Strategic Goal 2: Ensure good governance
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Last updated
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A well-managed and resourced institution is the foundation of good service delivery and there needs to be adequate office space, human resource capacity, equipment, fleet and technology to enable the municipality to provide quality value for money services and high standards of customer care.
THE MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
Administrative and Committee Systems
The municipality is focused on improving the effectiveness of the Record and Archives Services, Committees and Secretarial Services and the cleaning services by amending, adjusting and reviewing policies and procedures against departmental, statutory and audit guidelines.
The aim is to align technology, employees and the municipality’s functions for purposes of improving operational efficiency. Office automation in the sense of upgrading and enhancing computer hardware- and software used to digitally create, collect, store, and relay office information needed for accomplishing basic tasks on a continual basis is essential.
The creation of an efficient, effective, economic and accountable administration with a customer centred approach is of the utmost importance.
Information technology communication systems
The Municipality took a strategic decision to integrate various disparate ICT systems and established a corporate GIS system. The current systems will be used to achieve an integrated Enterprise Resource Programme (ERP) like system by expanding and decreasing those systems.
Implementation of the necessary Enterprise Resource Planning and continuous optimization of ICT assets, resources and capabilities are critical to the successful integration of the various disparate ICT systems. Effective change management are necessary in order to ensure improved productivity and profitability. It would also reduce resistance and improve communication with regards to the inherent challenges associated with major change.
Internationally accepted good governance practices dictates that ICT should be governed at all levels within an organizational structure. Accountability within the context of the operational environment of a municipality ensures alignment of ICT services and functions with the IDP and strategic goals set for the municipality. Decision making process in relation to ICT related investments and operational efficiency of the ICT environments must remain transparent and be upheld. It is therefore important that governance functions should incorporate the Corporate Governance of ICT. Corporate Governance of ICT is a continuous function which should make provision for necessary strategies, architectures, plans, frameworks, policies, structures, procedures, processes, mechanisms and controls with a view to ensure high levels of functionality, compliance and service delivery.
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND LABOUR RELATIONS
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
Good Labour Relations
To maintain positive labour management relationships and minimize conflict by providing leadership and expertise in all matters. The fostering of good labour relations is on-going.
Employee wellness
Entails all the strategies, action plans and methods used to promote physical, emotional and mental health of employees (on going).
Bergrivier Municipality conducts leadership development and quarterly leadership forums, host wellness days and host an annual prizegiving function to recognise successful training, long service and good performance.
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)
An Occupational Health and Safety Plan has been developed and it will be ensured that all legislative requirements pertaining to OHS are complied with. All the OHS representatives per team have regular monthly meetings per town to discuss important matter pertaining OHS and meet once a quarter with senior management (chaired by the Municipal Manager) to ensure an OHS culture throughout the organisation. At these meetings the goal is to create innovative solutions to ensure that the injuries that did occur in the workplace do not re-occur.
Training & Development
To manage the provisioning of human resources training and skills development services. This is addressed in the Workplace Skills Plan which will be implemented on an on-going basis.
Employment Equity & Diversity Management
To ensure equal access to employment and educational opportunities in support of the municipality's commitment to equal opportunity, affirmative action and diversity.
The current Employment Equity Plan is valid for a period of five years and will expire on 30 September 2024. A new plan must be developed for implementation on 1 October 2024 for the next five years. Delays are being experienced with the transformation of the Municipality as difficulty is experienced in attracting suitably qualified personnel from designated groups. The municipality needs to focus on improved compliance with the Employment Equity Plan (on-going).
Strategic Human Resource Management (HRM)
Strategic HR Management is a systematic approach to developing and implementing HRM strategies, policies and plans aligned to the strategy of the organisation that enable the organisation to achieve its objectives. Policy development and reviews will be done continuously.
Workforce Planning
Workforce planning is the process to ensure the right number of staff, with the right skills, are employed in the right place at the right time to deliver an organisation’s short- and long-term objectives.
Benefits & Personnel Administration
Attending to the administration of all employee contracts, benefits, and conditions of service as well as administration and procedures incidental to employee appointments and terminations.
HR Risk Management
HR Risk Management is a systematic approach of identifying and addressing people factors (uncertainties and opportunities) that can either have a positive or negative effect on the realisation of the objectives of the municipality.
