1 The Draft Professionalisation Framework within the context of capacity building for local government.

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The Draft Professionalisation Framework within the context of capacity building

for local government

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Purpose and content of the Presentation

1. Relationship between NCBF and documents covered in this presentation

2. Draft revised NCBF for LG: 2012 to 2016

3. Draft NCB Strategy for LG: 2012 to 2016

4. Draft Concept Paper on Support to LG

5. Draft Professionalisation Framework for LG

6. Conclusion

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1. Relationship between NCBF and documents covered in this presentation

It is a stated intention in the Constitution that the country should be run on a system of co-operative governance; Chapter 3 of the Constitution in Section 41 provides that: ‘All spheres of government and all organs of state within each sphere’ must, amongst other things, ‘secure the well-being of the people of the Republic; provide effective, transparent, accountable and coherent government for the Republic as a whole and co-operate with one another in mutual trust and good faith by fostering friendly relations and … assisting and supporting one another’.

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1. Relationship between NCBF and documents covered in this presentation continue

In general, a municipality’s existing individual, institutional and / or environmental capacity can be strong or needs to be improved relative to the following; i.e. whether the municipality -

a. is delivering its services inadequately, adequately or exceeding expectations. E.g. Are the services they provide in line with relevant legislation and / or sector norms and standards but specific to the powers and functions as contained in the Constitution and agreed to with its community?;

b. is performing at a specific level, i.e. underachieving, achieving or overachieving, on the objectives as set out in its Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and annexed Plans [such as the Institutional Plan] and Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plan (SDBIP);

c. is functional as per benchmarks in terms of individual, institutional and environmental capacity;

d. compares to other municipalities within its category as a whole, per functional unit and / or per occupational grouping as per the benchmarks in terms of individual, institutional and environmental capacity; and

e. is complying with legislation and reporting requirements? E.g. National Treasury Requirements to report in terms of section 71 of the MFMA.

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The level of capacity to execute each stage should be determined and inform capacity building plans / programmes.

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The NCBF is the overarching framework but there are matters contained in it that needed more comprehensive attention and thus the development of the other framework, strategy and concept paper, as indicated below:

Revised NCBF for LG: 2012 to 2016

NCB Strategy for LG: 2012 to 2016

Concept Paper on Support to LG

Professionalisation Framework for LG

Matter identified to be addressed: Benchmarks versus Maturity Model

Matter identified to be addressed: Institutional and Environmental Capacity Assessment Tools

Matter identified to be addressed : Financing of integrated plans and are they addressing priority capacity gaps?

Matter identified to be addressed: Legislative and policy compliance

Other matters will be addressed as identified

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Draft revised NCBF for LG: 2012 to 2016

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2. Draft revised NCBF: 2012 to 2016

The purpose of the framework is to provide an approach that will enable sustainable municipal capacity; to improve the coordination and monitoring of the provision and resourcing of support, capacity building and training to municipalities; to determine where municipal capacity is at and introduce relevant initiatives that achieve the pre-determined impact.

General Contents:a. Roles and responsibilities of stakeholders involved in Local

Government Support, Capacity Building and Training

b. The Coordination of Support, Capacity Building and Training

c. Benchmarks to provide a measure for support, capacity building and training

d. Approaches / assessments that can inform our understanding of capacity challenges

e. A National Capacity Building Strategy for Local Government and Capacity Building Plans as vehicle to implement the NCBF

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2. Draft revised NCBF: 2012 to 2016 continued

General Contents, continued:

f. Quarterly Monitoring of Initiatives against pre-determined Impact (Outcome) Measures, Evaluation and Reporting

g. Financing Mechanisms and Institutions that Support Local Government Capacity Building

h. Joint Accountability for enabling functional, performing municipalities that adequately deliver the required services

In Summary:

2.1 This NCBF is a revision of the revised NCBF: 2008 to 2011, to align to the Outcomes Approach adopted for Government, reflect on lessons learnt and address concerns of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Appropriations

