I wrote in a recent article about the importance of local government structures in the execution and implementation of national plans. In addition, their role in the formulation of effective programmes and projects is critical given their operations are based at the coal face of local economies.
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Therefore, it is a mystery to me why the ruling party appears completely indifferent to the virtual disintegration of a large proportion of the local and district municipal structures in the country, a fact borne out by the recent Auditor-General’s report on local municipalities in the country. The cynic in me is wont to attribute this to politics, but the pragmatic side of me says no political formation can be so ruthless – perhaps I am just a bit naïve…
Problems faced
While the lack of capacity and skills, some would say due to the unrealistic pace of transformation, is often attributed as a factor in the collapse of service delivery, the reality is that many capable black managers and professionals are being hounded out of their positions by:
Untrammelled interference from elected politicians and nepotism
Unfair promotion practices linked to the above
Unwillingness to participate in or condone corrupt activities
A well-managed, integrated and resourced local government sector can be the solution to many of our service delivery issues.
Another issue bedevilling service delivery and project execution is the lack of coordination between local and district structures. Undoubtedly, politics also rears its ugly head here because powerbases often differ and overlap at these levels, leading to power plays and influence peddling. But the lack of alignment also results in:
Duplication of projects and resources
Delays in approvals e.g. fire services tend to be a district competency
Poor provision of bulk services e.g. water and sanitation
After matriculating, Vijay Naidoo studied Economics in the UK. Upon his return, hejoined the family construction business as MD for 10 years.
He subsequently joined his sister in their furniture manufacturing business as director for quality assurance and operations. He was responsible for all quality aspects of their products, and led the project to the business achieving an ISO 9000 quality accreditation. As an export focused business, this was important for our international competitiveness.
Mr Naidoo has an abiding interest in quality management and productivity improvement, particularly in manufacturing.
More recently, he has focused a lot of his time on giving back to the community by way of mentorship of small businesses and sitting on the executive of the South Coast Chamber of Commerce. He also sits on the Board of the Ugu South Coast Development Agency.
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