“Municipalities need to move towards a smarter model”

“South African municipalities struggle with glaring disparities with metropolitans, secondary cities and towns often times being more efficient and effective in the delivery of services and some of the more rural local municipalities are teetering on the verge of collapse,” says Nomvuyo Tena, event manager of the upcoming Municipal Leaders Forum, taking place online from 18-19 November.

The inaugural discussions on the future of municipalities in South Africa will gather municipal representatives and local government experts and consultants and are part of this year’s offering by African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa, who for many years have been organising the well-attended, continent-wide Utility CEO Forums. Notes Tena: “The structural problem in terms of municipalities in the country is a long standing and complicated challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic has further shone a spotlight on these disparities and also highlights the very real need that, for municipalities to remain relevant and effective, they need to start moving towards a smarter model.”

Municipal resilience and the bottom line
On 18-19 November, the Municipal Leaders Forum will run two live webinars focusing on two critical themes:

• Municipality resilience: What does the municipality of the future look like in a changing regulatory environment?
• The bottom line: Mitigating the financial conundrum in municipality balance sheets

The Municipality Resilience webinar will focus on the changing regulatory environment in South Africa, including the recently gazetted amendments to the electricity regulations for new electricity generation capacity, which opens the way for “municipalities in good financial standing to develop their own power generation projects”.

Tena explains: “This means that municipalities now need to start rethink what the municipality of tomorrow looks like. Industry thought leaders will share their views on how the resilient municipality of the future could function.”

“A resilient municipality also means that municipality leaders and key stakeholders need to take a closer look at their financial standing. Bloated wage bills and archaic revenue collection methods, further worsened by the ongoing pandemic, have had a devastating effect on municipalities. The financial balancing act that municipalities in the country face is one that needs to be urgently addressed and one that includes all invested parties.”

Confirmed to appear in the Municipal Leaders Forum sessions are:

• Miyelani Holeni, Group Chief Advisor, Ntiyiso Consulting
• Peet du Plessis, Chairperson, CIGFARO (Chartered Institute of Government Finance Audit and Risk Officers)
• Claire Barclay, Partner, Pinsent Masons, South Africa
• Nhlanhla Ngidi, Head of Energy and Electricity, SALGA (South African Local Government Association)
• Senior Representative, Eskom, South Africa

Digital Energy Festival
The Municipal Leaders Forum forms part of the Digital Energy Festival that is hosted jointly with three other leading energy brands under Clarion Events, namely Africa Energy Forum, the Oil & Gas Council’s Africa Assembly and the energy journal ESI Africa, which has been providing weeks of compelling content since the festival started on 20 October and ends with the Digital African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa that takes place from 24-26 November.

In the run-up to the Digital Event, attendees can already register now for the ongoing Digital Energy Festival and enjoy free quality sessions such as fireside chats, digital dialogues and GenderLens interviews on a daily basis.

REGISTRATION for the Municipal Leaders Forum and the Digital Energy Festival: https://www.african-utility-week.com/digital/general-admission

Clarion Events Africa
Clarion Events Africa is a multi-award-winning Cape Town-based exhibition and conference producer across the continent in the infrastructure, energy and mining sectors. Other well-known events include the Utility CEO Forums, Future Energy East Africa, Future Energy Nigeria, Nigeria Mining Week, Africa Mining Forum and DRC Mining Week. Clarion Events Africa is part of the UK-based Clarion Events Group’s Clarion Energy Series, which runs over 40 events that cover the oil, gas, power and energy sectors, making it one of the group’s largest portfolios.

African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa dates and location:
Digital Energy Festival for Africa: 20 October-26 November 2020
Municipal Leaders Forum: 18-19 November 2020
Venue: Online

Websites:  https://www.african-energy-elites.com/tag/municipal-leaders-forum/
https://www.african-utility-week.com/

Media contact:
Senior Communications Manager:  Annemarie Roodbol
Telephone:  +27 21 700 3558
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