Page 83 - UGU Dstrct Mun IDP Report '21-22

o Increase the pool of available candidates through community investment and implementation of bridging programmes to increase the number of potential candidates.
• Taking Affirmative Action measures that are in line with the Act. This is a policy or a program that seeks to redress past discrimination through active measures to ensure equal opportunity, as in education and employment. The measures include: -
o Training to focus more on members from designated groups;
o Succession and experiential training;
o Retention strategy, address the retention of employees from designated groups; and o Employment Equity awareness programmes.
• Ensuring legitimacy of the process through sustained communication and consultation. The main responsibility of the municipality with regards to EEP is to observe its implementation in relation to numerical goals.
3.4.11 Secretariat, Registry, and Auxiliary Services
3.4.11.1 Secretariat
The Secretariat Unit is an administrative wing of the Municipality through which the coordination of meetings, taking of minutes and meeting resolutions for implementation is done. This is done by providing secretariat support to the Committees of the District Municipal Council such as Council, Exco, Portfolio Committees, Sub-Committees, and Forums. This supporting structure serves as both the catalyst and the hub of information or engine room that suitably co-ordinates and records all the proceedings of the decision-making bodies for future reference and implementation. This is also regarded as a confluence of information from all Departments that the Municipality has. The kind of support this Unit provides is indispensable throughout the organisation. The Primary focus areas are:
• Scheduling of Meetings;
• Collation of Items / Reports;
• Compilation of Agendas;
• Maintenance of a Resolutions Register for Council, the Executive Committee and Management Meetings
• Dispatch of Agendas;
• Attending Meetings;
• Taking Minutes / Compilation of Minutes; and
• All other logistics associated with Meetings Management
The Secretariat Unit had also embarked on a Paperless Management Office System. The said system has commenced, and all committees are completely paperless.
It must also be noted that due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, meetings are held virtually.
3.4.11.2 Registry
Records Management has improved as per the monthly statistics being recorded within the Registry Unit. Staff attend regular training on Records Management and the importance thereof is highlighted at these trainings, staff are more compliant with Records Management File Plan, Policy and Procedures. The tender room is being maintained to ensure that bid documents are well controlled. All bid processes from specification to adjudication are conducted in the tender room and original documents are not moved for any reason. The filing is done according to approved standards. This has proven valuable in ensuring that bid documents and supporting bid information is always available to duly authorised personnel. The tender room is under 24-hour surveillance system, making it one of the safest areas of records management and contributing towards a municipality that takes honesty, transparency, and accountability seriously in ensuring that we subscribe to good governance principles of an ethical institution with sound leadership.
3.4.11.3 Auxiliary Services:
The Building Maintenance Plan was developed and reviewed in 2020/21 FY, focusing on ongoing and preventative maintenance to some of the Municipal facilities. A building maintenance and security forum was formulated and meets quarterly to review the progress with the implementation of this maintenance plan and consider security analysis over the period. The forum is
IDP REVIEW 81