2.2 Improved coordination through the National Municipal Capacity Coordination and Monitoring Committee (NMCCMC) established by the Deputy Ministers CoGTA and NT and to be taken down to provincial and municipal levels

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In Summary, continued:

2.3 To support coordination, an Integrated Capacity Building Management of Information System (ICBMIS); available to all stakeholders, to inform on annual integrated national capacity building plans linked to provincial plans and municipal Integrated Development Plans’ Institutional Plans and tracking of progress, is under development

2.4 The introduction of pre-determined impact [before choosing an initiative to enable informed impact assessments] and benchmarks linked to ‘mature’ municipalities

2.5 Promoting a standard approach to developing LG plans (see slide 12-13)

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Active in the Local Government Sector is Sphere-wide (concurrent) and specialised (exclusive) authority, i.e. types of regulatory responsibility:

Sphere-wide (concurrent) authority: Three departments are responsible for regulating provincial and local governments as spheres, as opposed to specific functions performed by these spheres. These are DCoG (local and provincial government and Intergovernmental Relations [IGR]), National Treasury (Inter Government Financial Relations) and Department of Public Service and Administration (Public Administration)

Specialised (exclusive) authority over a particular policy sector refer to the many departments responsible for regulating specific functions or sectors of provincial and local concurrent responsibility, such as education, health, social development (of provinces) and electricity, water, and sanitation (of local government)

Thus, in terms of capacity building every department has a specific mandate captured in the Acts that regulate them

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The overall approach of the NMCCMC in ensuring that integrated Plans are developed and address actual challenges is as follows:

a. Identify municipalities that will be differentiated for support, capacity building and training.

b. To develop a next level of segmentation, identify municipalities with functionality, performance and service delivery challenges and where they do not request support, capacity building and training, offer it.

c. Predetermine impact (outcomes) to be achieved, plan, coordinate and deliver differentiated support, capacity building and / or training initiatives and capture it in an Integrated Capacity Building Plan (in the case of the municipality an integrated Institutional Plan linked to the IDP), to address gaps / needs / challenges identified at the individual, institutional and environmental levels, annually.

d. Evaluate the impact of the support, capacity building and / or training initiatives quarterly and inform NMCCMC consultations and propose redress where no progress is being achieved.

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The overall approach, continued:

e. Improve municipal functionality, performance and service delivery through relevant support, capacity building and / or training initiatives.

f. Follow an Exit Strategy, e.g. put Sustainability controls in place.

g. Share information / good practice.

h. Each stakeholder is to compile an Impact Assessment Report annually on those initiatives that are ready to undergo impact assessments (impact, i.e. outcomes takes a period of time to achieve and the measures must be predetermined), addressing such aspects as the correlations between investment and impact, also indicating when other initiatives’ impact will be ready to assess and making recommendations.

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A systemic and holistic approach to capacity building

Potential Qualifications

ExperienceCompetences

(Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes)

ProfessionalValues

Networks Behaviour

Institutional Capacity

Individual Capacity

Infra-structure

Regulations

Financial Resources

Structure

Processes

Organisational Culture

Human Resources

Enabling Environment

Political

Economic factors

Legislative

Socio-economic

Geographic

Networks

Demographic composition

Systems

Equipment

Management practices

Capacity of community

Spatial position

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Draft revised NCB Strategy for LG: 2012 to 2016

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3. Draft NCB Strategy: 2012 to 2016

The purpose of the Strategy is to address the National Development Plan’s proposal to develop a longer term approach to capacity building and address capacity gaps identified by the skills audit and LGTAS and national strategies’ priorities

Contents:

a. Background

b. Definitions

c. Legislative Context

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3. Draft NCB Strategy: 2012 to 2016

Contents, continued:

d. Related Capacity Building Strategies / Plans / Programmes

• The National Planning Commission’s National Development Plan, 2011

• Human Resource Development (HRD) Strategy for South Africa (SA): 2010 to 2030

• The National Capacity Building Framework (NCBF) for Local Government: 2012 to 2016

