October 18, 2007
By Emily Visser
"LOCAL government must remain a sphere of government, not a tier of government." So said Sakhumzi Somyo, the chair of the working group on human relations in the South African Local Government Association (Salga).
He was speaking at the opening of the organisation's consultative national workshop on 11 and 12 October. More than 700 representatives from 200 municipalities attended the two-day workshop, held at the Sandton Convention Centre.
Participants discussed the revision of the white paper on local government; the proposed Regional Electricity Distributors (REDs) Establishment Bill; the provincialisation of the primary healthcare function; and working towards a single public service in the country as proposed by the draft Public Administration Management Bill, which is also known as the draft Single Public Service Bill.
Harmonising services
First on the agenda was the Single Public Service Bill, which has been four years in the making. A single public service was first proposed by President Thabo Mbeki in his State of the Nation speech in 2003, "for the harmonisation of systems, conditions of service and norms between public service in national and provincial spheres on the one hand, and municipalities on the other".
The draft bill was presented for public scrutiny from 15 August this year. Currently, the employees of national and provincial government fall within a single policy framework from which local government is excluded. The single public service initiative will bring local government into that framework.
A single public service would have a common wage policy for the entire public service; harmonised conditions of service, namely medical aid and pension funds; norms and standards for human resource management; legal mechanisms for mobility within a single public service; and a common culture and standard of service delivery across the three spheres of government.
Speaking on behalf of Salga, Somyo said the contents of the draft Single Public Service Bill must past the test of the organisation's resolutions. These included an approach that favoured integration rather than amalgamation or incorporation; that local government remain an employer in its own right; and that all bargaining took place collectively.
"Salga should be an equal partner with the departments of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) and Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) in the development of policy and framework legislation around the integration of the public sector."
Concerns
Included in the discussion documents was a study, commissioned by Salga, that focused on the constitutionality of the draft Single Public Service Bill and its effect on municipalities, Salga, organised labour and local government sector education and training authorities, or setas.
Of particular interest was the fact that worldwide, developed and developing countries showed trends towards decentralisation to local government over the past 20 years, the study found.
However, it noted that of more concern were the "profound potential negative effects" and "weakening of the local government system", Salga included, of a single public service.
A number of important concerns were raised by the study, including that:
- The bill encroached on the constitutional integrity of local government to govern its affairs;
- Strong local government was an important component of South Africa's democracy;
- It seemed to be in direct contradiction with the ruling party's policy documents, which called for decentralisation, rather than concentration of these to national level;
- Skilled staff may be lost as a result of forced deployment of personnel in the name of an undefined public interest; and
- Accountability of staff became questionable, with staff focussing on central government rather than the municipality they served.
Integration
The study acknowledged that all citizens' access to services should be promoted through an improved, integrated public service, but that this need not necessarily be through a single public service model.
Instead, it recommended that an integrated model of public services should be explored. In this model, local government staff would be employed locally but organised through a single national civil service. Staff could be transferred to other local governments or to other government departments by the single civil service.
Canada had successfully introduced such an integrated model, with a system of joined-up government and seamless service delivery, while at the same time strengthening local government.
A number of recommendations were made by the study:
- It advocated a separate local government pension fund rather than the government employees pension fund as suggested by the bill;
- It advocated a separate bargaining council as local government issues may not receive sufficient focus if Salga was one of 36 employers in the public service co-ordinated bargaining council; and
- Section 10 of the Systems Act should be retained to avoid unfunded mandates.
Way forward
Speaking at the closing of the session, Amos Masondo asked delegates to remain positive as the debate on single public services did not stop at the end of the workshop. Indeed, it went on the world over.
Masondo is the chairperson of Salga and the executive mayor of Johannesburg.
"We are seeking our own solutions to our own problems. We do indeed need to protect the role of local government, as a sphere, as an employer, as part of a bargaining council."
Masondo cautioned that municipalities should not lose sight of the most important role of local government, namely service delivery. "Our objective must be to ensure that local government performs better."
Salga will submit its recommendations to the Department of Public Service and Administration on 31 October.
Electricity distribution
Also presented to delegates at the two-day Salga workshop was the proposed Regional Electricity Distributors Establishment Bill; regional electricity distributors are better known as REDs.
In 2006, the Cabinet approved the proposal to create six wall-to-wall REDs as public entities. The bill was presented to the cabinet on 8 August 2007 but withdrawn for further consultation with relevant stakeholders.
It proposed that the national government; Eskom, the electricity supplier; and municipalities become shareholders in REDs, with the national government holding 51 percent and the balanced shared between the latter two. Over time, Eskom would reduce its shareholding.
Under the plan, the 187 municipalities that currently distribute electricity and Eskom will be consolidated into six REDs – Cape Town Unicity, Ekurhuleni, Nelson Mandela Bay, Johannesburg, eThekwini, Tshwane – and will be anchored by these metros.
REDs will become the preferred service provider and municipalities the service authority. Electricity Distribution Industry (EDI) Holdings will oversee the establishment of REDs and electricity distribution will be regulated by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa).
Legislation
Lance Joel, the executive director of Salga's governance and intergovernmental relations unit, said that at the association's 2007 national conference, it was resolved that it should encourage all municipalities to begin with the preparatory steps for the establishment of REDs.
This included, among others, signing the accession to the electricity distribution industry co-operative agreements; starting the ring-fencing and due diligence process; engaging with EDI Holdings to share lessons learned from RED 1 (Cape Town); and revisiting the establishment of energy forums.
"[However], the restructuring journey is heavily dependent on policy and legislative enablers," Joel confirmed.
These included exemptions from section 78 of the Municipal Systems Act, which requires municipalities to assess potential service delivery mechanisms for the provision of a municipal service, "a time consuming and expensive process"; and that electricity reticulation was listed in the Constitution as a local government matter.
Others were the prescribed asset transfer framework, which still needed to be finalised, and the envisaged RED Establishment Act, the draft bill under discussion at the workshop.
Salga noted the absence of regulations in the bill and the implications of these for municipalities and Eskom. It has asked for the provision of underlying principles that will inform these regulations. The regulations are still to be developed by the minister of minerals and energy.
Concerns
Among the concerns raised by municipalities were how shareholding was calculated, compensation for electricity undertakings of the past, the capital structures of REDs, the effect of REDs on the municipal revenue stream, transfer of assets and the ownership of key industrial customers.
In closing, Masondo asked that the municipalities start to engage in establishing REDs as they had been under discussion for a long time. "We [Salga] must move forward from this point, the cabinet has taken a decision on the matter [of REDs]."
The association resolved that it would continue to engage with the Department of Minerals and Energy on electrification backlogs; participate and play a leading role in the establishment of REDs regional engagement forums; and ensure that municipalities were not worse off as a result of revenue lost to REDs.
It is envisaged that the Act will come into effect by December and that the national pricing framework will be in place by June 2008.
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 |
