Election Times

WIFI FOR MARGINALISED pg2 FREE COMMUNITIES

councillor should pg3 your disclose financial interests

the pg4 post pledge now!

Ask your councillor to pledge to deliver free wifi to those who cannot afford to pay for it

He/she should make a hardcopy of his/her financial interest available to the community

Post the promise from the potential councillors

Electiontimes jULY 2016

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Using our elections to foster better political leadership

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Local Government Elections 2016:

how can you make them work for YOU? services local government is responsible for: 1 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LOCAL TOURISM LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS STREET TRADING REGULATION

2 SOCIAL SERVICES

ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE MUNICIPAL ROADS* STREET LIGHTS PUBLIC TRANSPORT*

If we use them properly, the power of the vote can amplify our voices and give force to our demands.

While we have had the power to vote since 1994, in some ways we have not used elections to our advantage.

Elections are our time to set down the terms according to which we want to see our government run.

If elected representatives fail to uphold their promises, in the next elections we have the power to ‘punish’ them.

Our vote can be a vote ‘for’, or a vote ‘against’. Both are powerful.

Child care* MUNICIPAL CLINICS* Local sports facilities

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Elections are not the only tool South Africans have to ensure that our government works for us, but they are possibly the most important.

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On the next page we set out some pledges that you can ask candidates campaigning in your area to commit to. Each is explained.

HEALTH & ENVIRONMENT WATER SANITATION REFUSE REMOVAL

For more information on each, visit R2K.org.za and see their publications on Local Government and the Right to Protest.

Note : Items marked with * are handled by municipalities but also provincial and national government.

Make sure you know which facility is managed by who.

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FREE WIFI FOR MARGINALISED COMMUNITIES

Here are some pledges that you can ask candidates campaigning in your area to commit to.

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OPEN MEETINGS. PROACTIVE RELEASE OF INFORMATION.

Section 32 of Fact our Constitution states

:

‘everyone has the right of access to (a) any information held by the state’.

In addition, Section 16 of the Municipal Systems Act (MSA) – the law governing the conduct of municipalities – specifies that local government must facilitate community participation in decision making.

As such, you have the right to:

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The MSA & the MFMA already give you the right to:

• Council meetings are open to the public • Regular report backs from your councillor Your participation in deciding on the kinds of services your community should be getting and how they should be provided (privately or by municipality?)

• Public opening of tender envelopes and announcement of the names of all companies who tendered, and if practical, the amounts they tendered for and their BBBEE status • Capturing this information on register that is publicly available • The proactive release of: Service Delivery Agreements (SDAs), the Municipal Budget, Annual Reports.

Although these requirements are already

in the laws, ask candidates to confirm their commitment to them.

ask your councillor to commit to the following: • Regular report back from your councillor at a venue of your choice • When it comes to tenders issued for services in your community: public opening and all evaluation meetings to be open to the community and held at a venue of your choice3 • The announcement of company names, bid amounts and BBBEE status when publically opening tenders • Capturing this information on a register publically available within 7 days of opening • The establishment of a municipal notice board at a venue of your choice that displays hard-copies of key documents within 7 days of their publication: Service Delivery Agreements, Municipal budget, Integrated Development Plan, Annual Reports, Auditor General Report on the municipality, minutes of council, council committee and sub council meetings, registry of tenders received • Contact details of service providers and the municipal official responsible for them.

Internet access is essential for our personal and economic development. Students cannot properly research their assignments or access information to advance their learning without it. People looking for work cannot know what work is available without wifi access, or what opportunities exist for further skills training or bursaries. Those of us who grow up without access to internet will be left behind. Just like water and electricity, the internet is now a basic service. The city of Tshwane and Cape Town have began providing free wifi.

ask your councillor to PLEDGE the following: They will deliver free wifi to those who cannot afford to pay for it within a certain amount of time in their term.

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THE RIGHT TO PROTEST – POLITICIANS BEFORE POLICE.

The right to protest is enshrined in our constitution and at time is the only form of citizen action available to the marginalised. Since 2010 South Africa has experienced more than 100 ‘service delivery’ protests annually. Estimates indicate that over the past 5 years, these protests have increased by 66%. A disturbing number of these protests lead to crack down by the police and even the deaths of protesters. Additionally, recently some municipalities introduced by-laws that make it more difficult to protest.

ask your councillor to commit to the following: • Attending to protests in your community personally and attempting to resolve challenges before calling the police.

• Repealing any by-laws or challenging administrative practices that prohibit or make it difficult to protest.

