1. RESUME OF REUBEN CAREL BAATJIES
Reuben Baatjies
Physical Address: 411 Kyalami Hills, 47 Maple Avenue,
Kyalami, 1684, Johannesburg
Phone: +27 83 646196
E-mail: rbaatjies@salga.org.za
reuben81baatjies@gmail.com
Skype: reuben.baatjies
ID#: 8109215210080
Date and place of birth: 21/09/1981, Cape Town RSA
Race / Gender: Coloured / Male
Interests and Social Activities
 Business and Leadership Development – member of Online Harvard Business Review Advisory
Council (since August 2014)
 Investment analysis, blogs & stock picking (small and mid-cap stocks on JSE; own portfolios)
 Freelance writing – regularly contribute (award winning) analytical opinion pieces to sports
magazines and journals
 Voluntary script and marketing consultant for #SCARS movie and roadshow projects
 Pro Bono consultant for start-ups in project management & foundations
 Active player of multiple sporting codes (football, tennis, cricket and an avid golfer)
 Member of Golden Key International Honour Society, UWC (since 2003)
Qualifications (post matric)
 LL.B (Obtained from University of the Western Cape, March 2004)
 LL.M in constitutional litigation and intergovernmental relations (Obtained from the University
of the Western Cape, March 2006)
 Advocate of High Court of South Africa (admitted on 7 August 2009 at Cape High Court)
Work Experience
• General Manager: Strategy and International Relations, South African Local Government
Association (1 April 2015 – )
• Director: Intergovernmental Relations, Governance and IR Unit, SALGA (1 August 2009 –
31 March 2015); including acting executive director for 1 year in 2010-2011
• Deputy Director: Constitutional Roles and Responsibilities, Western Cape Premier’s Office
(August 2008 – 31 July 2009)
• Researcher & Managing Editor: Local Government Project and Bulletin, Dullah Omar
Institute for Constitutional Law, Governance and Human Rights (1 January 2005 – 31
July 2008)
• Assistant researcher: Local Government project, Dullah Omar Institute for Constitutional
Law, Governance and Human Rights (July 2004 – December 2004)
• Internship: Cheadle, Thompson and Haysom (2003)

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Career Accolades
2012-13: (overall) SALGA Employee of the Year
2013-14: SALGA Governance and IGR Directorate Employee of the Year
2003: In recognition of tertiary academic excellence through the Open Society Foundation and
Golden Key International Honour Society – awarded an internship with Cheadle Thomson & Haysom
– a leading labour law firm in South Africa
Key Skills
 Leading funding proposals and strategic partnerships: multiple $millions in project
funding over last 6 years in international partnerships in local government in the region and
globally; lead SALGA’s representation in international forums and platforms as well as facilitating
and chairing working sessions on municipal international cooperation; spearheaded bilateral
cooperation and leading technical delegations for peer-to-peer learning to sister local
government associations on the continent and globally; drafted MOUs, terms of reference and
vision statements for focal points and SALGA’s participation in blocs such as BRICs, IBSA, CLGF,
UCLGA and the like
 Organisational leadership and management: driving change management and operation
efficiency; implement reform of annual performance planning (AOPs) to impact indicators;
strategic focus in national organisation across portfolios in multi-disciplinary model; draft and
implement strategic vision 2017-22
 Development and implementation of strategies and programmes: designed and
implemented for organised local government (SALGA) and provincial government Western Cape
to maximize their role in intergovernmental system in the country; program and content
director for the inaugural and subsequently annual local government week in Parliament (2012,
13 and 15)
 Publication production and management: transformed word-only Local Government
Bulletin from an academic journal into one of the most subscribed magazines in the public sector
(over 10 000 subscribers at the time)
 Content and programme architect: develop full programmes for all SALGA major events
since 2010 (national conferences, member’s assemblies, parliamentary events etc of over 1200
guests per event); including project management / choreographing the event in terms of
speakers, programme direction, venue logistic and operational matters (invitations, notices etc)
 Accomplished writer, analyst and public speaker: author of over 50 papers, journal
articles, publications, policy documents and the like in IGR and public sector; keynote speech
writer for SALGA Chairperson and NEC members for all major events (State of Nation debate /
Global, Continental and National Conferences); delivered several speeches and papers on behalf
of SALGA in international, continental and national conferences and seminars; and award winning
magazine and sport journal articles
 Developed and delivered range of training programmes: designed, coordinated and
delivered several training programmes on legal and policy frameworks for local government and
the evolution of our intergovernmental system
 Coaching and mentoring: managed small teams of staff and developed talented individuals
through project exposure and ongoing personal development provocation and guidance

