The SA Local Government Association (Salga) has dismissed the decision by Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba to withdraw funds from the organisation.

“Salga is a membership-based organisation‚ meaning that municipalities are direct members with their respective contributions to and participation within Salga being determined by municipal councils‚” said Salga spokesperson Sivuyile Mbambato.

“The ‘withdrawal of funds’ is assumed to mean the ‘withdrawal of membership’ from Salga‚ which will require a formal sitting of the municipal council with a specific resolution taken to withdraw such membership; (or) alternatively a specific delegation given by the municipal council to the executive mayor to facilitate such withdrawal.

“Withdrawal of membership is within the municipal council’s discretion but does come with dire consequences for the municipality as a whole.”

Earlier this week‚ Mashaba caused shock when he announced that he would be withdrawing funding from Salga just days after his predecessor‚ Parks Tau‚ was appointed as the chairperson of the organisation.

Mashaba described Salga as a cadre deployment body for the African National Congress that has become top-heavy and wasteful in its spending. He said Salga had strayed from its mandate‚ which is to empower local government councillors and to act as their spokesperson in the national arena.

“That means that Salga must represent all local government councillors in a manner consistent with democracy. Over the years‚ Salga has‚ in my view‚ strayed from its mandate. It has become bloated and top-heavy. It has spent too much money on nice-to-haves and on projects of dubious utility‚” he said.

– TMG Digital