Deputy Speaker, one of the main reasons for dysfunctional municipalities is cadre deployment. It results in unqualified persons being appointed to run municipalities.
This Bill seeks to address this to a degree by stipulating that any appointment to management positions will be null and void if the persons appointed to such positions do not have the prescribed skills, expertise, competencies or qualifications. Additionally such managers are prohibited from holding political office in any political party. Now this, clearly, the ACDP supports.
The question is whether the ANC has the political will to enforce these provisions and to stop cadre deployment. Any municipal officer or staff member who is dismissed for financial misconduct may also not be re- employed for a period of 10 years.
Whilst the ACDP believes that such a staff member should not be re-employed at all, one should bear in mind that this 10-year period will be in addition to any sentence of imprisonment or order to repay stolen funds imposed by a criminal court following a conviction for corruption or fraud.
Proper record-keeping by the Minister should also ensure that such dismissed municipal employees are not re-employed by other municipalities. Corrupt municipal staff members also are apt to resign before the completion of disciplinary action against them and are then redeployed to other municipalities.
We hope provisions in this Bill will stop this practice. Moonlighting by municipal staff, which has resulted in tender corruption and staff members not giving full attention to their work, is also prohibited.
Mr Shiceka has been very courageous in tackling the problems at the local government level head-on and for that we commend him. We trust that this Bill and other interventions will go some way to improve service delivery at the local government level. This will, of course, depend on the political will to enforce these provisions.
Lastly, the ACDP would like to wish the Minister a speedy recovery following his illness. The ACDP will support this Bill. I thank you.