October 30, 2006
By Tabisa Mntengwana
IN an effort to strengthen its relationships with other municipalities and share ideas about local governance, the City of Johannesburg hosted a delegation from Ehlanzeni District Municipality.
The Nelspruit visitors spent the morning at the Mayoral Parlour on Thursday, 26 October, where they met Executive Mayor Amos Masondo, council Speaker Nkele Ntingane and other City officials.
Masondo spoke about two issues - partnerships and relationships between the City of Johannesburg and other cities, and the responsibilities of the members of the mayoral committee.
Joburg already has close ties with New York City, City of London, City of Birmingham and City of Addis Ababa. "The City meets with the various mayors of these cities every now and then, discussing matters such as urban renewal and regeneration, sharing information on broad management," Masondo said.
"We wish to do the same with Ehlanzeni District Municipality."
The visitors then moved to the Joburg Innovation and Knowledge Exchange's visitor and resource centre for a number of presentations and discussions. The first presentation, by deputy director Loshini Govender, was on the City's high level legislative structure.
Govender gave an overview of the responsibilities of the Speaker and council committees, the roles and responsibilities of the administrative function of the council, and the structure and general overview of the council.
"The City is in the process of implementing a new structure for the council and we hope to maintain and enhance sound governance," Govender added.
City manager Mavela Dlamini's presentation was on the high level administrative structure, which dealt with the roles and responsibilities of the City manager, the City's redesign and the relationship between the City and its entities, utilities, agencies and corporated entities.
Talking about the redesign, Dlamini said, "The principle is to create an integrated and efficient high level institutional design."
The last presenter for the day was Karen Brits, the head of legal, compliance and mayoral committee support services. She spoke about minute taking, agendas and reports.
After each discussion the visitors were invited to ask questions and discuss issues raised.
"The discussions and presentations have enlightened me and the delegation," said Ehlanzeni Executive Mayor Khosi Mkhonto. "We are very impressed with City-owned companies such as City Power, Pikitup, City Parks and Metrobus."
Mkhonto was also impressed with the manner in which different legislative and executive structures were managed in the council and the City's focus on service delivery.
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
