Local government not to settle down soon {writer: Piet Coetzer}

Coming out of a turbulent year in which news headlines were dominated by reports on violent service delivery protests throughout the country, the local government scene in South Africa seems to be destined for a year of two halves: the first half to be dominated by the run-up to and the event of the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup; after which it can be expected that the full attention will switch to the run-up to the crucial local government elections of 2011.

The election campaigning can be expected to start early and may even, in some instances, threaten the smooth delivery of crucial services during the World Cup period, as some parties may attempt to use the opportunity to cause embarrassment for incumbent city governments during
that period.

There was a clear indication right at the beginning of the new year from President Jacob Zuma himself that local government will be receiving high priority in the immediate future.

While there already have been strong indications of plans to attempt to use structures at institutional level to help address the problems of poor service delivery – such as a possible single civil service for all three levels of government – President Zuma recently raised yet another issue.

Addressing the 98th anniversary celebrations of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in Kimberley on 9 January 2010, he said that the blurring of political and administrative roles hampered delivery at local level.

This could become a crucial issue in the quest for stability and smooth service delivery at local government level after next year’s elections.

The third level of government in South Africa has notoriously been known for falling victim in the past to instability at bureaucratic management level when there are changes of the guard at party political level. Political appointees at that level have almost routinely led to their being replaced, often at astronomical costs in terms of severance packages, when elections are won and lost or when the political allegiance of councillors changes.

“We are of the view that municipal employees should not hold leadership positions in political parties,” said Zuma, and added that the ANC would “tighten its deployment procedures” to make it more “objective and transparent”.

“We will tighten our deployment procedures to ensure that we deploy comrades with political integrity and professional competence.”

The deployment of officials on the basis of party political affiliation in bureaucratic management also has complicated the often strained relationship between the three levels of government in instances where different political parties hold power at different levels. This has been the case particularly in the Western Cape and in KwaZulu-Natal at times.

President Zuma’s remarks should be judged against the background of a turn-around strategy for local government announced late last year by Minister of Co-operative Governance, Sicelo Shiceka.

He said that the plan, if adopted, would see the implementation of a requirement that municipalities would need the approval of provincial governments and national minister to suspend municipal managers.

“People are suspended, sometimes for a year, but continue to earn salaries,” said Shiceka. “They are fleecing the state. By requiring municipalities to seek concurrence from provincial and national government, we are promoting accountability.”

Suspended municipal officials will also be banned from working in other spheres of government, he said at the time.

As things stand, it can be expected that next year’s municipal elections will be contested extremely keenly. For at least two opposition parties, it could in fact be a make-or-break affair.

In the Western Cape, where the ANC has lost control at provincial level and its structures have been plagued by internal divisions and strife, the municipal elections could be equally crucial.

The fortunes of the ANC breakaway party, the Congress of the People (Cope), have taken a big knock after last year’s general election came too soon after its formation for Cope to be in a position to make any real impact. Next year’s municipal elections may be its last opportunity to establish itself as a serious player on the South African political scene.

In KwaZulu-Natal, the Inkatha Freedom Party will also be fighting for its survival after a bruising general election last year and a subsequent rebellion against the party’s top leadership by its youth brigade.

It seems the party is finding it difficult to deal with the prospect of having to replace an ageing Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who has ruled the party with an iron fist for
many decades.

There is also a strong possibility that next year’s municipal elections will be the last time it is an affair separate from the general election for central and provincial government. Plans are afoot within the ANC to, as from 2014, conduct “super elections, in which the electorate goes to the polls for the election of representatives of all three levels of government on the same day”.

The plans are part of Minister Shiceka’s turnaround strategy for local government.

These plans are said to be aimed at revamping ailing municipalities and improving service delivery. It is the conviction of the ANC leadership that a single election, in which ballots are cast on three ballot papers, would compel political parties to field their best candidates across the three spheres of government.

However, while voters at national and provincial level cast their votes for political parties and the names of individual candidates do not appear on the ballot papers, they vote for individual ward representatives of councillors at municipal level.

It is difficult to see how individual municipal candidates will be able to hold their own in terms of campaign exposure in an election fought mainly on
national issues.

A “super election” may see municipal issues being drowned out in the bigger noise of a national campaign. The plan, if implemented, may also lead to election fatigue at local level, since next year’s election municipalities will go to the polls again in 2014 instead of 2016.

A new election dispensation would present institutions – such as the Independent Electoral Commission – with massive administrative and logistical challenges.

Furthermore, it would lead to wide-ranging changes in the operation of the governance system, including budgeting and financial year-end cycles and reporting, with the convergence of financial years at all levels of government.

Presently, the municipal financial year ends in June, while it ends in March for national and provincial government – which is said to complicate the synchronisation of programmes for service delivery conceived at the various levels of government.

The plans are in line with the trend toward central planning within the ANC and aimed at roping in local government to be aligned fully with what the National Planning Commission may dish up.

The proposal will be tabled at the ANC’s general council in September this year.

If it passes at that stage, it is likely to be approved by the ANC’s elective conference in 2012.

Other elements of the turnaround strategy include:

• Proclaiming the estimated 2 744 informal settlements as township residential areas by 2014 to help promote the flow of service delivery, since certain informal settlements presently are not recognised by municipalities;

• Setting legally mandatory timelines for feedback to communities on issues they have raised with municipal councils to facilitate information flow and accountability; and

• Launching a “good citizenship” campaign, which will focus on governance values to ensure citizen involvement in local development affairs.

The ANC has long conceded that there were problems at local government level.

These came to a head in 2009 when many communities protested against poor service delivery, a short while into Zuma’s term as president.

The ANC had to intervene in a protest in Standerton, Mpumalanga when residents called for their local councillors and mayor to be axed.

Corruption, factionalism, nepotism and poor delivery were at the root of many of the violent protests across the country.

The party had conducted an audit of the functioning of the country’s municipalities, due to be released early this year.

Zuma said in Kimberley that the ANC-led government intended to make local government a key focus for service provision.

“A strong and disciplined ANC with capacity on the ground is a necessary condition to make local government more effective and efficient,” he said.