Congratulations to those who won great responsibility

The almost epic local government elections of 2011 are behind us – almost.

Although all the votes have been counted and scores of representatives are officially in place, all indications are that it will still be a while before calm and ‘business as usual’ return to all municipalities.

For one, in a substantial number of local governments, no single party has won an overall majority. This implies the formation of coalition governments, which are often not easy to achieve.

Furthermore, it does not always make for a stable government, as compromises often leave some with frustrated ambitions and others with power that is well above that which the election results would suggest they deserve.

The heat and noise that always accompany elections have exposed serious fault lines in local government in South Africa – the most prominent being widespread dissatisfaction with levels of service delivery.

At the root of this problem is more often not the poor quality political leadership, but serious underlying capacity constraints and lack of sufficient bureaucratic skills.

Against this background, the government’s plans to rethink some of the fundamental structural features of unsustainable local authorities are to be welcomed. It is a process that will, however, have to be managed very carefully if in itself it is not to contribute to instability and turmoil.

Above all, it is important that with all the noise of the elections now behind us, the newly elected representatives take note of the core meaning of having that status. The Latin root of the word “representative” means “stand to serve”. It is in that spirit that they should dispatch with their duties as elected representatives.

Much of this past elections campaign has been fought on mostly national issues, led by the national leaders of parties.

In the process, it should not be forgotten that the best interest of the country as a whole should start with stability and solid service delivery at local level.

Service magazine congratulates all newly and re-elected members to local government councils, and wishes them well for the term of office that began on 18 May. Besides the honour of being elected as the representatives of your fellow citizens, you have received a tremendous responsibility.

We look forward, at the end of this term of office, to congratulating you on a job well done. The shared future of all South Africans to a large extent depends on it.

Piet Coetzer