• National Skills Accord of the Department of Economic Development, 2011

• National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS) III: 2011 to 2016 from the Department of Higher Education and Training

• List of specialised Strategies / Plans / Programmes

e. National Capacity Building Strategy for Local Government

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3. Draft NCB Strategy: 2012 to 2016 continued

Contents continued:

Annexure A: Information required for Checklist

Annexure B: Purpose with some targeted strategies and Comparative Table of some Strategies’ Pillars

Annexure C: Comparative Table of some Strategies’ Indicators

Annexure D: LGSETA Municipality Segmentation: Rough estimate numbers and Local Government facts and figures comparative to WSP compliance rates

The actual Strategy: Item 6.2 page 12 (includes indicators that the sector will systematically address)

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Pillars Projects

1.Improve coordination and impact made with initiatives aimed at local government, i.e.:

• Sector Wide Authority (DCoG, NT and DPSA)

• Specialised Authority (All other sector departments that use LG as implementation space)

1.1 National Municipal Capacity Coordination and Monitoring Committee (NMCCMC) (and provincial and municipal equals), including its Working Groups.

1.2 Integrated Capacity Building Management of Information System, including improving data collection to inform policy; an integrated annual national, provincial and municipal Capacity Building Plan aimed at local government and impact determined and assessed

2.Promoting integrated and strategic approach to HR management and development

2.1 Municipal HR operates strategically and seamlessly with HRD

2.2 National and provincial individual, institutional and environmental capacity improved

3. Draft NCB Strategy: 2012 to 2016 continued: Pillars and projects

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Pillars Projects

3.Improve municipal and provincial CoGTA municipal support and capacity building units’ individual capacity

3.1 Improve and sustain municipal individual capacity workplace systems (e.g. GAPSKILL; Training Committees, Knowledge Management, etc.)

3.2 Generic and targeted national individual capacity building priorities provided to municipalities, including broadening the scope of skills development to capacity building; addressing staffing norms and standards for capacity building and ensuring the availability of data capturers and the development of data analysis skills at national, provincial and municipal levels


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Pillars Projects

4.Improve municipal and provincial CoGTA municipal support and capacity building units’ institutional and environmental capacity

4.1 Institutional and environmental systems identified, improved and sustained, including Competence Profiles and Dictionary, TASK to Organising Framework for Occupations (OFO) Matrix, Policies and Systems.

4.2 Generic and targeted national institutional and environmental priority capacity building provided to municipalities.

5.Connection between communal feedback and municipal capacity required

5.1 Service Delivery Improvement Programme, including Municipal Complaints Management Systems adapted to cater for feedback on individual and institutional capacity

5.2. Marketing Local government as Career of Choice and improved communal understanding of local government services


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Individual:

Councillors and officials, according to TASK to OFO occupations – skills audit findings

Institution:

StatsSA Municipal Functional Units

Environment:

Municipal Profiles

Programmes focussing on:

Leadership Programmes Policies / Guidelines Legislative / Regulatory Frameworks

Management Programmes Standard Operating Procedures Community Works Programme

Induction Programmes Professionalisation

Integrated Development Planning practitioner and support staff programmes

Systems and Management practices

Human Resource Management and Development practitioner and support staff programmes

Deployees / Hands-on Support

Administrative Support programmes

Knowledge Management

Legal Support programmes Specialised Strategies such as: LGTAS

End-user computing MISA

Differentiation

3. Draft NCB Strategy: 2012 to 2016 continued: DCoG’s focus

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Draft Concept Paper on Support to LG

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4. Draft Concept Paper on Support to LG

The aim with this Concept Paper is to better understand support as intended in section 154(1) of the Constitution: “the national government and provincial governments, by legislative and other measures, must support and strengthen the capacity of municipalities to manage their own affairs, to exercise their powers and to perform their functions.”; and propose how to facilitate and coordinate it across local government.

