Sithole Mbanga has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA). Mbanga’s appointment will take effect on July 1, 2023.
According to a statement from SALGA, Mbanga has considerable executive-level experience in public sector governance and has a depth of knowledge and expertise in several fields, including operations and strategic planning.
The SALGA President, Councillor Bheke Stofile said: “Mr. Mbanga joins SALGA at a pivotal moment in our organisation’s evolution, as reflected in our 2022–2027 strategic plan which is prefaced against global, continental, national and local imperatives. We are confident that he will lead and provide the much-needed strategic direction the organization needs and move the organization to greater heights”.
According to Stofile, Mbanga brings a wealth of expertise to his new role, and his transformative and collaborative style of leadership is aligned with SALGA’s commitment to offering their member municipalities effective and efficient service.
“I also want to express my gratitude to the SALGA executive leadership that provided the organisation with the necessary glue to keep SALGA together until a new CEO was chosen. At such a crucial time, they went above and beyond a call of duty, and this is sincerely appreciated,” said Stofile.
Mbanga succeeds Xolile George, who was appointed Secretary to Parliament in June 2022. Most recently, he held the position of CEO of the South African Cities Network (SACN), a network of South African cities and partners that promotes the sharing of knowledge, expertise, and best practices on urban development and city management. Mbanga has held a number of managerial positions in the public and private sectors, including the National Business Initiative (NBI) and the Local Government Support and Learning Network (LOGOSUL).
SALGA said that they anticipate Mbanga’s leadership using strong organisational performance, particularly in regard to audit outcomes, as a foundation for improving municipal audit outcomes and strengthening local government to be better equipped to accelerate service delivery.
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