Skilled, competent workers needed for local government turnaround

Effective service delivery from local government will require skilled, responsible and accountable workers, this is according to COGTA Minister Sicelo Shiceka.

“These must be skilled and competent cadres capable of delivering,” he said in remarks prepared for delivery at the SA Local Government Association (Salga) human resources policy conference in Polokwane.

Shiceka believes that making local government administration more professional has become critical to ensure a stable and functioning system. For this reason there is this drive for skilled workers. This drive for skilled workers was part of a turnaround strategy adopted by the Cabinet at the end of December as a blueprint for effective service delivery in local and national government.

He said that 95% of the 238 municipalities in the country had already developed their own local turnaround strategies to put the new system into place and that it was starting to pay off, but cautioned that municipalities needed to keep their feet on the pedal and not relent.

Shiceka said the government hoped to amend the Municipal Systems Act and the Municipal Structures Act to support the system changes.