Please give us an overview of the role of the South African Local Government Association (Salga).

SALGA is an effective and credible vehicle of organised local government on broad matters of governance, financial management, infrastructure and municipal human resources. These matters include the dynamic transformation project, which the democratic state (inclusive of the three spheres of government) is championing. SALGA is therefore an integral part of this system of governance, working towards consolidating our developmental state to achieve its noble goals. We initiate and facilitate discussions mandated and informed by our structures on what approaches must be taken around policy formulation, implementation and review.  Salga serves as an advisor, initiator and negotiator on behalf of municipalities. In line with its constitutionally defined mandate, Salga’s role is to represent, promote and protect the interests of local government.

What are the services that Salga offers to local government?

Salga offers advisory services, particularly to municipalities. We take the lead in representing municipalities in all matters of collective bargaining, providing timely updates on various matters and recommending the best way forward in handling such matters. In broad areas of governance, we provide support (directly and indirectly) to members on the functional areas of our system of local government. We achieve this both through our internal capacity and the wealth of experience within our member municipalities.

What are the priorities for Salga for the year ahead?

One of Salga priorities for the year ahead is capacity-building. The organisation also plans to submit better audit records and implement a Performance Management System for municipalities.

Are there any major projects that Salga is working on at the moment and what do these projects entail?

There are critical institutional development projects like job evaluations and the determination of wage curves that have not yet been completed. Following the recent wage negotiations, the parties have targeted these as urgent areas. We have other crucial areas on which we work in conjunction with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. These include a campaign to improve the status of municipal audit reports and ensure that positions at senior management level and other critical vacant jobs are filled adequately and timeously.

Chris Magwangqana was the first black Mayor of Sutterheim transitional local council (TLC) and the forerunner of Amahlathi Municipality. He then proceeded, based on his technical acumen, to become the first Municipal Manager of Amahlathi Municipality in 2001. While serving as mayor of Stutterheim TLC and Amahlathi, he was elected to serve on Eastern Cape Local Government Association (ECLGA, forerunner of SALGA Eastern Cape) as its Secretary and as well as the Chairperson of Local Government SETA. He now is a serving member of Eastern Cape Socioeconomic Consultative Council’s Board.