A municipality must within its administrative and financial capacity establish and organise its administration in a manner that would enable the municipality to—
| (a) | be responsive to the needs of the local community; |
| (b) | facilitate a culture of public service and accountability amongst its staff; |
| (c) | be performance orientated and focused on the objects of local government set out in section 152 of the Constitution and its developmental duties as required by section 153 of the Constitution; |
| (e) | establish clear relationships, and facilitate co-operation, co-ordination and communication, between— |
| (i) | its political structures and political office bearers and its administration; |
| (ii) | its political structures, political office bearers and administration and the local community; |
| (f) | organise its political structures, political office bearers and administration in a flexible way in order to respond to changing priorities and circumstances; |
| (g) | perform its functions— |
| (i) | through operationally effective and appropriate administrative units and mechanisms, including departments and other functional or business units; and |
| (ii) | when necessary, on a decentralised basis; |
| (h) | assign clear responsibilities for the management and co-ordination of these administrative units and mechanisms; |
| (i) | hold the municipal manager accountable for the overall performance of the administration; |
| (j) | maximise efficiency of communication and decision-making within the administration; |
| (k) | delegate responsibility to the most effective level within the administration; |
| (l) | involve staff in management decisions as far as is practicable; and |
| (m) | provide an equitable, fair, open and non-discriminatory working environment. |
