This letter responds to the article published in a local newspaper on Monday, 14 November 2011, titled ‘more defiance against the Mayor’.
The article amounts to over-politisation of the Ward Committee election process managed by the dedicated team of Municipal Officials led by the Office of the Constituency Coordinator.
The establishment and survival of Ward Committees that are aimed at improving good governance, quality public participation, democracy and service delivery cannot be undermined by either officials or politicians.
We have set structures and processes in place towards the establishment of Ward Committees in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality which in my view should be respected.
As required by law, the verification of the suitability of candidates to serve on ward committees has been done by law enforcement agencies and the municipality.
Various interest groups showed high support in the new way of establishing Ward Committees. They appreciated that community participation is indeed in great action. They were grateful that communities participate directly in selecting and nominating candidates who will represent the broad interests of the residents in Ward Committees.
FACTS ABOUT WARD COMMITTEES AND LEGISLATIVE COMPLIANCE TRENDS
The establishment of Ward Committees has not come easily in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. It has been seriously contested since its inception with opposition parties not interested to accommodate and accept the democratisation of the local sphere of government through Ward Committees.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality was formally established in December 2000. However, it was through the leadership of the ANC impressing on the need and imperatives of having Ward committees.
The first Council in January decided to lead the country by establishing Ward Committees on the 25 January 2001 by a majority Vote of 71 Councillors Present, 35 Voted against in a total of 108 Councillors.
From the inception of ward committees in January 2001 the Democratic Party and the UDM in particular were not in support of Ward Committees, they voted against its establishment but now they seem to have an extra ordinary understanding of the process which they opposed from the start. What else that is profound one can expect from the very people that were against it. It is expectable.
The Council as the highest decision making body resolved as such in 2001 and Ward Committees were established as such. For the purposes of empowering each other both Mafana and Wayile were not there, but De Villiers and Trent were there, Ngcethe and Bungane can attest to the need and reasons to have Ward committees. These were elements that were on the founding document in comparison with the Current one.
| COUNCIL 2001 | MAYORAL COMMITTEE | BONE OF CONTENTION |
| Agreed to Establish Ward Committees | Mayoral Committee of the 3rd August 2011 approved the current format of Ward Committee Process. | Control over by Politicians and manipulation from the Officials |
These were the elements since 2001-2009 and experiences:
| OLD METHOD AS RESOLVED 2001 | NEW METHOD AS RESOLVED 2011 |
| * The Ward Election Team included Councillors in the Ward Election Processes | * The Current method excludes Councillors, the process is purely managed by Officials |
| – It was easily manipulated by Councillors | – There is no room for manipulation |
| – The Support base of Ward Candidates is not known but a prerogative of a Ward Councillor | – The support base is scientific, a candidate is supported by the 25% number of people in a meeting |
| – A term of Office was not full, it was 36 months hence the ones we had operated until 2009 | – The term of Office is aligned to the current term of the Council |
| – Ward Committee operations and functionality were not streamlined | – Ward Committees are institutionalized, in as much they are coming from different sectors and VD,they are aligned to the Portfolios of Council |
| – No clear Funding Model(Municipalities were doing as they wish with Ward Committees) | – A clear gazette funding Model as stipulated in the Amended Systems Act |
| – There is Ward Committee Pledge | – There is a Code of Conduct for Ward Committee |
Given the above background, there is no other way forward other than to accept the democratic process and discuss in Council how best can we institutionalize ward committees rather than to reverse the good work that has been done. Secondly, no that the results of the Screening Process are getting towards completion, the Council need to discuss how best can we deal with those nominated Candidates that did not meet the screening test.
The manner that an intensive work has been done in the establishment of Ward committees suggests that, we are on course and we are preparing the route towards elections as envisaged. At this stage, we can’t pronounce the date up until all the necessary and urgent matters are addressed as a result of the outcomes of the Screening process. In the process, there are no individuals that are being undermined and on the same we urged that the people that were participating in the meetings during the nights trying to elect their ward leadership should not be undermined but respected by the political leadership.
Dumisani Mbebe
On behalf of the Ward Committee Elections Committee
Alan Straton
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Surely, a rate-payer should have a “bigger” vote/say than the general populace seeing as they are the financial back-bone of the municipality?