Human resource information systems (HRIS)
HRIS is a software or online solution for the data entry, data tracking, and data information needs of the human resources, payroll, management, and accounting functions within an organisation.
Exit Management
Aims to create a climate of trust and honest feedback between management and staff in relation to reasons for exiting the municipality (on going).
Talent Management
Describes the municipality’s commitment to employ, manage and retain talented staff.
The Municipality will strive to improve its governance and accountability, by ensuring that the necessary systems and structures are in place. Structures will be adequately capacitated and supported to play the role that is expected of them. It is also imperative that the Municipality maintain good intergovernmental and other beneficial external relations.
COMPLIANCE
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
Improve compliance levels: the municipality needs to build capacity and optimally use the compliance management system, Eunomia. This is to continuously improve compliance to National and Provincial legislation as well as National and Provincial Reporting Guidelines. (On going).
ANTI- FRAUD AND CORRUPTION
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
Anti-fraud and corruption are a game changer to ensure zero tolerance to fraud and corruption transgressors. This will be addressed on an on-going basis as part of the Anti-fraud and corruption strategy. (On going).
CLEAN AUDIT
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
Bergrivier Municipality again achieved a clean audit for the 2020/21 financial year. This is the seventh consecutive clean audit and the ninth consecutive unqualified audit. The municipality will continuously strive to achieve this achievement in future. (On going).
RISK MANAGEMENT
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
The municipality will strive to improve risk management by identifying and managing risks on an on-going basis and will give specific attention to the risks as identified in the Risk Register. (Strategic and Departmental). The Municipality made big strides in the risk management milieu by appointing a risk management specialist to the Risk Management Committee during 2021. The specialist is assisting the Municipality to improve risk maturity.
OVERSIGHT
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
The municipality is improving the oversight role of all Committees (Internal and external) involved in Oversight: This includes the development of the capacity of Portfolio Committees as well as streamlining and ensuring optional functionality of other Committees who play an oversight roll such as the Performance -, Risk – and Audit Committee and Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC). The amendments made to the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998 and the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000 by the respective Amendment Acts in 2022, have been successfully implemented.
INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PLANNING
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
Improve integration of municipal planning processes: The municipality needs to integrate planning processes more closely, especially the IDP, budget and performance management system. A framework was developed to refine the IDP processes and budget alignment which is currently being implemented. The newly draft TL SDBIP will also have to be based on the strategic goals and strategic objectives as outlined in the IDP;
The Municipality will actively participate in the Provinces’ intergovernmental relations initiatives, with specific attention to the Joint District Management Approach (JDMA), the IDP Indaba’s and MGRO; and
The Municipality will also play the role required of it to ensure successful roll out of the Circular 88- initiative.
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
Improve performance management and reporting: the municipality will focus on improving performance reporting standards, cascading performance management to all staff and ensure continuous evaluation of performance. The Staff Regulations (2021) brought about significant changes to Performance Management in Local Government and Bergrivier Municipality is implementing these new regulations as a matter of urgency to cascade performance management down to the lowest levels of staff in the organisation.
POLICY AND BY-LAW DEVELOPMENT
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
Policies and by-laws are reviewed / developed on an on-going basis.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
Bergrivier Municipality prides itself on innovative partnerships to ensure a collective approach to developments. Optimal use of the Intergovernmental structures will be made to ensure much needed programmes and funding from national and provincial departments. This will specifically be on educational and social wellness programmes. In this regard we welcome the joined planning initiatives facilitated in the West Coast One Plan 2050, the JDMA/DDM programmes as well as all assistance from Provincial Government towards good governance and financial sustainability.
Thusong Programme:
There is still a dire need for the government services that are part and parcel of the Thusong Programme, and emphasis is currently placed on a Mobile Thusong Programmes throughout the Municipal area. We urge National and Provincial Government to establish their footprint in Bergrivier Municipality and pledge our cooperation in this regard to ensure accessibility for our communities to these services including but not limited to Department of Home Affairs and Department of Labour (See discussion on Small Town Regeneration Programme).
