The South African Local Government Association (Salga) concluded its three-day 2015 National Members Assembly (NMA) with a commitment to support the Back to Basics programme.

This year’s NMA coincided with South Africa celebrating 15 years of democratic local government. It was held under the theme ‘15 Years of Democratic Local Government – Consolidating and Deepening Vibrant, Developmental and People Centred Local Democracy’.

Addressing the media at the end of the conference in Midrand, Salga national chairperson Thabo Manyoni said Salga viewed the Back to Basics programme as the cornerstone in building responsive, caring and accountable municipalities.

The programme aims to get the basics right, such as fixing street lights, leaking taps, collecting refuse and generally responding to citizens’ service delivery needs.

“Salga is in full support of Back to Basics and has during this NMA rallied all municipalities to serve citizens with pride and care, addressing the basic functioning of our systems and infrastructure, and communicating regularly and honestly with citizens on our programmes, including where there is a lack of progress and its resolution.

“We call on all key role players to rally behind the National Development Plan (NDP) and the Back to Basics programme in support of our vision to build better communities and a prosperous South Africa,” Manyoni said.

Manyoni added that in the 15 years since the establishment of Salga, there has been a remarkable increase in the access to basic services such as water, sanitation and electricity.

“We have made strides in building a more cohesive and inclusive society. The housing developments have created vibrant communities that have a range of basic facilities including crèches, clinics and schools,” he said.