1. The Municipal Systems Act. Available at: http://www.cogta.gov.za/cgta_2016/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/MUNICIPAL-SYSTEMS-ACT.pdf 2. Municipal Finances Management Act. For tender processes see Section 23 of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 Municipal Supply Chain Management Regulations. Notice 868 of 2005. Available online http://mfma.treasury.gov.za/ MFMA/Regulations%20and%20Gazettes/Municipal%20Supply%20Chain%20Management%20Regulations%20-%20Gazette%20No%2027636,%2030%20May%202005.pdf 3. Gauteng province, The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, the Ekhuruleni Municipality and Cape Town Municipality already provide for open tender adjudication meetings. It is possible and does not violate the right to privacy.

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DECLARATION OF INTERESTS. OPEN TENDER PROCESSES.

Fact •

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The last Auditor General’s report on municipalities found that:

1 in 5 of all municipalities awarded contracts to companies in which their own councillors or employees had interests One third of all municipalities awarded contracts to companies in which close family members of their own employees or councillors had interests 61% of municipalities awarded contracts to companies in which other state officials had interests. Collectively, the value of these contracts amounts to R78.6 billion.

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Elections are our time to set down the terms according to which we want to see our government run

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THE COMMITMENT TO

ACCOUNTABILITY

While it is us who provide candidates with the opportunity to serve as ward or PR councillors, often they are more accountable to their political party than they are to us. Service delivery protests in the country have been fuelled by councillors’ failures to adhere to the code of conduct and respect the wishes of communities and the Constitution’s call for a government that is open, responsive and accountable. It is not only elected representatives who refuse accountability, but also municipal officials.

Fact

ask your councillor to commit to the following:

Repeating concerns of previous years, the AG’s 2014/15 report notes that “Municipal leadership lacks the political will to intervene and take decisive action” against officials who disregard the law.

ask your councillor to commit to the following: •

he community’s right to recall him/ her T should they fail to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, adhere to the Code of Conduct or fail to honour their promises to the community. A number of places around the world give voters the power to ask their elected representatives to step down before their term ends if they fail the community. Given the high levels of factionalism in our politics, a number of conditions can be attached to the right to recall such as: signatures of 80% of the community; negative disciplinary or legal findings.

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ake timely disciplinary or corrective action T against officials who disregard the Code of conduct for Municipal employees or the rule of law. These processes must be dealt with quickly so that those guilty of mismanagement do not receive extended paid leave and that stolen funds can be recovered.

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Capture the names of those with pending disciplinary cases or negative disciplinary findings in the Department of Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs’ database so that these officials are not employed by other municipalities.

The disclosure of financial interests: •

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Adhering to the Councillors’ Code of Conduct (Schedule 5 of the MSA). It specifies that within 60 days of their election, councillors must declare in writing to the municipal manager all their financial interests (this includes shares or directorships in companies, partnerships and property interests. For full list consult the schedule).

Providing a hardcopy of their financial interest declaration available to the community at a venue of your choice, and include in it the financial interests of their spouses and business partners.

Opening up tender processes: •

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The right of your community to participate in decision making about what kinds of services should be outsourced (MSA Section 4(2)(i-ii)) must be respected Tenders are opened at a venue of your choice that is accessible to your community Register of submitted tenders listing the name, cost and BBBEE status of each company is posted on a notice board in the community within 7 days Tender adjudication processes must be held at venues accessible to your community, and must be open to community members to observe Hardcopies of SDAs of services to the community must be available at a venue in the community within 7 days of their signing The community must participate monitoring the performance of service providers Payments to service providers can only be released with community representative signoff.

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WHAT ELSE? AND HOW TO USE THE PLEDGE (ON THE NEXT PAGE)

The above pledges were developed on the basis of the R2K campaigns Local Government Activist Guide and pledge.

However, you and your community most probably have concerns that are specific to you. In using the pledge on the next page,

consider the following •

Which pledges make the most sense to your community and potential councillors? Feel free to choose from the suggestions or add your own.

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Is it worth including a pledge that is a definite ‘no’ if it discourages the candidate from committing to others?

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If choosing the pledges listed here, is the candidate aware of all the details of each demand? It is up to you whether you accept a councillor committing to e.g. opening tender processes, but not to disclosing their interests.

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If adding your own demands, make sure to be clear about details like timeframes.

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A PROMISE FROM POTENTIAL COUNCILLORS

POST A PICTURE OF THE SIGNED PLEDGE

ONTO FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM OR TWITTER #MyCouncillorPledges2016

Candidate Name: Ward Number:

Political Party:

Municipality:

As a promise to the community members of Ward

, I hereby commit to:

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Specific conditions/ details:

2.

Specific conditions/ details:

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Specific conditions/ details

4.

Specific conditions/ details

5.

Specific conditions/ details

Signed:

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Date:

Witness 1:

Witness 2: