19 August 2022
Minister Dlamini Zuma welcomes the signing into law the insertions/amendments to the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act
The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma welcomes the signing into law of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Amendment Act, 2022. The act is part of the suite of legislations meant to ensure effective and efficient functioning municipalities.
Amendment Bill [B2-2019) (“the Bill”) with corresponding provisions as the invalidated Act was re-introduced to Parliament on 6 February 2019 in terms of Rule 159(8)(1) (a) and (b) of the Joint Rules of Parliament. The Bill repeals the Amendment Act and has been properly tagged as a section 76 Bill to address the procedural defect referred to above. The Bill was approved by Parliament on 3 May 2022 with further amendments following comprehensive public participation processes at both national and provincial level. The Local Government: Municipal Systems Amendment Act, 2022 (Act No.3 of 2022) was assented to by the President on 16 August 2022.
This Act is part of a suit of legislations and efforts that seeks to professionalise local public administration.
In addition, the Act disallows municipal officials from holding political office.
The amendments further provide for procedures and competency criteria for appointment of municipal managers and other senior managers as well as provide for the consequences of appointments made in contravention of the Act.
The amendments provide timeframes within which performance agreements of municipal managers and managers directly accountable to municipal managers must be concluded.
The Act also makes further provisions for the evaluation of the performance of municipal managers and managers directly accountable to municipal managers.
Employment contracts and performance agreements of municipal managers and managers directly accountable to municipal managers are now also required to be consistent with the Act and any regulations made by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
The Minister is now able to prescribe frameworks to regulate human resource management systems for local government and mandates for organised local government. Furthermore, the Act extends the Minister’s powers to make regulations relating to municipal staff matters.
Minister Dlamini Zuma has urged all stakeholders to support municipalities and ensure that the Act is implemented fully.
Enquiries:
Lungi Mtshali
0820885060
Source: Municipal Systems Amendment Act
