At That Point
  • home
  • our story
  • our services
  • your resources
  • SA Industry News

Auditor General’s local government report: local government should be professionalised, says IoDSA

21/6/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
The recent report on local government by the Auditor General, Tsakani Maluleke, is a timely reminder of the prevailing dysfunction in municipalities across the country, and the catastrophic impact that is having on all South Africans. The Auditor General is right to lay the blame squarely on the shoulders of municipal leaders, says Parmi Natesan, CEO, Institute of Directors in South Africa (IoDSA)—but perhaps we also need to be talking about professionalising municipal management as well.
 
“There’s a reason that King IV’s first principle concerns leadership because ultimately everything stems from what goes on at the board or council. Principle 1 speaks to the absolute need for ethical leadership, while Principle 10 deals with the imperative to delegate the council’s authority to a competent municipal manager on whom it can rely,” she argues.
 
“King IV’s sector report on municipalities further recommends that councils ensure they have access to ‘professional and independent guidance on corporate governance and its legal duties’ (King IV, p 85).”
 
The theme of the Auditor General’s Consolidated General Report is “Capable leaders should demonstrate change by strengthening transparency and accountability”.
 
The corollary is that we have now to ask whether municipal councils and audit committees have the right leadership of ethical and effective leaders.
 
What criteria are used to appoint municipal councillors and do we know precisely what competencies they need to have in order to discharge their duties properly? she asks, noting that, as the Auditor General pointed out in her report, senior municipal management has been dilatory at best in implementing the detailed recommendations contained in previous reports.
 
Ms Natesan concurs, saying that this state of affairs seems to be the result of decades of incompetence and even criminal behaviour. “However, as noted, the buck stops with the municipal council. Councils are gravely at fault because they do not hold senior management to account for how they fulfil their duties, and they should, in turn, be held accountable,” she says. 
 
Constitutionally, the national and provincial governments are bound to assist in strengthening and supporting municipalities to operate effectively (Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, s154(1)). Section 139 sets out how, in extreme cases, provincial governments can intervene in local government.
 
But, says, Ms Natesan: “Given that these interventions do not necessarily seem to solve the problem, not least because everything is so politicised, are we now not overdue in simply professionalising local government? Municipalities are where most of the really important service delivery actually occurs—or doesn’t occur. As we seem to be entering a period of unstable municipal coalitions that could make the council’s leadership role even less effective, building up a cadre of professional municipal officials who have current and relevant skills, and who can be held to account rapidly via a professional code of conduct might something to seriously consider at this point.”
 
ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Stephné du Toit, [email protected], 084 587 9933, www.atthatpoint.co.za
 
For more information on the IoDSA please visit:
Website:  www.iodsa.co.za
Twitter:  @The_IoDSA
LinkedIn:  Institute of Directors in South Africa Company Page  
Facebook: Institute of Directors South Africa

0 Comments
    Welcome to the IoDSA Newsroom.
    IN THE MEDIA

    2023
    ​

    2 March
    Financial Mail: 5572bb70-29ab-48f8-b5df-79c7bb7f27dc.pdfIN 


    Archives

    May 2025
    February 2025
    November 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    March 2024
    January 2024
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    November 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014

    Categories

    All
    702 Sun International CEO SleepOut™
    ABSA
    Accountability
    ACGN
    Advocate Fay Mukaddam
    Africa
    African Governance Showcase
    AGM
    Alex Granger
    Angela Cherrington
    Angela Oosthuizen
    Ansie Ramahlo
    Ansie Ramalho
    Audit Committees
    Auditor General
    Board
    Board Meeting
    Boards
    Budget
    Business
    CD(SA)
    Central Energy Fund
    CEO
    CEO Tenure
    Certified Director
    Chairman
    Chartered Director
    CIPC
    City Of Johannesburg
    Clover
    Companies Act
    COO
    Corporate Governance
    Corruption
    Cricket SA
    Delinquent Directors
    Director
    Directors
    Directors' Sentiment Index Report
    Disclosure
    Discrimination
    Dudu Myeni
    Economic Growth
    Eskom
    Eskom Board
    Ethics
    Executive Pay
    EY
    Fair Pay
    FEDSAS
    Fraud And Corruption
    Governance
    Governing Bodies
    Gupta
    Huge Group
    Institute Of Directors In South Africa
    Integrated Reporting
    IoDSA
    Johannesburg Property Company
    Karin Ireton
    King Code Of Corporate Governance
    King IV
    KingIV
    King IV Launch Conference
    Leadership
    Local Elections
    Management
    Mervyn King
    Mid-term Budget 2021
    Mini-budget 2021
    Municipalities
    Non-Executive Directors’ Fees Guide
    North West Cricket
    Parmi Natesan
    Politics
    Professionalising Directorship
    Property
    Public Sector Boards
    Ray Harraway
    Remuneration
    Remuneration Committee Forum
    Richard Foster
    SAA
    SABC
    SA Express
    SAPO
    School Governing Bodies (SGB)
    Service Delivery
    Shareholders
    Sikkie Kajee
    SME Growth
    Social Inequality
    SOEs
    South African Airlines
    South African Airways
    South African Forestry Company
    Stakeholders
    State Capture
    State-owned Enterprises
    State-owned Entities
    Succession Planning
    Sustainability
    Sustainable Development Forum
    The Ethics Institute
    The Institute Of Directors South Africa
    Transnet
    Trends
    Tsakani Maluleke
    UCT
    Vikeshni Vandayar
    Women
    Women's Day
    Zondo Commission

    RSS Feed

CONTACT US

office [at] atthatpoint [dot] co [dot] za
© COPYRIGHT 2024
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
  • home
  • our story
  • our services
  • your resources
  • SA Industry News