South African councillors are learning about service delivery at an international conference in New Zealand, the South African Local Government Association (Salga) said on Wednesday.
”The conference could not have come at a better time for South African municipalities as participants are grappling with day-to-day issues like community participation and service delivery — issues that are pertinent to local governance,” said Johannesburg mayor Amos Masondo in a statement.
Masondo, who is Salga chairperson, is leading the South African delegation to the fourth Commonwealth Local Government Conference in Auckland, New Zealand, which started on Monday and ends on Friday.
Masondo is to present a paper on the role of local government in addressing climate change.
He called the conference a unique opportunity to learn from international experiences.
”It is our wish that we will emerge from this conference armed with tools and ideas that will enhance our efforts to accelerate delivery of services to our communities whilst moving closer to meeting the millennium development goals, since practical and concrete recommendations for action at local, state, national and international level will be made from this conference.”
The theme of the conference is delivering development through local leadership, said Salga spokesperson Mogomotsi Mogodiri.
The conference aims to encourage an ”exchange of ideas on international best practices for building strong partnerships for effective service delivery and formulating a common vision for development at local level,” said Mogodiri.
Speakers include: Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon; the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark; the Tanzanian Prime Minister, Edward Lowassa; and the New Zealand Minister of Local Government, Mark Burton. — Sapa