31 OCT 2021 —
It’s Election Day tomorrow. We vote for our local councillors. The role of the local councillor is critical to South Africa’s democracy. As outlined in the Municipal Systems Act of 2000, which lays the basis for a developmental form of local government that breaks with past exclusionary policies under apartheid, “A fundamental aspect of the new local government system is the active engagement of communities in the affairs of municipalities of which they are an integral part, and, in particular, in planning, service delivery and performance management.”
The Act further outlines a Code of Conduct for local councillors. This includes the following: “Councillors are elected to represent local communities on municipal councils, to ensure that municipalities have structured mechanisms of accountability to local communities, and to meet the priority needs of communities by providing services equitably, effectively and sustainably within the means of the municipality. In fulfilling this role, councillors must be accountable to local communities.”…
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