NATIONAL NEWS - Cadre deployment is the “poison” that is stifling service delivery in local government, the KwaZulu-Natal chair of the South African Local Government Association (Salga), Thami Ntuli, said on Monday.
Ntuli was reacting to the recent call by President Cyril Ramaphosa to ensure the recruitment of the right people in local government.
We have made this call during our recent lekgotla in Jozini. We can’t succeed in serving our people if we have people who are holding political positions and work for local governments at the same time.
Cadre deployment has destroyed municipalities at all levels. We are expecting resistance in our quest to have qualified people with the right experience, but we will overcome eventually.
President Ramaphosa reportedly said one of the municipalities had its council dissolved by parliament after several instances of non-compliance.
He said this should serve as a warning to other local governments who are not performing well in the country.
Salga’s Bheke Stofile said hiring individuals based on political influence still remained a challenge.
Those that have been recruited have the skills and are trained by different institutions of higher learning and equipped for them to render the services to the municipality and that is the call we are making.