In view of a process to develop a bill on section 139 of the Constitution, this concept paper will not deal with support processes related to section 139, e.g. imposing of a recovery plan, etc

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4. Draft Concept Paper on Support to LG, continued

Contents:

a. Introduction and Background

b. Legislative understanding, defining of support and related concepts

c. Status Quo with regard to Support to Local Government

d. Systematic Approach to Capacity Building: Individual, Institutional and Environmental

e. Conclusion

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Contents continued: Attachment: Checklist to coordinate strategy / plans / programmes aimed at addressing Local Government challenges (with the support of the Integrated Capacity Building Management of Information System)

a. Challenges / gaps / needs (through assessments) identified

b. Is there a strategy / plan / programme / project in place to address the gaps / challenges / needs identified?

c. Who is responsible for the strategy / plan / programme / project?

d. Any duplication across the various strategies / plans / programmes / projects?

e. Are we confident about the response that the strategies / plans / programmes / projects provide to the challenges / gaps / needs (through assessments) identified? If not what do we propose?

f. What are the Strategic Focus Areas for Local Government / What do we want to achieve through Local Government?

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The approach to be adopted should be to improve on lessons learnt from Project Consolidate (deployment); the five-year Local Government Strategic Agenda (coordination and monitoring); and Siyenza Manye (deployment and hands-on support)

A general lesson learnt is that support is provided to a municipality, however, as soon as the support is withdrawn the situation goes back to its status prior the support and in some cases there is even deterioration. To address this trend, sustainable controls need to be put in place, e.g. an exit strategy, a sustainability committee consisting of municipal and provincial officials, etc

The basis for any approach is legislation

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Support is defined as a form of capacity building, e.g. to enable staff and municipalities to be functional, capable of performing their jobs or their functions or services optimally and sustainably. Support could entail -

– consultancy;– mediation;– mobilisation;– coordination;– hands-on support with the necessary skills

transfer; – ‘teaching’; and– implementation support; and legislative

prescripts, regulations, frameworks and guidelines

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If support is viewed systemically and the holistic and systemic approach to capacity building to achieve a responsive, efficient, effective and accountable local government system is adopted, it becomes necessary to deal with support within each of the three identified sub-systems. For each of the identified sub-systems (individual, institutional and environmental), there are three aspects that need to be dealt with:

• What is being supported?• Who is providing support?• How to provide, facilitate and coordinate support?

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E.g. Sub-System What Who How

Environment Political (legislatures)

The core of National Departments that have a direct impact on municipalities:

i. National Treasury.

ii. Department of Economic Development.

iii. Department of Energy.

iv. Department of Environmental Affairs.

v. Department of Higher Education.

vi. Department of Human Settlements.

vii. Department of Public Service and Administration.

viii. Department of Rural Development and Land Reform.

ix. Department of Water Affairs.

i. The overall approach of the NMCCMC in ensuring that integrated Plans are developed

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Requisites for the success of Support are:

a. Strategic Plans at each level of Government that links to the Development Management Cycle must incorporate integrated support and capacity building challenges and plans to deal with them:

i. DCoG’s Annual Performance Plan.

ii. Provinces’ Growth and Development Plans.

iii. Municipalities Integrated Development Plans’ Institutional Plans.

b. The Intergovernmental Framework Relations Act’s Implementation Protocols should be used to facilitate support. It is also proposed that mandates, roles and responsibilities, time frames and multi-year financial allocations be clearly specified.


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Requisites for the success of Support are, continued:

c. Some kind of ‘early warning system’ should be in place to inform support requirements in time. This will be obviated where the Performance Management and Monitoring and Evaluation in the DCoG becomes operational and links to provincial processes.

d. Monitoring of progress against Project Implementation Plans. Electronic medium and / the day before or following the quarterly NMCCMC meetings can be used to address project activities, e.g. the development of guidelines.

e. The DCoG should fulfil its oversight role by ensuring that said support form part of the Institutional Plans of municipalities’ five-year and reviewed Integrated Development Plans, to ensure an integrated approach to support, capacity building and training and key matters to be cascaded to provincial and national governments’ plans.


