Our municipal officials lack formal training and thus the skills required to succesfully execute their duties. Auditor General Terence Nombembe has commented, saying "The training of municipal officials need to be formalised, so they may do their work better."
“The root of the problem is that councillors are not trained adequately and accredited to understand and execute the tasks placed before them,” he said at a conference on municipal audit outcomes.
Nombembe said training programmes offered by the SA Local Government Association (Salga) were not compulsory for officials and were therefore not sufficiently utilised.
“Salga needs to institutionalise the training; let us formalise the way we train officials so that they can do better.”
He said institutions were available in almost every province and could be used to provide training capacity and programmes.
Nomembe said the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) was available to partner with state entities for training, should the need arise.
He said the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government would launch a partnership with SAICA.
“Under the Thuthuka bursary fund, the trust will go out to identify capable youngsters to receive such training at universities.”
After completing training, they would be placed at municipalities across the province. Municipalities would make financial contributions to the bursary scheme.
Nombembe said there were enough accountants in the country.
“There is no shortage of accountants. This is evident in the abundance of consultants available to do work for municipalities.”
Other provinces and state departments should follow in the steps of KwaZulu-Natal and prioritise accredited and adequate training, he said.
What are your thoughts on the skills levels within our municipalities? Is this a good step towards improving our governmental leadership?
