/ 12 May 2006

Municipal managers’ contracts to be renegotiated

A generic performance contract for municipal managers will be unveiled on May 30 and all their performance contracts must be renegotiated within the next six weeks, says Provincial and Local Government Minister Sydney Mufamadi.

Speaking at a media briefing on Friday — beamed from the Union Buildings in

Pretoria to Parliament in Cape Town — the minister rejected complaints that

some municipal managers were earning packages in excess of ministers “or even

the president [of South Africa]” — that were over R1-million a year.

He said performance contracts should be tailored in terms of local conditions.

“Performance agreements must bear relation to the actual challenges on the ground.”

In determining the salary scales for municipal managers, the key issue had to be to draw the required skills to a particular municipality.

However, he said in a prepared statement that it was important to support local government in strengthening their performance management systems. “Work on the Local Government Competency Framework is advanced. The intention is to finalise this work by July and issue human resource management regulations for

all municipalities.”

“It has also been decided that all performance contracts of municipal managers should be renegotiated by July 1, 2006,” he said. – AFP