Politicians and political analysts are quick to acknowledge that local government is the backbone of our political structures in the country.
The question is, what is being done to make that a true statement?
Political parties quite often use municipalities as the dumping ground for loyal but incapable party supporters, with undesirable consequences.
Policies have been focused on developmental local government and optimal service delivery.
To achieve that, knowledgeable councillors and officials are an imperative.
Do we have that in local government and are the protests against municipalities, and specifically poor service delivery, not the consequence of the absence of that capacity?
Proof of this lies in the fact that municipalities in general are battling to use more than 60% of the grants they receive from government for infrastructure development.
This has a direct bearing on service delivery.
Surely, one would think, that it is a given that political parties would, in the interests of community well-being, use only the most capable members to serve in local government.
It is a necessity that knowledgeable people with relevant expertise are deployed to ensure maximum effectiveness in municipal governance.
Given the current lack of service delivery and subsequent turmoil this creates, one cannot blame the public for doubting whether proper guidelines and criteria relating to the selection of proficient municipal councillors have been met.
One would hope that the follies of the past in this regard will be corrected, especially now that the process of selection will commence in the near future in view of the next local government election.
We do not need people in municipal councils who are not committed to the task, merely regarding their involvement as a source of income.
We need people with integrity who are willing to learn what work ethics mean.
We do not need councillors who walk into council or committee meetings with sealed envelopes containing agendas, clearly being totally unprepared and not concerned about the need for proper preparation for meetings.
This, in fact, is a display of the disdain with which such councillors view their responsibilities of serving their constituents to the best of their abilities.
It is unfortunately also normal practice for councillors to put political party affiliation before their expected loyalty towards the institution (the municipality), which is supposed to serve the whole community irrespective of political party affiliations.
Sadly, our democracy has not yet reached that stage of maturity.
Municipal councillors and officials are employees of the public, because the public pay property rates to the municipalities and pay taxes to the state.
The state is thus enabled to make unconditional grants to municipalities, used in most instances to pay their salaries.
They have an obligation to serve the public with commitment and efficiency.
• Professor De Clercq served as management consultant for the KZN Department of Local Government during the establishment of municipalities before and after the new dispensation. He was, among others, responsible for the establishment of municipalities and the training of both councillors and officials, the evaluation of the division of functions in local government and later with the implementation of the new Local Government Property Rates Act.
