Experts call for continuous training of councillors as local elections approach

Experts and MPs are calling on the SA Local Government Association (Salga) to intensify its training of councillors as professionalisation of local government becomes a key focus ahead of the election of new administrations in November.

Salga CEO Sithole Mbanga told MPs that while the entity was ready to capacitate incoming councillors, it lacked adequate resources to do this work.

“We only receive about R40m from the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), nothing more, nothing less. Everything else that we do is based on our ability to be agile and not to be hamstrung by the PFMA. If we are going to drive this very huge, complex agenda of building the capacity, not only of municipal organisations but of the individuals, then we require relatively more money,” said Mbanga.

“We are getting ready to train municipal councillors that will be onboarded from December and January. At this point, we do not have sufficient resources from an organisation that ought to offload those resources to us; it really delays us,” he added.

He was responding to questions from MPs serving in the Cogta oversight committee who probed the association about professionalisation of local government and Salga’s role in building the capacity of councillors.

Mbanga had earlier told MPs that Salga had seven “strategic” capacity-building priorities which covered governance, leadership and management; financial management and viability; infrastructure and service delivery; municipal planning; spatial transformation and inclusion; worker development and education; and business continuity and disaster management.

Experts call for continuous professional development

But the association can do much better, according to two local government experts who are calling for continuous training of councillors.

Director of Stellenbosch University’s school of public leadership, Prof Zwelinzima Ndevu, said to have a professionalised local government, councillors need to be trained or capacitated to be able to understand the mandate of the council or local government broadly.

They should play their oversight role more effectively, monitor as to whether plans are implemented correctly and are in line with the needs of the community within the municipal jurisdiction, whether they are funded, whether they would either get an equitable share allocation or special grants for those, said Ndevu.

"And particular skills are needed to be able to do this, and that's where the capacitation of councillors is important.

“Salga has not been doing this thus far,” said Ndevu.

“What they normally do is what they call an induction, that they do at the beginning of councillors’ terms and after that induction, then nothing much does happen from Salga’s point of view.”

Ndevu acknowledged that Salga has plans in place which have been divided into phases and does not only talk about the integrated council induction programme.

“They are also phasing in what they call development and portfolio training for councillors. This particular training is being envisaged to specifically focus on a portfolio that a councillor gets. For example, if a councillor becomes an MMC for finance, there would be training tailor-made for those people at that level.”

The University of Free State’s Dr Harlan Cloete, who has done induction of councillors for Salga for at least the last three administrations, said the learning curve for councillors was “extremely high”.

“It’s one thing standing outside criticising local government. It's a completely different thing being inside local government and getting to know how the system works because it is a very complex system, highly politicised and it's highly regulated, almost over regulated.”

Why municipal councillors need stronger oversight and financial management skills

Cloete said a councillor should be able to read and to ask questions.

“There’s a week of training that Salga does. I think where they are failing is probably on continuous training,” said Cloete.

He said that while councillors perform an oversight role and oversee skills development in municipalities, “our research shows that they do not have the competencies to be able to perform their oversight role function when it comes to skills development”.

“If we talk about professionalisation within municipalities, then councillors must be able to oversee that process, and so the handholding of councillors is very much needed,” he said.

“There needs to be handholding to ensure that councillors perform that task. Training needs to be continuous. I think Salga can do much better.”

Cloete proposed that councillors be included in the work skills plan as the Skills Development Act states that training and development is for employer and employee.

“I think that will be solved if we start treating councillors as part of the work skills plan.”

The five-day induction that councillors undergo introduces them to relevant laws, their roles and responsibilities, the integrated development plan, budgeting processes and the roles of the speaker and mayor, he said.