Service delivery compromised by Ekurhuleni’s policy prohibiting officials from engaging with councillors
by Cllr. Heather Hart — DA Shadow MMC for City Planning in Ekurhuleni
Date: 21 July 2021
Release: Immediate
Type: Media Statement
The capacity for ward councillors to effectively carry out service delivery across the ANC and coalition-led* City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) has been drastically curtailed as City officials continue to refuse to engage councillors as per a City Planning HOD directive.
The issue first came to light towards the end of 2020, when the Head of Department for City Planning sent a memo instructing all City Planning department officials to refrain from engaging directly with Councillors. The instruction came with a ‘consequence management’ threat should any official be found to have ignored the instruction.
Instead, Councillors were instructed to liaise through the office of the ANC appointed MMC of City Planning via the MMC’s Strategic Advisor. This has resulted in a significant backlog in investigations and resolutions of illegal land use and buildings. Not only is this frustrating for Councillors and residents alike, who usually route their complaints or queries via their local Councillor, but it is leading to a City where urban degradation is fast becoming the order of the day. Worryingly, the directive is not confined to the Department of City Planning but spans all departments in the ANC-run Metro, thereby affecting all councillors.
The situation has been made worse by the City’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic regarding staff management. Current regulations pertaining to the Level 4 Lockdown, prescribe that City staff work on a rotational basis where no more than a third of employees are present in a given office at any time — barring from essential service delivery needs. While the City’s Covid-19 risk mitigation strategy is respected in terms of protecting our communities from the devastating effect of the pandemic, the situation has added to the difficulty of Councillors being able to engage with officials regarding service delivery issues.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni took exception to the directive and escalated the issue by writing a letter to the Speaker of Council, Ald. Patricia Kumalo, as well as the Executive Mayor, Cllr. Mzwandile Masina, questioning the legal basis of the directive, which is clearly inhibiting desperately needed service delivery in the failing ANC and its coalition partners governed CoE.
After receiving no response, an urgent motion was submitted at the November 2020 Council Meeting, which sought to withdraw the directive and allow councillors to engage with departmental officials in the interest of service delivery. The Speaker, however, declined to hear the motion without any explanation provided — a clear indication of how the ANC-led coalition in the CoE is avoiding accountability and stalling the need for transparent government.
With little recourse within City structures, the DA, on the 12th of January 2021, further escalated the issue to Provincial Government by petitioning the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Lebogang Maile (MPL), to overturn these directives in order to allow Councillors to perform their legally mandated roles. Predictably, there was no response forthcoming, forcing further escalation to the Minister of Cogta, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on the 13th of April 2021. To date, there has been no response on the way forward, as her office is still investigating the matter.
At a time when service delivery in the CoE has reached an all-time low under the ANC-led administration, the Metro can ill afford to have any obstacles in delivering these services to rate-paying residents. Ward councillors are beyond frustrated as they are constantly blocked from assisting residents with queries and complaints due to the refusal of City department’s to take any responsibility.
The Constitution of South Africa espouses accountability and transparency within local government. The directive issued by the ANC-appointed MMC for City Planning contradicts these values. As a result, residents are the ones that suffer due to ward councillor’s helplessness to conduct their mandated responsibilities.
The DA will continue to pursue every possible avenue to correct this travesty of justice and abuse of power by the ANC, to ensure that the CoE is held to account. Residents deserve better.
#Time4Change
*ANC-Coalition Partners: African Independent Congress (AIC), Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Independent Ratepayers Association of South Africa (IRASA)
Cllr. Heather Hart
DA Shadow MMC for City Planning in Ekurhuleni