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Draft Professionalisation Framework for LG

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5. Draft Professionalisation Framework for LG

The purpose of the framework is to to assist Local Government in meeting its developmental mandate.

It operates in a complex and challenging task environment. This involves, amongst other things, the efficient handling of substantial budgets, meeting a range of complex legislative requirements, interacting effectively with other spheres of government, addressing the demanding and sometimes conflicting expectations of the communities, and engaging in highly technical forms of decision-making, planning and implementation.

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5. Draft Professionalisation Framework for LG continued

Contents:

a. Introduction, Strategic Focus and Background

b. Legislative and Strategic Policy Frameworks

c. Concepts related to Professionalisation

d. Guiding Principles for Professionalisation

e. Components associated with Professionalisation

f. Roles and responsibilities in terms of the Professionalisation Framework

g. Professionalisation Implementation Plan

h. Conclusion

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Background:

Following a number of amendments and corrections made by DCoG, a Draft Concept Paper was distributed for comment, discussion and suggestions to a wide range of stakeholders with a direct involvement or interest in the area of local government. Written comments were received from the DPSA, LGSETA, SALGA, as well as from a number of individuals. These have been incorporated into s revised version of the Concept Paper, together with the comments and corrections from DCoG itself.

The development of this professionalisation framework has been informed by the lessons learnt from international experience and the issues and challenges identified by the Concept Paper. Some of the issues identified as barriers contributing to the perceived lack of professionalism are as follows:• Appointment of staff without adequate qualifications, expertise and experience.• Appropriate political interventions in the work of officials.• Lack of responsiveness to community needs.• Low staff morale and poor service ethic.• Inadequate implementation of performance management systems.• Financial irregularity.• Non compliance.• Malpractice and corruption.• Adverse findings by the Auditor-General.

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It should be acknowledged that in South Africa there are already existing professional bodies operating in the local government sector that are regulated through the following legislation:• Health Professions Act 56 of 1974.• Professional and Technical Surveyors Act 40 of 1984.• National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act, 1996.• Property Valuers Profession Act 47 of 2000.• Engineering Profession Act 46 of 2000. • Planning Professions Act of 2002.• Auditing Profession Act 26 of 2005.

This professionalisation framework targets the elected officials and appointed officials at the various occupational levels and in the various sectoral disciplines in local government.

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Defining a ‘Profession’: Whilst there is no definitive definition of what constitutes a ‘profession’ as distinct from an occupation or trade, there is general agreement in the comparative sociological literature (following from the work of Carr-Saunders and Wilson,1933, in particular) that traditionally a profession has been viewed as a vocation or full-time career that exhibits most or all of the following characteristics -

• a common body of specialised knowledge and expertise, based on the application of systematic theoretical principles, and acquired by members of the profession through prolonged education and training at the highest levels, as well as on-going professional development;

• a system for certifying that individuals possess such knowledge and expertise before being licensed or otherwise allowed to practice;

• a closed community with a strong sense of collegial responsibility and corporate solidarity (esprit de corps), characterised by shared norms and values;

• adherence to high ethical standards and codes of behaviour, together with provisions for the monitoring and enforcement of compliance by individual members;

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Defining a ‘Profession’ continued

• a commitment to a social ideal that prioritises service to the welfare, health and safety of citizens, communities and society as whole over the personal interests of practitioners;

• a high level of societal status, esteem and legitimacy, arising from the higher social function of the work of the profession;

• the existence of a professional body or organisation able to certify and ensure the competence of practitioners and encourage and enforce ethical standards of behaviour; and

• a broad measure of discretionary autonomy allowed to members of the profession over the management of their affairs, the development of new knowledge and the setting of standards of performance and behaviour.

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Defining ‘Professionalisation’: At the general level, an obvious definition of professionalisation would be the process by which a particular occupation transforms itself into a fully fledged profession, exhibiting the kinds of characteristics outlined above.

