Strategic overview
SALGA’s mandate
Developmental local government is an essential
component of the overall machinery of
government. The attainment of national growth
and development imperatives depends largely on
the ability of local government to deliver on its
own mandate. It is therefore imperative for SALGA
to harness various resources and partnerships
to build a local government sector that has the
required capacity to facilitate poverty alleviation,
economic development and job creation as well
as all socio-economic opportunities that the state
is geared to provide for South Africa’s people.
SALGA is an association of municipalities in
South Africa recognised in terms of Section 163 of
the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
It is listed in the PFMA as a Schedule 3A public
entity. SALGA serves as a the representative voice
of all 257 municipalities. Since its establishment,
SALGA has endeavoured to bring focus to
its mandate of supporting local government
transformation in a complex environment,
characterised by a highly diverse membership
base of municipalities.
The organisation’s
mandate rests on six primary pillars as follows:
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Lobby, advocate and represent;
Employer body;
Capacity building;
Support and advice;
Strategic profiling; and
Knowledge and information sharing.
Key policy and strategic frameworks
impacting on local government
The strategic plan of SALGA is aligned to
legislation and policy mandates. In this context,
it commits the organisation to be member-
centric, engage in meaningful partnerships,
position the organisation for high performance,
and ultimately demonstrate seriousness and
commitment to growing and developing the
sector.
SALGA derives its mandate from a variety of
legislation as highlighted below:
The Constitution of South Africa:
Section 163 of the Constitution envisages an
important role for organised local government.
It provides that an Act of Parliament must cater
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for the recognition of national and provincial
organisations representing municipalities and
determine procedures by which local government
may consult the national and provincial
government, designate representatives to
participate in the National Council of Provinces
(NCOP) and nominate persons to the Financial
and Fiscal Commission (FFC).
The Organised Local Government Act:
The Organised Local Government Act, 1998
(Act No. 52 of 1997) recognises SALGA as the
representative of organised local government.
The Act allows organised local government to
designate up to ten part-time representatives
to the NCOP in the National Parliament, and
to further nominate two persons to the FFC,
which advises the finance ministry on budget
issues. SALGA participates in intergovernmental
structures at a provincial and district level,
and is therefore able to influence national and
provincial legislation and to gauge the impact of
such legislation on local government.
The White Paper on Local Government:
The White Paper on Local Government (1998)
refers to the Constitution of the Republic and
how it allows for municipalities to organise
forms of municipal association. It points out that
SALGA’s key role is the effective representation
of local government in the legislative
processes of all spheres of government, and
in intergovernmental executive processes
which affect the status, institutions, powers and
functions of municipalities. In order to fulfil
this representative role effectively, SALGA must
develop its own policy formulation and advocacy
capacity, as well as establish strong internal
mandating and consultative processes.
The White Paper also says organised local
government in South Africa is an employers’
organisation, and constitutes the employer
component of the South African Local
Government Bargaining Council (SALGBC).
SALGA has a key role to play, not only as an
employer in the SALGBC, but also in building
capacity in the area of labour relations among
its membership, and maintaining open and
constructive relationships with organised
labour. The successful transformation of local
government requires that the relations between
employer bodies and municipal trade unions are