The Speaker of Council, Cllr Colleen Makhubele, congratulated 19 City of Johannesburg Councillors who successfully completed their Local Government Leadership Development Programme (LGLDP).  “This is the time in our history that calls for a collective, purposeful leadership especially in the public sector. It calls for capable, knowledgeable, and competent leadership in developing and serving our people. And most importantly, it calls for restoring the moral fibre in our communities.”  

Cllr Makhubele was speaking at the certification ceremony which was officiated by the Deputy Minister for Public Service and Administration, Dr Chana Pilane-Majake, at the Constance Bapela Council Chamber in Braamfontein on Friday, 17 February 2023. 

“It is an honour to witness councillors who have taken it upon themselves to acquire skills that would assist in better managing the public resources. We congratulate you for your tenacity and resilience,” said Cllr Makhubele. 

“We hope through this course, our councillors will have an understanding of our role and the type of heart we need when we go out to serve our communities,” Cllr Makhubele added. 

She also thanked the National School of Government (NSG) for making this initiative possible.  

The councillors received their certificates after completing a one-year, Local Government Leadership Development Programme. 

The programme is specifically offered to political office bearers and officials in the employment of municipalities.

It is aligned to a qualification accredited by the Local Government Sectoral Training Authority. The programme is offered by the NSG as part of the efforts to build a capable developmental state and the professionalisation of the public sector, as directed by Cabinet. 

In her keynote address, Dr Pilane-Majake, congratulated the councillors for reaching the milestone of completing the programme.

“Today we recognise your remarkable achievements,” said Dr Pilane-Majake. She added that the training curriculum development by the NSG also takes cognisance of the municipal planning that is needed for effective public service delivery. 

Dr Pilane-Majake emphasised that local government is at the coalface of service delivery, as it is closer to the people and operates at the local and community level. “If we are to realise a South African dream, it begins with realising it at local government. This curriculum will give us solid councillors that will be in the position to roll-out the developmental mandate,” said Dr Pilane-Majake. 

“We are looking forward to seeing this programme being rolled-out in all the municipalities in the country,” Dr Pilane-Majake concluded. 

The NSG offers a range of accredited and non-accredited training programmes that are tailor-made for officials and executives in the public sector. At local government, the NSG and the South African Local Government Association entered into a partnership to build capacity in municipalities. 

The LGLDP is designed to enable political office bearers and managers in municipalities to provide effective governance. 

“The programme provides skills enabling the executive and political leaders to structure governance arrangement so that municipalities are politically stable, well-administered, financially sustainable and able to deliver municipal services optimally,” said NSG Principal Prof Busani Ngcaweni.