PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma has effectively endorsed Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan's push for government workers without proper qualifications in the country's ailing municipalities to be fired.
With the local elections looming, Zuma's comments on the hiring policy yesterday are set to put him on a collision course with the association of municipalities, SA Local Government Association (Salga).
Addressing a Salga national members' assembly at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Zuma implored councillors not to hire their friends and relatives, but qualified people.
"There should be no compromise in ensuring that officials possess the necessary minimum skills. Chief financial officers should be skilled in what they are doing," Zuma said.
"Engineers and other technical staff should also be experts in what they have been employed to do. That is the key solution to the problems facing local government.
"Citizens have a legitimate expectation that services will be delivered in a timely manner . .
"They [services] must be delivered efficiently and effectively through appropriately trained public servants. In other words, we don't employ our friend because he is unemployed and we feel for him or our cousin, or a friend of my friend."
Gordhan has recently been forcing municipalities to get rid of senior managers whose skills did not match their jobs.
But last week, Salga chairman Thabo Manyoni, speaking during the association's national executive meeting, warned against this, saying that "you will find that there are people who are not qualified but they have so much experience and they are performing so well. Just to get rid of all people who are called unqualified in terms of academic qualification might not . be assisting municipalities who already do not even have the necessary skills to perform."
The local government sphere, which is the first contact people have with the government, has for years been plagued by corruption and lack of skills, among others, leading to service delivery protests.
As the local elections approach, the ANC is grappling to fix municipalities.
Don't employ friends - Zuma
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma has effectively endorsed Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan's push for government workers without proper qualifications in the country's ailing municipalities to be fired.
With the local elections looming, Zuma's comments on the hiring policy yesterday are set to put him on a collision course with the association of municipalities, SA Local Government Association (Salga).
Addressing a Salga national members' assembly at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Zuma implored councillors not to hire their friends and relatives, but qualified people.
"There should be no compromise in ensuring that officials possess the necessary minimum skills. Chief financial officers should be skilled in what they are doing," Zuma said.
"Engineers and other technical staff should also be experts in what they have been employed to do. That is the key solution to the problems facing local government.
"Citizens have a legitimate expectation that services will be delivered in a timely manner . .
"They [services] must be delivered efficiently and effectively through appropriately trained public servants. In other words, we don't employ our friend because he is unemployed and we feel for him or our cousin, or a friend of my friend."
Gordhan has recently been forcing municipalities to get rid of senior managers whose skills did not match their jobs.
But last week, Salga chairman Thabo Manyoni, speaking during the association's national executive meeting, warned against this, saying that "you will find that there are people who are not qualified but they have so much experience and they are performing so well. Just to get rid of all people who are called unqualified in terms of academic qualification might not . be assisting municipalities who already do not even have the necessary skills to perform."
The local government sphere, which is the first contact people have with the government, has for years been plagued by corruption and lack of skills, among others, leading to service delivery protests.
As the local elections approach, the ANC is grappling to fix municipalities.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos