The role of shared services
in building capacity of local
government
31 July 2012
Background
• Municipalities are required by the provisions of Section 83(3)(c) to
build the capacity of local municipalities within their areas of
jurisdiction and perform their functions where such capacity is
lacking
• Frances Baard District Municipality has four local municipalities i.e.:
Sol Plaatje, Phokwane, Magareng and Dikgatlong. With an exception
of Sol Plaatje, the other three local municipalities have very limited
capacity. Frances Baard District Municipality therefore adopted an
outward looking approach since the inception of local government in
December 2000. This developed progressively as the following
institutional structures were developed.
2
KPA 1:
Basic Services
• The District municipality funds capital projects as well as operational
and maintenance activities in the local municipalities
• The district municipality has dedicated engineering technicians to
assist with infrastructure projects in three local municipalities; whose
functions are:
• Assist municipalities in identifying IDP projects
• Provide technical support to projects under construction
• Support the procurement of service providers
• Assist with relevant sector plans e.g. Transport Plan, Infrastructure
Plan, etc.
• Provide coordination role through various district structures e.g.
District Energy Forum, District Water Sector Forum; District EPWP
Forum, etc.
3
Housing
• The district municipality provides the following services for
sustainable human settlement development:
– Project initiation, planning and design
– Project management and contract administration
– Subsidy administration
– Quality assurance
– Housing backlog identification and quantification
– Capacity development
4
KPA 5:
Good Governance and Public
Participation
• Encourage and create conditions for the local communities and
other stakeholders to participate in the affairs of municipalities
through communication activities (District Communication Forum;
Public Participation Plan)
• The district municipality provides internal audit functions to
Dikgatlong and Magareng municipalities
• The Internal Audit Committee of the district municipality undertakes
Audit Committee functions in Dikgatlong and Magareng
municipalities
5
Benefits of Shared
Services
• Integrated planning for the entire district
• Co-ordination of skills (shortage) – municipalities with shortage of
skills draws from the pool of professionals (Technicians, GIS,
Building Inspectors). The model makes it easy to tap into scarce
skills.
• Promotes the efficient and economic usage of resources for the
district
6
7