Webinar on Amending municipal governance laws: new rules, new direction? [30 October 2020]

The Dullah Omar Institute, in collaboration with the South African Local Government Association and the Hanns Seidel Foundation invites you to a webinar.
  • What DOI Event
  • When 30 Oct, 2020 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (Africa/Johannesburg / UTC200)
  • Where Zoom (Virtual meeting)
  • Contact Name
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Inadequate governance at both political and administrate levels, is the root of many of the challenges municipalities face. Parliament is currently considering two important Bills aimed at improving municipal governance ahead of the 2021 Local Government Elections. The Municipal Structures Amendment Bill deals, amongst other things with the role of the speaker, vacancies, Municipal Public Accounts Committees and Chief Whips (see https://bit.ly/3o5gdEo for a summary). The Municipal Systems Amendment Bill re-introduces[1] rules on the process and criteria for the appointment of senior managers in municipalities, amongst other things.

What changes will these Bills bring? What are their most important features, and which parts require further debate? Are they likely to improve governance in municipalities?

[1] The 2011 Municipal Systems Amendment Act on the same issues, was declared unconstitutional for not being passed according to the correct legislative procedure.  See https://bit.ly/34cMqBT.

 

SPEAKERS:

Cllr Nkadimeng

Cllr Nkadimeng is the President of SALGA and also serves as the Executive Mayor of the City of Polokwane as Executive Mayor. She also Co-President of the United Cities and Local Governments, a global organisation of local and regional governments. Cllr Nkadimeng holds a Higher Education Diploma, a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree as well as a BPhil (Political Studies) from the University of Stellenbosch.

Ms Faith Muthambi MP

Ms Muthambi MP is the Chairperson of National Assembly’s Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. Prior to this, she served as Minister of Communications and as Minister of Public Service and Administration.  She has also worked as a Senior Manager in various municipalities in Limpopo. She holds a BProc degree from the University of Venda and is an admitted attorney.

Prof Jaap de Visser

Prof Jaap de Visser is Director of the Dullah Omar Institute at the University of the Western Cape. He is the co-author of Local Government Law of South Africa. His research and advocacy focuses on local government, decentralisation, intergovernmental relations and human rights. He holds an LLB (Utrecht), LLM (UWC) and LLD (Utrecht).

Dr Louis Scheepers

Dr Scheepers is currently the Acting Municipal Manager of Knysna Municipality. He has more than twenty-five years of experience in local government administration, including as senior manager in the City of Cape Town and municipal manager of Saldanha Bay. His PhD (Stellenbosch University) focused on institutional capacity in local government. Louis is also Adjunct Professor in the School of Government at the University of the Western Cape.

 

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