Defining ‘Professionalism’: ‘Professionalism’ would refer to the competence, work practices, ethos, behaviour and attitudes typically displayed by members of such a profession. There is not one profession but many (nurses, engineers, planners, land surveyors, librarians, accountants, HR practitioners, and many more). Whilst it is expected that they all have a shared commitment to use their expertise in ways that are conducive to enhancing public welfare rather than private gain, they come from different backgrounds, with distinct educational paths, traditions and values of their own. The following four types of professionalism have been identified:• Technical professionalism.• Managerial professionalism.• Administrative professionalism.• Public service professionalism.

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Defining ‘Professional Ethics’: Ethics in local government, as in other parts of the public sector, are particularly important. This is because public office involves a public trust, which can only be maintained if public officials acknowledge the primacy of the public interest and are able through their actions to promote public confidence in the integrity of municipal services. In promoting improved standards of professional behaviour and conduct in local government, a particular emphasis must be placed on the observance by both elected and appointed officials of professional ethical principles and values.

Such principles are of a higher moral standard than other norms and standards because they deal with normative issues of what is commonly accepted as ‘right’ or ‘wrong,’ rather than what is merely desirable. As such the principles following will be mandatory for all local government officials:• Selflessness • Stewardship• Integrity

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Defining ‘Professional Ethics’ continued

• Impartiality and Fairness• Objectivity• Honesty• Confidentiality• Accountability and Openness• Political Neutrality• Respect for Others• Constitutional and Legal Duty• Leadership

(Source: UK Nolan Committee’s Seven Principles of Public Life, and the UN’s International Code of Conduct for Public Officials (United Nations, 2000)

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Guiding Principles for Professionalisation

• To strengthen the local government system.• To promote a high level of professional competence (knowledge

and skills), experience, behaviour and ethics on the part of local government officials, both appointed and elected, especially those at the senior executive level (professionalism).

• To promote professional ethics and professionalisation.• To promote a development-orientated approach to local

government.• To ensure uniformity, standardisation and harmony in the approach

to professionalisation, professionalism and professional ethics.

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Guiding Principles for Professionalisation continued

• To align to existing constitutional, legislative and regulatory mandates and requirements, and in particular to the broader initiatives and provisions for local government capacity building contained in the Revised National Capacity Building Framework for Local Government (NCBF), 2012-16.

• To promote equity.• To contribute to improved individual and institutional performance

and contribute to an enabling environment.

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Components associated with Professionalisation• Generic aspects to professionalism to be dealt with from a national perspective are:

a. Local Government Service Orientation: This relates to the conformance by all elected and appointed officials to high standards of professional ethics, conduct and behaviour appropriate to serving the public; as defined above. This will be achieved through programmes linked to Batho Pele and the Codes of Conduct in the Municipal Systems Act.

b. Managerial and leadership professionalism: This will entail competence (knowledge and skills) and a high level of analytical ability in a wide array of areas or disciplines such as governance, strategic capability, leadership, policy analysis and development, programme and project management, human resource and financial management, change and risk management, knowledge management, service delivery innovation, interpersonal relations, mediation, conflict management, diversity management and the display of exemplary ethical conduct. A pipeline of managers at all levels and leaders to ensure professionalism will be developed through national development programmes.

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• Types of professionalism to be adopted for Local Government are:

a. Technical Professionalism: This refers to the acquisition / application of specialised / technical high level competence (knowledge and skills) in terms of the norms and standards required for a relevant occupation / profession at various levels within local government as context. This will be facilitated through various recognised statutory and non statutory professional bodies (involving Ministerial criteria to be adhered to, other than statutory requirements in the case of statutory bodies) in consultation with relevant mandated sector departments. The recognised professional body will certify the level of competence (knowledge and skills) that will also ensure continuous professional development to enable career development and progression as well as provide annual reports on such to the Minister for CoGTA.

b. Administrative Professionalism: To promote administrative practices that ensures an effective, efficient, accountable and responsive local government system to optimise service delivery. This will be facilitated through various recognised statutory and non statutory professional bodies (involving Ministerial criteria to be adhered to, other than statutory requirements in the case of statutory bodies) in consultation with relevant mandated sector departments. The recognised professional body will certify the level of competence (knowledge and skills) that will also ensure continuous professional development to enable career development and progression as well as provide annual reports on such to the Minister for CoGTA.

