By Tammy O'Reilly
JOHANNESBURG executive mayor Amos Masondo has been entrusted with the position of chair of the South African Local Government Association (Salga).
The decision was made during the four-day Salga conference in Cape Town, which ended on Thursday, 30 September.
The City of Johannesburg's mayor takes over the reigns of the municipal body at a crucial point as the organisation embarks on a process of redefining itself.
Salga was established in 1997 as a representative body of organised local government with all the 284 municipalities in the country being members.
According to a new dispensation, Salga's executive will now comprise a chairperson and three deputies, and the positions of secretary-general and treasurer will be eliminated.
Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, the mayor of Tshwane who led the body since 2001, declined nomination for a further term "in order for me to be able to do justice to all my other responsibilities and also give others an opportunity to make a contribution".
In his acceptance speech, Masondo said: "We need to salute Comrade Mkhatshwa, the entire Salga leadership, in particular, as well as members in general for laying a foundation on which this newly elected leadership must build on."
He said the conference reaffirmed government's commitment to accelerate service delivery in the second decade of freedom and democracy and summarised outcomes of the conference.
In future, special attention will be paid to ensure effective service delivery, financial issues, involving other spheres of government and finding effective ways of managing scarce resources.
In order to meet these challenges, said Masondo, the internal management structures and programmes "will have to be tightened to ensure effective management and the efficient running of all our operations".
Concluding, Masondo added: "Let us commit ourselves to serve. There is a better tomorrow. We shall not and cannot fail."
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