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
Bergrivier Municipality has developed strong relations with Heist-op-den-Berg in Belgium and will focus on waste management, public participation and youth development programmes. Bergrivier Municipality has applied for funding from the Belgium Federal Government and the next two-year programme has been approved for 2022 and 2023 to the total amount of R 670 000.00 (2022 financial year) and R 335 000.00 (2023 financial year).
Following the delays in the exchange programme of the learners from Heist-op-den-Berg and Bergrivier Municipality due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the programme will be implemented again in March/April 2023 when learners from Heist-op-den-Berg will visit South Africa. 10 learners from each municipality were selected to participate in the programme.
INTRODUCTION
Value-driven leadership linked with resilience, mindfulness and emotional intelligence are characteristics and skills that are non-negotiable for leaders in Local Government today. High-impact leaders can survive in a very difficult sector where change is in the order of the day and huge challenges are normal. In the Western Cape we had the 7-year drought, and we learnt that if we stand together and really stretch ourselves, we can survive. Then came the Covid-19 pandemic and we took what we have learnt from surviving the drought and applied it to surviving and thriving under very difficult circumstances. And then came Eskom and loadshedding stages 1 – 8 making delivering basic services to the public nearly impossible.
CHALLENGES
The main challenges in building an accountable, professional and skilled administration are over-regulation, the Upper Limits imposed on Senior Managers, the fact that we can only select and recruit from a small body of professionals having done the specific minimum competencies for Local Government, and the non- professional nature of the administration in Local Government. The staff is also subject to burn-out and post Covid symptoms (having to deliver a wide range of unfunded and unmandated services on behalf of the State since 2020.
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
The Professionalization of Local Government’s Administration and Elected Councillors;
The re-design of the financial model on which local government is based;
The broadening of the selection and recruitment pool to be able to attract skilled people from other sectors; and
The redress of the Upper Limits to bring it in line with the rest of the staff working in Local Government reporting to Senior Management.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
The municipality will improve the stakeholder management through the continuous identification of key stakeholders, and sectors and the updating of the stakeholder data base.
The municipality will also review the stakeholder participation forums, with a view to making it more inclusive and effective (On-going).
The municipality will continue the process of engaging individually with the 14 sectors identified within the municipality through the newly elected ward committees (On-going).
WARD COMMITTEES
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
Ward Committee development: The Ward Committees were elected in February 2022 and inducted and trained in March 2022. The ward committees have also been directly involved in the prioritisation of community needs and identification of projects to address some of these needs during their term of office. The Department of Strategic Services also needs to ensure that there is sufficient administrative support to the Ward Committees to perform their duties.
COMMUNICATION
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
The Municipality’s Communication Unit will prioritise its resources on further developing its internal and external communications platforms. Internally, the focus will be on improving inter-departmental planning which includes the development of a Standard Operating Procedure for communication flow within the organisation. The various Directorates will be encouraged and assisted to furnish the Communications Unit with all the relevant information it requires timeously, to perform its functions optimally. Externally, resources will be utilised to drive digital communications through the expansion of its social media offerings and also assisting ICT to improve the user-friendliness of the municipal website, and regularly updating the content on the platform.
Loud hailing also remains a powerful communications tool within the Bergrivier Municipal Area, to broadcast important messages with immediacy to the public.
The Communications Unit aims to develop more multimedia content for its TV Screens at all the reception desks at the various municipal offices, to provide clients with up-to-date content of a wide array of municipal services and news.
INTRODUCTION
The municipality will endeavour to improve client services and will review the Customer Care Charter. A Client Services Survey is done annually to measure compliance with the standards contained in the charter. The municipality will also focus on the management and resolution of complaints (on-going).
CHALLENGES
The following challenges need to be highlighted:
Creating a positive presence on all platforms and the utilization of communication channels preferred by our customer base;
Adding value at a rapid rate;
Ensuring service quality and efficiency;
Remaining relevant within the context of service delivery;
Managing continues improvement;
Retaining and enhancing our customer centred approach;
Human Resource shortage;
Language barriers;
Communication – not everybody has access to social media; and
Exclusion of certain groups (social media).
DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
Development priorities include:
Enhancement of our client services process and procedures;
Continues development and enhancement of our client services charter;
Upskilling of key employees in order to enable and focus our customer centred approach;
Empower customer service employees to assist customers beyond traditional service parameters;
Analise customer interactions;
Improve cross-functionality of customer service teams;
Utilization of technology to enhance service delivery in a quick, sustainable and efficient manner;
Innovation based on evolving customer needs and expectations;
Training; and
Appointment of relevant staff when budget is available.
Strategic Human Resource Management
Municipal Staff Regulations
Implementing of new Municipal Staff Regulations
-
2023-2024
Strategic Human Resource Management
HR Strategy
Review HR strategy annually
-
2023-2028
Strategic Human Resource Management
Municipal Staff Regulations
Review job descriptions according to Municipal Staff Regulations
-
2023-2028
Strategic Human Resource Management
-
Review organisational structure annually according to the needs of the municipality
-
2023-2028
Strategic Human Resource Management
Covid-19 Workplace Plan
Implementation of Covid regulations
-
2023-2028
Strategic Human Resource Management
-
Regular review of HR related policies to bring them in line with new legislation and collective agreements
-
2023-2028
Strategic Human Resource Management
-
Develop and implement new HR related policies to bring them in line with new Municipal Staff Regulations
-
2023-2028
Occupational Health & Safety
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Facilitating and conducting regular safety inspections
-
2023-2028
Occupational Health & Safety
-
Conduct OHS awareness sessions/workshops
-
2023-2028
Occupational Health & Safety
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Ensure the effective functioning of health and safety by facilitating regular Health and Safety meetings
-
2023-2028
Employment Equity
EE Plan
Quarterly reports regarding Employment
Equity achievements in the municipality
-
2023-2028
Employment Equity
EE Plan
Submission of Employment Equity Reports electronically on or before 15 January of each year to Department of Labour
-
2023-2028
Employment Equity
EE Plan
Review Employment Equity Plan
-
2024-2025
Workforce Planning
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Ensure induction sessions for new employees
-
2023-2028
Workforce Planning
-
Update recruitment plan and distribute by 25th of each month
-
2023-2028
Benefits & Personnel Administration
Ensure that all declarations of interest of Senior Managers and Councillors are reviewed each financial year before 31 July
2023-2028
Benefits & Personnel Administration
Conduct exit interviews and supply a copy of the completed exit interview form to the relevant Director/Municipal Manager
2023-2028
Benefits & Personnel Administration
Ensure that a detailed register of staff approved to do private work is kept
2023-2028
Benefits & Personnel Administration
Ensure correct leave administration
2023-2028
Training and Development
WSP
Submission of Workplace skills Plan and Annual Training Report to LGSETA by 30 April of each year
-
2023-2028
Training and Development
WSP
Maximize all appropriate opportunities for Discretionary grants and other training opportunities offered by the LGSETA and other SETA’S
-
2023-2028
Training and Development
WSP
Source additional funding from the LGSETA and other SETAS to implement identified training
-
2023-2028
Training and Development
WSP
Implementation of training as identified in the WSP
-
2022-2027
Training and Development
WSP
Quarterly reporting on implementation of
WSP
-
2022-2027
Training and Development
Municipal Staff Regulations
Personal Development Plan in place for all staff
-
2023-2028
Labour Relations
Systems Act
Ensure that all new employees sign a copy of the Code of Conduct during induction sessions
2023-2028
Labour Relations
Main Collective Agreement
Ensure effective labour relations by facilitating regular LLF meetings per annum
2023-2028
Labour Relations
Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy
Develop a culture of zero tolerance to corruption and dishonesty by the efficient completion of disciplinary steps in terms of the Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy.
2023-2028
Labour Relations
Disciplinary Code Collective Agreement
Properly manage disciplinary cases and processes
2023-2028
Employee Wellness
Hold wellness events, work sessions and awareness sessions to promote employee wellness
2023-2028
Employee Wellness
Facilitate counselling sessions on
employee wellness and social matters
2023-2028
Risk Management
Update HR risk plan, profile & assessments
2023-2028
Talent Management
Talent Management Policy
Ensure the attraction and retention of competent staff
2023-2028
Exit Management
Exit Management
Policy
Ensure the consistent application of exit interview and the confidential documenting thereof
2023-2028
HR Information Systems
Procurement of employee self-service system
2023-2024
