NMB Councillor Training

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Councillors today started Media and Stakeholder Relations training to empower them on communication skills, media liaison and stakeholder relations at the Woolboard Exchange Council Chambers.

The South African Local Government (SALGA) facilitated training was organised by the office of the Speaker, Councillor Buyelwa Mafaya as part of professional development for Councillors.

The aim of the programme is to learn through sharing information and experiences, to build the capacity of Councillors to enable them to foster healthy relationships with the media and other stakeholders. The training programme will also assist Councillors to communicate effectively with the communities they serve.

Today’s session focused on proactive communication and the use of technology to enhance communication with media, different stakeholders and the community at large.

Speaking at the session Council Speaker Mafaya said her office saw it fit that Councillors be capacitated in this “critical skills of communications” to be able to serve their communities better.

“This training is high level quality content that is good for the demanding job that we do as Councillors. When we are done here on Friday, we will definitely be better communicators who have acquired skills on how to build relations that will be beneficial to our communities,” said Speaker Mafaya.

The first two days of the programme focuses on theory while the last day focuses on practical class work. Portfolios of evidence of the work done through the training programme will be compiled and submitted on the last day for assessment

The programme is NQF aligned and the credits acquired will enable these Councillors to apply for other jobs within the NMB Municipality or other government departments.