Sithole Mbanga

Sithole Mbanga serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA)

SALGA is an autonomous association of all 257 South African local governments, comprising of a national association, with one national office and nine provincial offices. SALGA has set out its role to represent, promote and protect the interests of local governments and to raise the profile of local government, amongst other objectives. Since its establishment, it endeavours to bring focus to its mandate of supporting local government transformation in a complex environment, characterised by a highly diverse membership-base of municipalities.

Sithole is widely regarded as one of the foremost experts in the country regarding the evolution of the local government system and the development of municipalities. For over two decades, he has been a steadfast advocate and contributor to the urban development agenda, significantly enhancing the influence and contributions of the SACN in promoting effective urban governance practices and analysis.

Sithole’s contributions have been widely recognised in both political and technical circles within South Africa. Renowned for his candid, creative, and dynamic approach to addressing challenges, he is frequently sought after for his insights by municipal and political leadership. Additionally, he has served on various boards, including the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) and South African National Parks (SANPARKS), and has been invited to speak at numerous engagements. He played a pivotal role in the South African Local Government Transformation Programme (LGTP), which was instrumental in pioneering the new system of local government in democratic South Africa and has also served as the Deputy Secretary-General of the Pan-African body of local governments, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Africa.

He is a distinguished advocate and representative of the public sector, a senior strategic director, and an experienced capacity builder, dedicated to knowledge sharing and innovation management.