The Department of Operations
Headed By : Mbali Myeni
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Overview
The Operations Department serves as a support system to the Municipal Manager’s Office. It is broken down into the following components in order to fulfill its obligations to its internal structures and communities:
- Communication;
- Information Communication Technology;
- Community Development;
- Youth Development;
- Committee Work;
- Gender
Communication Services
Chapter 4 section 21 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act No 32 of 2000 calls for the municipality to communicate with the local community using various communications mechanisms.
The municipality has an approved communication strategy that seeks to promote the following for the purpose of ensuring communication with the community:
- The regular update of intranet portal and internet;
- Implementation and monitoring of a corporate identity manual;
- Outdoor billboard and signage;
- Production of a Municipal Newsletter;
- Production of an Annual Report;
- Production of pamphlets; and
- Promotional materials.
Information Communication Technology
· Ensure issuing of staff with PCs;
· Ensure basic training of staff on the utilization of computers;
· Ensure Intranet Portal and Website administration;
· Ensure installation of antivirus software; and
· Ensure maintenance of hardware.
Community Development
· Ensure community participation for IDP and Budget meetings;
· Organize workshops and meetings for communities regarding services rendered by the municipality;
· Give administrative support to ward committees; and
· Co-ordinate the activities of the uMngeni Municipality Mayoral Stakeholders Forum.
Ward Committee System
In the year under review ward committee members have participated in the Tabling of multi –year budget which took place during the month of May 2009.
The ward committee members have held 3 meetings in their respective wards and have submitted the reports to the Council.
Public Participation
The Tabling of multi-year budget 2009/2010 where the Mayoral Izimbizo were held in all the ward took place from the 9th of May 2009 to the 19th of May 2009. The mechanism that was used in the mobilization of the community include Notices, Loud haling and through the word of mouth by the ward committee members. The turnout was good such that approximately 1500.
uMngeni Municipality Multi-stakeholder Forum
The core business of the stakeholder’s forum is to co-ordinate and streamline government programmes and events for the development of communities.
In this financial year the Mayoral Stakeholders has had 12 meetings.
In December 2007, the Forum conducted a survey in the impoverished communities of ward 3, 5 and 9. The main aim was to determine the level of services delivered to communities by the three spheres of government in an effort to uplift communities.
In January 2008, the same communities were visited to bring these services closer to the community as per the outcome of the survey. These services range from Birth and ID registrations, access to Social Grants etc.
An Outreach Programme was organized with an aim of distributing information on services that are rendered by different government departments that are part of the Mayoral Stakeholders Forum.
In addition, the Department of Home Affairs embarked on an ID document campaign which covered 6 areas in the jurisdiction of uMngeni Municipality.
In December 2008 and February 2009, there was a distribution of ID documents.
In 2008 an Empowerment for Food Security Programme was introduced to the Mayoral Stakeholders Forum with an aim of improving the livelihoods of poor households by creating sustainable access to nutritious food for all households. The programme also seeks to reduce poverty amongst the poor.
April 2009 the uMngeni Mayoral Stakeholders Forum embarked on the distribution of food starter pack 2 to all the wards of uMngeni Municipality.
uMngeni Municipality Local Youth Committee
In an effort of developing youth of uMngeni Municipality, a Youth Unit was established to advance issues of youth development. The municipality has adopted a Municipal Youth Development Programme which is currently in its implementation phase.
An uMngeni Local Youth Committee was established in May 2008 to monitor and evaluate implementation of the Youth Programme. This is to ensure that youth programmes are mainstreamed in all municipal programmes and projects. Communities were mobilized in the establishment of the Local Ward Forums in all eleven wards of the municipality.
uMngeni Municipality Local Advisory Councils for Children
In order to ensure that the affairs of Children are looked after, the municipality took an initiative of establishing Local Advisory Councils for Children in June 2008, to deliberate the needs of children and provide advice and guidance to policy makers in the Office of the Presidency and the Office of the Premier in the Province as the primary drivers of the programme. Communities were also engages in the establishment of the structure.
Youth Advisory Centre Programme
uMngeni Municipality has a fully fledged Youth Advisory Centre (YAC) funded by uMsobomvu Youth Fund (UYF) and it is housed within the existing infrastructure of the municipality. The approval for the YAC point was granted by UYF in May 2008 and the centre started to be fully operational in July 2008. The mandate of the UYF is to facilitate opportunities for young people to acquire skills, to access job opportunities and or pursue meaningful self-employment opportunities through various initiatives.
The YAC point offers a walk in centre where trained personnel provide information, counseling support, training and referral services to young people. It also provides outreach services to communities that are unable to access the centers. It has a staffing of three personnel, the Career Guidance Advisor, the Outreach Officer and a Volunteer. The outreach programme is affected through the mobile YAC model with added capability advantage of movements between various locations.
uMngeni Municipality therefore boast for positive contribution of the YAC towards the betterment of the lives of its young women and men as it is exhibited by a number of cases of good practice such as job opportunities, voucher awards, life skills, basic computer skills and many other exit opportunities. Following is a breakdown of services offered during the year under review:
Job Op. voucher awards life skills computer skills exit op.
Council Support
Provide support for council meetings as follows:
There are three Committee Officers who are doing sterling work in the execution of their duties. Their responsibilities includes amongst others:
· Preparation and distribution of the agenda;
· Minute taking during meetings; and
· Rendering translation services during meetings.
Ensure records management for the following:
· Attendance register;
· Notifications’
· Resolutions; and
· Correspondence and minutes.
The following are the meetings that were attended by the Committee Officers during the 2008/2009 year where a translation service was also rendered:
- Technical Cluster 10
- Social & Economic Dev Cluster 9
- Management Cluster 9
- Executive Committee 9
- Council 10
- Audit Committee 3
- Employment Equity 1
- Local Labour Forum 2
- Extra-Ordinary Council meetings 3
- Oversight Committee 1
- Special Executive Committee 1
- Council-in-Committee 1
Gender Equity Programme
The uMngeni Local Municipality has formulated a Gender Equity Programme. It is envisaged that the policy framework will promote the municipality where women and men have equitable access to opportunities and resources to address and meet socio-economic needs, and improve the quality life of the community.
The principles guiding gender policy are derived from national, regional and international instruments including the Women’s Charter for effective Equality (1994), Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP, (1994), Batho Pele: White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery, and South Africa’s National Policy Framework for Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality (2002). Enshrined in the South African constitution is the principle of equality. Everyone is equal before the law and may not be discriminated against on the basis of gender, sex, age, disabilities or marital status. It espouses substantive equality for women and men in social, political and economic life.
Mainstreaming has been used extensively in addressing issues of diversity. It refers to the systematic incorporation of considerations into policy, programmes and practices so before decisions are taken an analysis is made of circumstances and effects on women and men.
In uMngeni Municipality a Gender Forum is yet to be established where all wards are represented. This will assist the uMngeni Municipality to increase the participation of marginalised or target groups in all developmental processes.
uMngeni Municipality has programmes and plans in place to achieve gender equity at the workplace. One such important instrument to achieve this is the Employment Equity Plan that looks at the advancement of the historically disadvantaged groups as well as the workplace Skills Plan that looks after the training programmes for each of the race and gender groups.
