By Uzair Osman, Immediate Past Chairperson of the YPF 

As the Immediate Past Chairperson of the Young Professionals Forum (YPF), I had the opportunity to represent the YPF at the SALGA National Members Assembly (NMA), held in Durban, from 25-27 November.  

The NMA was held under the theme: “Empowering Municipalities to Drive South Africa’s Growth Agenda through Economic Resilience and Sustainable Service Delivery”. There were an estimated 1000 local government practitioners, policy makers, and sectoral stakeholders who attended this year. 

The Assembly provides the local government sector with an opportunity to assess the progress made since the 2021 local government elections, reflect on the challenges faced, and map the way forward as this term of governance draws to a close in 2026. 

There are very few conferences I attend that still inspire a sense of awe and anticipation – yet this one did. It brought together a new group of people to meet and connect with. 

In conversations with individuals from across the country, it became evident that there is a significant shortage of technically skilled professionals within the local government sector,  particularly in municipalities that were not Metros. Infrastructure will continue to fail South Africans if we don’t have skilled individuals filling vacant engineering positions. As CESA, this has been part of our continued advocacy efforts, to address the impact of this challenge on our member firms, unlocking infrastructure development, and our industry as a whole, and I call on all other engineering bodies to continue to advocate for change in this regard. The speakers included high-ranking individuals in the government sector, including Ministers, National Executive Council members, the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal Thami Ntuli, the Mayor of Durban Cyril Xaba, and the South Africa’s Deputy President Paul Mashatile.  

There was a  hard-hitting and highly informative presentation by Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke on the audit status of South African municipalities. It was a very pleasant surprise to meet someone from my hometown, as well as people from places I had never even heard of before. There was no sense of division from a party-political standpoint. 

Overall, this was a valuable insight into the depth and diversity of South African leadership. I am encouraged to identify areas where we can contribute and to see where, as a country, and as CESA’s YPF, we can continue to improve and advocate for change.