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Major International Summits and Conferences where key papers,
presentations & speeches delivered
 IBSA Summit (Local Government Roundtable), Brasilia, Brasil (April 2010)
 European Dialogue on Local Government, Bamako, Mali (June 2010)
 Winning through Twinning Regional Conference, Mangaung (October 2010)
 Winning through Twinning International Conference, Gent, Belgium (October 2011 )
 DST (German Cities Association) Learning Exchange, Berlin & Cologne, Germany (June 2011)
 Learning exchange with Rwandan Association of Local Government (RALGA) in May and
September 2013 & Malawi in June 2015
 International Colloquium hosted by UCLGA and AMCOD, facilitated by GIZ, from 26 – 28 May
2014 in Cotonou, Benin (drafted the SALGA position paper)
 Trilateral Cooperation Project Conference hosted in September 2014 between German,
Zimbabwean and South African local government associations
 United Cities and Local Governments (world body) learning agenda for SDGs 2030, Barcelona,
27-30 September 2015
 CIB Working Group, United Cities and Local Governments (global body), the Hague, 1-3
October 2015
 UCLGA Africities 2015, Johannesburg, hosted by the City of Johannesburg in partnership with
SALGA, 29 November – 3 December 2015
Leadership and representative roles
 2009 – 2014, SALGA representative on the Boundaries, Powers and Functions Committee of the
Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) and other technical advisory committees of the MDB
 2010 – 2014, SALGA representative to the Gov & Admin Cabinet Cluster (FOSAD), a quarterly
meeting of heads of national and provincial government to discuss key policy and legislative issues
 2012 – Facilitator of IBSA Local Government Forum, coordinated by the Department of
International Relations and Coordination (DIRCO)
 2013 – 2015, Chairperson of the IGR Working Group (Key Result Area 1), GIZ Governance
Support Program, a partnership between SA and the German Federal Government
 2013 – 2015, Led conceptualisation and implementation of Trilateral Cooperation Project
(ZIGESA) between Germany, South Africa and Zimbabwe
 2015-2016, Leading a $5m project proposal with Canadian Federation of Municipalities (FCM) in
green infrastructure management, local economic development and knowledge sharing
 2015-16, Leading a R1.5m project proposal approved by German Government for financial
sustainability and energy programme between German and SA Cities, and the two associations of
municipalities
 (2012-2015, Chairperson of SALGA Appeals Committee)

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Publications
 2009, main author Governance in the Western Cape: IGR as practice (chapter on concurrency of
powers and functions & intergovernmental coordination in inaugural provincial publication)
 2008, The impact of World Cup 2010: Local Governments must Score for their Communities in
“Towards the 2010 FIFA Kick Off in South Africa: Red Cards, Fancy Footwork or Goals?”, World Journal
of Managing Events, Volume 2 Number 1 Special Issue, World Research Organization, Isis Press
 2008, co-author of Developing the optimal political structure for developmental local government –
towards better efficiency, a research paper focused on the office of the speaker and the
implications of its introduction on municipal governance in South Africa
 2008, Co-author of ‘Redefining the political structure of district municipalities’, as part of a research
project for the Review of Provincial and Local Government, funded by the CWCI
 2007, Co-author and presenter of ‘Local government leading the empowerment of disadvantaged
groups – the examples of India and South Africa’, country presentation at the 4th International
Conference on Federalism hosted by the International Forum of Federations and the Inter-State
Council of India in New Delhi, India on 4-7 November 2007
 2007, Co-author and presenter of ‘Redefining the role and application of district municipalities’ at a
Local Government Roundtable hosted by the Centre in Stellenbosch, funded by the Conflict and
Governance Facility, an EU Programme
 2005, ‘Communalisation of services: Challenges and prospects’, as part of a project on the
privatisation of services in South Africa (Also a research dissertation submitted in partial
fulfilment of the degree LL.M)
 2005, SA Reconciliation Barometer (quarterly journal of the Institute for Justice and
Reconciliation), Finding local service delivery answers closer to home, Volume 3 Issue 4
 2005, Co-author of ‘Roles and responsibilities and interaction between provincial government
departments and the local government sphere: A position paper’, as part of a project undertaken for
the KZN Department of Local Government and Traditional Affairs
 2004, co-author of ‘Transfrontier Cooperation: Towards a Provincial Strategy’, a discussion document
prepared for the Premier’s Office, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
 26 articles published in Local Government Bulletin between 2004 – 2011
References
 Adv. Johann Metter
Municipal Manager: Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality
Former Executive Director of Governance, IGR and IR portfolio at SALGA
Mobile: +27 82 468 3660
Email: jfmettler@gmail.com
 Ms Kubeshni Govender-Jones
Head of SALGA Centre for Leadership and Governance & Founder of BlackEarthConsulting
Contact number: +27 82 370 8634

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Email: kubeshni@me.com ; kubeshni@blackearthconsulting.com
 Ms Phila Xuza
CEO: Centre for Small Town Regeneration; Economic Development Specialist & Entrepreneur
Former Executive Head of Economic Development at SALGA
Contact number: +27 79 442 8155
Email: phila@cstr.org.za
 Prof. Nico Steytler
South African Research Chair in Multilevel Government, Law & Policy at Dullah Omar Institute
for Constitutional Law, Governance and Human Rights, UWC
Contact number: +27 82 202 3118 / +27 21 959 2950
Email: nsteytler@uwc.ac.za
 Ms Letticia Naid
Economic Development and Small Town Regeneration Specialist
Founder of NEXO Consulting
Contact number: +27 72 762 9927
Email: Letticia.naid@gmail.com / lnaid@salga.org.za
 Ms Chantal Booyse
Project Management Specialist
Producer, #SCARS Movie and Project
Contact number: +27 61 196 6724
Email: chantal@scarsmovie.co.za
 Mr Mohammed Bhabha
Special Advisor, Development Bank of Southern Africa
Former Ministerial Advisor; MEC in Mpumalanga; CODESA
Mobile: +27 83 441 9245
Email: mohammedbh@dbsa.org