Effective governance in the sphere of local government needs to be collaborative and purposefully incorporate contributions from the public‚ private and non-profit sectors. “We now have an opportunity to see all three sectors doing the best things that they can do for each other‚” said Frank Zerunyan‚ a professor of the practice of governance at the University of Southern California.He was speaking at the City of Tshwane Leadership in Local Government Conference in Erasmia‚ Pretoria.“Shared value is a new way of creating economic success‚” he said.Research conducted by his centre showed that businesses are starting to appreciate societal needs more and are beginning to look at governance as a way to earn money.Zerunyan said that shared governance was inevitable in a global society and that the public sector‚ as the convenor of the rule of law‚ should invite this.“We can look to all three sectors to come under the umbrella and serve collectively.”He suggested that local government consider contracting experts in the private sector that are well suited to improve service delivery.The success of such an approach depended on the common decision made by policy makers‚ citizens and the NGO and private sectors to implement it‚ he said.City of Tshwane councillor Terence Mashego said that local leaders needed to think outside of the box and try to understand new systems of governance.“We need to agree that improving leadership in local government is also about developing the skills of those leaders themselves‚” he said.Zerunyan also said that local government leaders needed humility and an ability to persuade people to do things for the greater good of the community.“Leaders are people who know when they need help‚” he said. “They need to give help and only way that they give help is by making sure that they get the help that they need.” – RDM News Wire, The Times..