By Maeder Osler
‘Sanibonani. Dumelang. Molweni. Lotjhani. We gather here today to undertake one of the most important reforms of our democratic era. The launch of this White Paper on Local Government is a landmark moment in the evolution of our democracy. Nearly three decades after the original White Paper was adopted, we are undertaking a bold reset of the local government system. …’
Thus spake our Prez, Cyril Ramaphosa, at the official launch of the revised White Paper on Local Government at a huge gathering of stakeholders on the East Rand on 22 October. (The cost of bringing them together would have supported thousands of poor families for quite a long time – but never mind … ) The Prez went on to say:
‘Local government is the sphere of government closest to the people. From the biggest metro to the smallest village, it is where the promise of democracy is most directly experienced. It is also where the failure to deliver services is most acutely felt. …
‘When these services work, people experience the promise of democracy. When they fail, it is not merely an inconvenience. It affects people’s health, their livelihoods, their safety and their dignity. It undermines their confidence in government and weakens their faith in the institutions of our democracy.
‘We must therefore acknowledge, without qualification, that too many of our municipalities are failing to meet the needs and expectations of the people they are meant to serve.
‘Too many communities have grown accustomed to services that are unreliable, infrastructure that is deteriorating and municipal administrations that are unresponsive. This cannot continue.
‘This revised White Paper lays the foundation for far-reaching legislative, institutional and financial reform of the entire local government system … and represents a fundamental reassessment of how local government is structured, financed, managed and held accountable … ’
He then slips back a bit by blaming apartheid for most of the ills besetting local government, but does manage to acknowledge that the post-transition government ‘underestimated how politicised appointments would open the door to corruption, malfeasance and a lack of accountability’.
We will write about his address and the White Paper in greater detail. For now, based on my own experience of local government over the past 50 years, most of it in Colesberg in the Grassy Karoo, I propose the following additions:
Local governments should:
- acknowledge and respond in writing record to approaches from both ratepaying and indigent citizens.
- encourage and include evidence-based independent, fair and diverse media opportunities both through basic reporting, and evidential comment.
- refrain from blatant party-political and sectional manipulations.
- avoid embarrassing give-away hysteria as a response to any whiff or scent of corruptions, theft, Â and other acts of party opportunism
- account specifically for all matters dealing with rates payments and their claimed beneficiaries.
- ensure that meetings open to the public are clearly and timeously announced to all, that media are also invited, and that minutes are made publicly and transparently available.
But watch this space …