Meet the new Municipal Manager: MR Daniël Lubbe

Meet our Municipal Manager, Mr Daniël Lubbe, a seasoned professional with 32 years of experience in local government who started at Langeberg Municipality on 1 March 2023. His journey began in 1990 when he joined a regional services council in the old Transvaal.

Reflecting on his early career, Lubbe recalls, "I grew up in Pretoria and lived there for the first 27 years of my life. When I first started working in local government, I never imagined the journey it would take me on."

In 1992, Lubbe moved to KwaZulu-Natal, where he worked on municipal changes that were at the forefront of a national effort to create "wall-to-wall municipalities." He explains, "There is not a piece of land in South Africa that does not fall under a municipality. Everyone worked towards it. And I had the privilege of being right in the forefront of this process."

Lubbe's experience in KwaZulu-Natal was one of his career highlights. "I learned all the time, it was really about what everyone planning for the future of the country," he says. "I worked with 330 council members, of which 66 were Amakhosi Zulu leaders. It was good times and good collaboration, and really prepared me for my profession going forward."

Lubbe's experience in KwaZulu-Natal was one of his career highlights. "I learned all the time, it was really about what everyone planning for the future of the country," he says. "I worked with 330 council members, of which 66 were Amakhosi Zulu leaders. It was good times and good collaboration, and really prepared me for my profession going forward."

Lubbe's experience in KwaZulu-Natal was one of his career highlights. "I learned all the time, it was really about what everyone planning for the future of the country," he says. "I worked with 330 council members, of which 66 were Amakhosi Zulu leaders. It was good times and good collaboration, and really prepared me for my profession going forward."

Over the years, Lubbe progressed through the ranks, from chief administrative officer to assistant director, deputy director, director, deputy municipal manager and municipal manager. He admits that "nothing came easy," but he applied for every opportunity that came his way and was fortunate enough to land the job.

At the end of 2013, after working for some 22 years, for the district municipality in Richards Bay, he worked as a consultant at the South African Local Government Association (SALGA). He had the privilege of writing the National exams of SALGA, for all who wanted to serve on SALGA's panel of consultants on local government. They then appointed him as National Lead Consultant on a number of local government assignments and he also trained municipal council members. He did it for three years and really enjoyed working in municipalities, big and small.

After that, Lubbe moved from KwaZulu-Natal to the Western Cape where he was with Matzikama Municipality as a Municipal Manager for about three years from 2017. Thereafter, he went to Theewaterskloof Municipality for a short contract as Municipal Manager until after the local government elections of November 2021.

Mr. Lubbe's achievements include serving as Principal Officer to the European Union, overseeing the implementation of Economic Development Projects across municipal boundaries of the district and participating local municipalities. He was also appointed as the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup Strategic Readiness Manager, responsible for ensuring that the King Cetshwayo District Municipality (previously uThungulu District Municipality) acted as an official satellite to the Ethekwini Metro Municipality for hosting the 2010 event.

"After the 2010 event, I successfully negotiated an anchor tenant for the stadium, the Thanda Royal Zulu, a 1st Division Soccer Team, which now utilized the facilities as its base and hosts championship matches at the stadium," says Mr. Lubbe.