Latest news with #SALocalGovernmentAssociation
IOL News
4 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Midvaal Municipality shines at Salga audit awards with five prestigious accolades
Peter Teixeira, the mayor of the top performing local municipality, Midvaal. Image: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers The Midvaal Local Municipality has won big at the SA Local Government Association (Salga) annual municipal audit awards for the Gauteng province. During the ceremony held over the weekend at the Premier Hotel near the OR Tambo International Airport, the association acknowledged municipalities demonstrating excellence in financial management. The municipality again emerged as a top performer and scooped five prestigious awards recognising its exemplary performance. According to Midvaal spokesperson Idah Satikhe, the event is held annually to recognise and celebrate municipalities for their exemplary financial management and adherence to the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA). Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The municipality was honoured for ensuring that accountability, as well as swift consequences for transgressions and poor performance, were ensured for the 2023/24 financial year. Its second award was for submitting quality annual financial statements and annual performance report, with no corrections made during the audit in 2023/24. In addition, the municipality paid service providers within 30 days for the 2023/24 financial year, and in its municipal capital grants service delivery for local municipalities, it achieved a 99.2% spending rate. Midvaal also obtained a clean audit, which highlighted areas for improvement in 2023/24. 'These awards are a testament to Midvaal's commitment to good governance, transparency, accountability, and long-term financial sustainability,' Satikhe said. She added that the municipality will continue to shine as a beacon of hope, demonstrating that good governance is possible and exemplifying what a caring, compassionate and agile institution looks like. At the 2022/23 Salga municipal awards, Midvaal also won the best overall municipality in Gauteng for its performance. Midvaal also had zero debt for Eskom and Rand Water, which also awarded it the Blue Drop Award for 2024. The National Department of Water and Sanitation also honoured Midvaal with a Green Drop for Sanitation Wastewater Treatment, while the Chartered Institute of Government Finance Audit, and Risk Officers gave the municipality its Clean Administration Award for 2024. In July last year, Midvaal received the Best Overall Municipality award based on its incredible performance, which is based on its extensive key performance indicator assessment, which is audited quarterly. Midvaal has also achieved 12 consecutive clean audits from Auditor-General South Africa between the 2013 and 2024 financial years.
IOL News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
South Africa's municipal workers gain surrogacy leave rights
The SA Local Government Bargaining Council has amended its leave collective agreement, to pave the way for three months' paid surrogacy leave following an out-of-court settlement. Image: File Municipal workers in surrogacy arrangements are now entitled to three months' paid leave, like biological and adoptive mothers, following an agreement reached at the SA Local Government Bargaining Council (SALGBC). Parties to the SALGBC – the SA Local Government Association, SA Municipal Workers' Union, and the Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union (Imatu) – concluded the agreement providing for parents in surrogacy arrangements. In terms of the agreement, parents in surrogacy arrangements will be entitled to the same leave as biological and adoptive parents. According to the bargaining council, the agreement will be applicable retrospectively from October 2023, when the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, Deputy Judge President Roland Sutherland declared invalid some provisions of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and corresponding provisions of the Unemployment Insurance Fund Act. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ The judge found parts of both acts invalid because of inconsistency with the Constitution to the extent that the provisions unfairly discriminated between mothers and fathers, and between one set of parents and another based on whether their children were born of the mother, were conceived by surrogacy, or were adopted. Judge Sutherland also ruled that any employee who is a commissioning parent in a surrogate motherhood agreement is entitled to leave. Earlier this month, the SALGBC advised municipalities to take all necessary steps to give effect to the amendment and display the circular sent by the bargaining council general secretary, Bill Govender. The agreement on maternity, adoption, and surrogacy leave states that employees adopting a child under three months as well as those who are commissioning parents in surrogacy motherhood arrangements are entitled to three months paid maternity, adoption, or surrogacy leave with no limit to the number of confinements, adoptions, or surrogacy confinements. 'This leave provision shall also apply to an employee whose child is stillborn. Maternity, adoption, or surrogacy leave may commence four weeks before confinement,' reads the agreement. Imatu, which represents over 110,000 employees in the local government sector, described the fully paid surrogacy leave as a groundbreaking victory for women's rights. The union said this breakthrough recognised the evolving nature of parenthood and affirms the principle of equality in the workplace, regardless of the path to motherhood. Imatu initiated two separate urgent Labour Court applications involving its members who were commissioning mothers in surrogacy arrangements.
The Herald
05-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald
Municipalities urged to adopt tech-driven service delivery approaches
A national competition is calling for municipalities to ditch excuses and show what is possible through innovation. Entries have officially opened for the 2025 Municipal Innovation Recognition Awards (Mira) which recognise unconventional solutions and new ways of doing things that offer municipal customers a different experience in the advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution and beyond. The awards, to be held on June 30, are part of the Viability and Validation of Innovations for Service Delivery Programme, spearheaded by the department of science, technology and innovation in collaboration with the SA Local Government Association (Salga) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal. 'Municipalities across the country, many of which are under administration, besieged by community protests or struggling to maintain basic services such as water, electricity and waste management, are encouraged to showcase projects that offer innovative solutions,' said Dr Tshepang Mosiea, chief director for innovation for inclusive development at the department of science, technology and innovation. He said while many municipalities may be in crisis, pockets of excellence must be recognised, supported and replicated. 'Innovation is a necessity for survival and progress in the local government space,' said Mosiea. Associate professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's school of built environment and development studies, Prof Sithembiso Myeni, said the programme offered a platform for municipalities to modernise their service delivery. 'Mira encourages municipalities to embrace innovation and digital solutions, creating a unique opportunity to drive meaningful and accountable change in service delivery. The real test is whether municipalities will fully embrace digital engagement and accountability or allow yet another promising opportunity for transformation to slip through their fingers.
TimesLIVE
05-05-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Municipalities urged to adopt tech-driven service delivery approaches
A national competition is calling for municipalities to ditch excuses and show what is possible through innovation. Entries have officially opened for the 2025 Municipal Innovation Recognition Awards (Mira) which recognise unconventional solutions and new ways of doing things that offer municipal customers a different experience in the advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution and beyond. The awards, to be held on June 30, are part of the Viability and Validation of Innovations for Service Delivery Programme, spearheaded by the department of science, technology and innovation in collaboration with the SA Local Government Association (Salga) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal. 'Municipalities across the country, many of which are under administration, besieged by community protests or struggling to maintain basic services such as water, electricity and waste management, are encouraged to showcase projects that offer innovative solutions,' said Dr Tshepang Mosiea, chief director for innovation for inclusive development at the department of science, technology and innovation. He said while many municipalities may be in crisis, pockets of excellence must be recognised, supported and replicated. 'Innovation is a necessity for survival and progress in the local government space,' said Mosiea. Associate professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal's school of built environment and development studies, Prof Sithembiso Myeni, said the programme offered a platform for municipalities to modernise their service delivery. 'Mira encourages municipalities to embrace innovation and digital solutions, creating a unique opportunity to drive meaningful and accountable change in service delivery. The real test is whether municipalities will fully embrace digital engagement and accountability or allow yet another promising opportunity for transformation to slip through their fingers.
