Amendments to certain provisions of the Act strengthens The National School of Government (thensg) as a recognised national training college, fuelling its mandate and addressing the skills mismatch in government.
Mubesko’s MD Nico de Kock welcomes this development but points out that apart from the nsg, South Africa has invested extensively in training and capacity building through organisations such as SALGA (South African Local Government Association) and CIGARO (Chartered Institute of Government Finance Audit and Risk Officers) among others. They all do excellent work.
“While there is a view that municipalities are overregulated, relevant Acts and regulations directly inform what a municipality can or cannot do. The excuse for poor performance can only be that the regulations are misinterpreted or ignored. The question is, as asked by Noel Hlungwane of UNISA, whether capacity and lack of skills are overused excuses to evade accountability?”
If public servants fully embrace skills development, the game breaker remains ethical leadership and effective governance.
“Ethical leadership is critical as it drives long-term organisational success, builds trust and promotes a positive culture, resulting in higher retention of good employees, and attracting fresh, qualified talent. It also breaks the endemic cycle of corruption and extortion. Governance is about embedded rules, practices, processes, and accountability. Ethical leadership and sound governance are entwined”.
Mubesko Africa is a well-established consulting practice to the public and private sectors offering financial accounting support and management solutions, asset accounting and modelling, and forensic investigation services.