SALGA 25 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
A QUARTER CENTURY OF
DEMOCRATIC LOCAL
GOVERNMENT For the past 25 years, SALGA has focused on providing access to training and guiding councillors, and working with similar associations across the continent and globe. Rodney Weidemann gets the views of several ex-chairpersons
T
he importance of local government should not be underestimated as it is the sphere of government that most affects our everyday lives. It impacts how neighbourhoods function and is key to the delivery of essential services and the management of core areas of our economy. With this in mind, it is certainly worth celebrating the 25th anniversary of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), which has been at the forefront of municipal development and growth throughout this period. It is also worth noting that, despite current appearances, the strides made in local government development over this period have been huge. Father Simangaliso Mkhatshwa, former SALGA chairperson and former vice president of the International United Cities and Local Government Association (UCLGA), suggests that it is worth noting that SALGA has come a long way in this period, adding that it still has a long way to go. “To truly appreciate SALGA’s role, it must be placed in the context of the newly formed democratic South Africa in 1994. At this point, one of the main objectives was to ensure we built a new nation that was nonracial, that recognised the social equality of all people, and was truly democratic so that all citizens could have a say in how they were governed,” he says.
“It is also crucial to recognise that the architecture of local government under the new constitution was very different to the previous system. Under the previous system, opportunities such as access to resources or employment were very much determined according to the colour of one’s skin.” Thus, the new government implemented the National Development Plan, he explains. This was designed to transform social institutions, the living conditions of the people, basic service provision and, ultimately, ensure these were accessible to every single citizen “The other critical role played by SALGA during that period, and since, has been in assisting councillors and others appointed to leadership positions in local government to be properly empowered to truly understand how this type of government works.”
Thabo Manyoni
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Another former chairperson, and former vice president of UCLGA – in this case for Africa – is Thabo Manyoni, who unified SALGA’s leadership and raised the profile of the sector both locally and internationally. “In the period where I took over as SALGA chairperson, we were moving out of the first decade, which was a time of consolidation, and were planning for the next ten years,” he says. “Remember this was after the infamous Polokwane Conference, so the local government arena was divided in the sense of partisan ruling party politics. From a SALGA perspective, we had to ensure we steered the organisation as a united body
Simangaliso Mkhatshwa
“It is a complex journey we are talking about because local is the sphere of government closest to the people, the one which touches their lives in profound ways because it is the sphere that deals with the concrete realities on the ground.” – Father Simangaliso Mkhatshwa
ISSUE 37
SALGA37_SALGAs Roadmap.indd 5
VOICE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
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2021/12/09 11:00 AM