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A Professionalisation Matrix: The matrix deals with the following:

• Core aspects required to build professionalism.• What is needed to address Individual Capacity?• What is needed to address Institutional Capacity?• What is needed to address Environmental Capacity?• What is already being addressed?

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Roles and Responsibilities

National: • Address the strengthening of a local government ethos and

managerial and leadership development through appropriate programmes

• Identify professional bodies that are operating within municipal occupational categories and disciplines with a view to linking them more effectively to the development and registration of appropriate qualifications (under the HEQC and QCTO frameworks) and training and professional development programmes

• The ongoing professional development of elected and appointed officials in the local government sector

• Promote the professionalisation, professionalism and professional ethics of the local government sector

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Roles and Responsibilities continued

National continued: • Standardise and synergise the capacity building policies and

systems that are aimed at promoting the professionalisation in local government

• Include professionalisation initiatives in the annual Capacity Building Plans that are to be integrated at a national level and provide quarterly progress reports on such plans

• Monitor, evaluate and guide the implementation of the professionalisation framework

Provincial• Coordinate the implementation modalities / mechanisms affecting

local government• The other responsibilities are the same as listed under national

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Municipalities will need to:

• Implement the professionalisation framework.• Identify and prioritise those occupational categories that need to be

professionalised (and subsequently cascading this to other categories);

• Provide information on professionalisation initiatives as part of their support, capacity building and training initiatives that they are / will be exposed to annually in their Integrated Municipal Institutional Plan linked to their Integrated Development Plans to provinces.

• Where possible provide financial assistance towards membership fees (under criteria to be developed) to enable and encourage employees to join appropriate professional bodies in accordance with capacity building policy provisions.

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Professional bodies and associations can be either statutory or non-statutory and will be expected to -

• align their Codes of Conduct to those contained in the Municipal Systems Act and ensure that their members adhere to its provisions;

• promote and ensure professional development to ensure continuous professional development and life-long learning;

• conduct ongoing research and disseminate good practice amongst members;

• develop a collective and collegial ethos;• set and enforce ethical work practices and behaviour;• set relevant competence criteria for admission into the profession and

accreditation of educational programmes;• oversee the certification and licensing of professionals, and assisting

national and state level authorities in the setting of legally enforceable occupational standards;

• ensure that the supply and demand of technical and professional competence in key sectors are met;

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Professional bodies and associations can be either statutory or non-statutory and will be expected to –

• develop a clear set of norms and standards for the relevant occupational category in the local government sector;

• establish minimum competence levels based on national competence frameworks and job profiles; and

• develop RPL procedures, through which professional bodies can assist employees in obtaining accredited qualifications after the RPL process is completed.

This professionalisation framework adheres to the new policy and criteria developed by SAQA (under the National Qualifications Framework Act of 2008) for recognising a professional body and registering a professional designation on the NQF as it provides a positive opportunity for professional bodies to further develop and expand their work.

The Minister for CoGTA will determine specific criteria, such as annual Business Plans and reporting requirements for those professional bodies who want to practice in the local government space.

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The Implementation Plan is divided into three templates to address the following in terms of individual, institutional and environmental capacity areas that need to be addressed (the professionalisation matrix):

• What is already being addressed?• Gaps that need to be addressed?• A committee will set up of all key stakeholders to

determine the way forward as well as who will lead, timelines who will address what

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6. Conclusion

The NCBF and related work aims to improve the local government system through a holistic and systemic approach to capacity building

1 The Draft Professionalisation Framework within the context of capacity building for local government.

Documents

ncbf slide

level of capacity

context of capacity

draft revised ncbf

environmental capacity

sustainable municipal

priority capacity gaps

identified slide