POLOKWANE - A number of key local government issues were debated during last week's Consultative Assembly of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) in Polokwane, which was attended by municipal officials from the country's 284 municipalities.

On the first day of the summit, the delegates were confronted by a small group of protesters, carrying posters saying "Go home SALGA" and "SALGA feeds fat cats". The protest was apparently organised by a union dominated by white municipal employees.

In his opening address, SALGA chairperson Smangaliso Mkhatshwa (the mayor of Tshwane), called on everyone involved in local government to join hands, and share expertise, in view of the great challenges local authorities are facing. He expressed disappointment at the irresponsible manner in which local councils had handled the issue of mayors' salaries. This had resulted in public criticism and misrepresentation of the facts.

"The main point of controversy, however, is not so much what officials are being paid, but how they are performing", he said. Mkhatshwa called for the introduction of performance-linked contracts in all municipalities.

During the summit, Limpopo Local Government and Housing MEC Joe Maswanganyi, told a media and business breakfast that many municipalities were under pressure to deliver services beyond their capacity, due to backlogs and financial constraints.

He called for a review of the formula used to allocate funding to provinces and local authorities, pointing out that mining and other major developments were placing unreasonable demands on some local councils in respect of the provision of water and other infrastructural necessities.

In Limpopo, 20 new platinum mines would soon be opening within the boundaries of municipalities with limited capacities. They simply could not cope with such challenges.

Maswanganyi appealed to SALGA to assist with the launching of urgent training initiatives, with a view to building management capacity in smaller municipalities. In Limpopo, only 7 municipalities actually had borrowing powers. This gave a clear indication that most councils had to increase their credit worthiness, in order to remain viable.