningful impact on the lives of ordinary South Africans.
At the conference, the Alliance of Mayors’ Initiative for Community Action on Aids at the Local Level (AMICAALL) South Africa Chapter was relaunched. – SAnews.gov.za
