RECORDING: Webinar on Amending municipal governance laws: new rules, new direction?

On 30 October 2020, the Dullah Omar Institute and the South African Local Government Association hosted a webinar under the title: Municipal governance laws - new rules, new direction? We debated changes suggested to the Municipal Structures Act and the Municipal Systems Act. They are aimed at improving municipal governance, both at political and administrative levels, but will they make a difference? The panel comprised Cllr Nkadimeng (President of SALGA), Hon Muthambi (Chair Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance), Dr Louis Scheepers (Acting MM of Knysna) and DOI's Prof Jaap de Visser. The discussion, attended by more than 80 participants, was lively and covered themes such as professionalisation, the role of Municipal Public Accounts Committees, the role of provinces in the appointment of senior managers, a possible role for professional associations and the true value of local government autonomy. The webinar was chaired by Prof Nico Steytler.