CEO’S FOREWORD
UPFRONT
FACING THE
CHALLENGES WITH DETERMINATION Despite the challenges the country, SALGA and municipalities face, SALGA is committed to inspiring service delivery, uplifting the youth and facilitating a better life for all, writes Xolile George
IMAGE: SUPPLIED
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n light of SALGA’s ongoing role in championing the needs of citizens and communities across South Africa and providing support to the nation’s many municipalities, the recent National Council of Provinces (NCOP) Week 2022 proved to be particularly enlightening. Taking the theme “Assessing state capacity to respond to the needs of communities”, this year’s NCOP Week focused on the state’s capacity to deliver basic services, water and sanitation to communities. Our permanent delegates to the NCOP visited their respective provinces as part of the Provincial Week Programme to assess the existing delivery of services to citizens. The ultimate goal of this programme is to undertake high-impact oversight of the issues faced to be better prepared to respond to the challenges of state capacity in the provinces. Another challenge municipalities are increasingly going to face as we move forward is the impact of climate change. We must understand these impacts in a South African context, as well as the initiatives the country as a whole can implement to try to curb the effects of this phenomenon. There can be little doubt that our municipalities, which will be at the coalface of dealing with the effects of climate change, need to already be considering and planning mitigation strategies. One of our key issues in South Africa is water scarcity and quality, so it is certainly worth highlighting that, during the recent Green Drop Awards from the Department of Water and Sanitation, the Witzenberg Local Municipality scooped several awards. In a period where bad news seems to abound,
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SALGA CEO Xolile George
this kind of positive news demonstrates the good in local government. All of the above is in line with SALGA’s goal of ensuring that the next five-year political cycle is a period of inspiring service delivery as we push forward with a solid vision, mission and set of key objectives to overcome these challenges. In this, SALGA commits to remaining dynamic, flexible and able to adapt to change to deliver effective and efficient services, rapidly respond to member needs, and be innovative in exploring new approaches providing members with fresh and unconventional services.
As we prepare to celebrate Youth Month in June, we must recognise that, as a nation with a high youth population representing an important share of voters, it is necessary to ask if enough young people are actively engaged in local governance. If they are not, we need to determine and understand what is deterring the youth of South Africa from local decision-making processes. It is worth noting that following the 2021 local government elections, 9 473 candidates were elected as councillors. Of these, 398 were between the ages of 20 and 29, and 2 570 between 30 and 39. Meaning 31 per cent of councillors could be considered young. Considerable progress has clearly been made, but much more still needs to be done. Another massive challenge facing our youth is the issue of unemployment. This is particularly high and is the reason for several local initiatives – under the auspices of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), local community-based nongovernmental organisations and even corporates – designed to help create jobs for the youth. This kind of encouragement is vital, as it is clear that many youngsters have incredible potential. A good example is Gabriella Mogale, who developed a system to fireproof homes in informal settlements, and won gold at the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists. This is the type of innovation our youth are capable of and demonstrates how they can play a key role in helping to change the day-to-day realities of vulnerable communities. SALGA is well aware of the challenges that we and our municipalities continue to face, but the above makes it clear that efforts are being made across the board to improve governance, service delivery and the lives of citizens. In the truest spirit of Batho Pele, we continue to seek to deliver a better life for all. ▪
VOICE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
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2022/06/30 3:37 PM
