The Vuna Awards, South Africa’s ”municipal Oscars”, have dropped off this year’s social calendar without anyone batting an eyelid. Could this be because there are no suitable candidates? Or because the event risked being mobbed by angry local residents demanding better services?
No, insists Minister of Provincial and Local Government Sydney Mufamadi’s spokesperson, Bheki Nkonyane, who confirmed that the event, normally held at the beginning of December, would not take place this year. The department just had too much on its plate with looming local government elections. ”The awards have not been discontinued,” he said. ”They are definitely going ahead next year. But this year there will be no winners.”
The awards, for South Africa’s best-managed municipalities, are not to be sneezed at. At the second annual ceremony last year, Mantsopa Local Municipality (Ladybrand), Nkangala District Municipality (Highveld DC) and eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality each walked away with R3-million. An additional 24 councils won R750 000 each as the best performers in their respective provinces.
There was even a performance award for organising performance awards. Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela, Director General of local government, received an accolade from the International Quality and Productivity Centre for her role in helping stage the annual awards for municipal performance excellence.
The shelving of the Vuna awards, an initiative of the local government department, the National Productivity Institute, the South African Local Government Association and the Development Bank of Southern Africa, will disappoint the politicians. Speaking at last year’s event, Mufamadi said it represented ”yet another commitment on our part towards building a better life”. At the first event, President Thabo Mbeki described the winners as ”agents of change”.