Induction Programme for new Councillors; Monitoring of Local Government by Provincial Standing Committees

Local Government (WCPP)

10 May 2022
Chairperson: Ms L Botha (DA)
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Meeting Summary

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The Committee was briefed by the Western Cape Provincial Parliament’s senior legal adviser on the legislature’s and Committee's roles in exercising oversight over the Department of Local Government. Discussions also focused also on the right of the legislature and the Committee to obtain information from municipalities which were needed for oversight.

The Committee was also briefed by the Department and the SA Local Government Association (SALGA) on training programmes for municipal councillors and officials.

The legal advice to the Committee was that the provincial legislature exercised oversight over the executive authority in the province. The provincial executive authority and provincial organs of state were accountable to the legislature. The legislature had appointed the Standing Committee on Local Government to have oversight of the Department of Local Government.

Neither the legislature nor the provincial government had oversight of local government. A municipal council accounted to the voters that conferred authority on the council.
However, the legislature could compel the disclosure of any information necessary to fulfil its oversight mandate. The provincial parliament could compel the disclosure of information by any person, including any municipality. The Committee’s oversight role was to monitor whether the provincial executive authority was fulfilling its role of monitoring, strengthening and supporting local government.

SALGA and the Department briefed the Committee on various general and portfolio-specific training programmes for councillors. The committee Was told that they had been well attended and that the feedback from the councillors had been positive. 

Members raised the issue of the City of Cape Town saying it was not obliged to respond to Member’s questions. The Committee decided to obtain further legal opinion on whether individual Members could approach the provincial minister to obtain information from municipalities.

Concern was raised about the accreditation of the training provided to councillors. Members’ questioned the distinction between full-time and part-time councillors in providing them with resources such as office space and tools of trade. The Committee resolved to further explore the issue of whether municipal public accounts committees should be chaired by governing or opposition party members. 

Meeting report

Briefing by Advocate Andre le Roux: provincial parliament monitoring of local government

Adv Andre le Roux, Senior Legal Advisor, Western Cape Provincial Parliament, briefed the committee on the monitoring of local government by the provincial parliament. He said the legislature had oversight of the exercise of provincial executive authority in the province, including the implementation of legislation, and of provincial organs of state in the province. The provincial executive authority and provincial organs of state, in turn, were accountable to the legislature.

It followed that the legislature appointed the Standing Committee on Local Government to have oversight of the Department of Local Government (DLG), and the Department, in turn, accounted to the Committee. Neither the legislature nor the provincial government had oversight of local government. A municipal council accounted to the voters that conferred authority on the municipal council.

However, provincial government (through the DLG) had a distinct relationship with local government. The legislature had oversight of how the provincial executive performed in respect of its obligations pertaining to local government.

The provincial government must, by legislative and other measures, support and strengthen the capacity of municipalities to manage their own affairs, to exercise their powers and to perform their functions. In order to meet this obligation, the provincial government must monitor local government in the province

The provincial parliament had oversight of whether the provincial executive was meeting these obligations. For the legislature to have oversight of the provincial executive the legislature could compel the disclosure of any information necessary to fulfil its oversight mandate. The provincial parliament could compel the disclosure of information by any person, including any municipality.


There were also specific statutes that sought to ensure that the legislature had access to the information it needed. These statutory disclosures to provincial legislatures served the same purpose – to ensure that the provincial legislatures had the information they needed to have oversight of their provincial executives.

The oversight function fulfilled by the Standing Committee on Local Government resembled the oversight function of any other standing committee dealing with its own distinct portfolio. The Standing Committee on Local Government had oversight of those powers and functions that the DLG was responsible for, including monitoring, supporting and strengthening local government in the province.

The Western Cape Monitoring and Support of Municipalities Act of 2014 was an example of legislation that must be implemented by the DLG. The Committee had oversight over the implementation.

In concussion, the legislature did not have oversight of municipalities, and municipalities did not account to the legislature. The legislature had oversight of the DLG’s performance of its powers and functions. To this end, the legislature could compel the disclosure of information by any person if it needed that information for its oversight. The Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act of 2003 ensured that certain types of information were made available to provincial parliaments as a matter of course.

Briefing by the South African Local Government Association (SALGA)

Cllr Aidan Stowman, Deputy Chairperson, SALGA, took the Committee through SALGA’s Integrated Councillor Induction Programme (ICIP) and its portfolio based inductions. 

He said the ICIP aligned learners with the institutional culture of municipalities; helped them fulfil their roles more effectively; enabled them to have a better understanding of their new role in relation to the important mandate of municipalities; and gave practical guidance on important policies, legislation, systems, and processes relevant to the execution of their tasks.

SALGA Western Cape had rolled out the 2021 generic ICIP over four weeks from 29 November 2021 to 11 February 2022 at 15 venues across the province. The sessions were attended by 73 percent, or 617, of the 844 councillors in the Western Cape. Of the participants, 93 percent strongly agreed or agreed that the programme met their expectations; 96 percent strongly agreed or agreed that they now understood their roles and responsibilities; 97 percent strongly agreed or agreed that the facilitators were knowledgeable and experienced; and 95 percent strongly agreed or agreed that the programme was well structured.

Cllr Stowman informed members that the Portfolio Based Inductions were a product of a collaboration between SALGA, the Department of Local Government, the Provincial Treasury and the SA Revenue Service (SARS). National Treasury and Department of Cooperative Government participated in certain sessions. Training on municipal finance and municipal public accounts committees (MPACs) was rolled out per district. The last session took place on 8 and 9 April 2022. On day one, 128 councillors attended and there were 107 on day two. The City of Cape Town internally arranged an induction for its MPAC members.

The purpose of inducting councillors into the Local Economic Development Portfolio was to ensure that they were capacitated to understand some of the following: economic development leadership and oversight roles; relevant legislation and policy; investment attraction and retention; ease of doing business; and the importance of the informal economy.

Training for the West Coast and Cape Winelands took place on 11 April 2022. The dates for the City of Cape Town, Garden Route, Overberg and Central Karoo Districts were being finalised.

The roll-out of the Social Development Programme was scheduled to commence in the first quarter of the 2022-23 financial year. The training was scheduled to take place over five consecutive days per province and each day would end with a high-level panel discussion. The programme would cover issues such as community services, safety and sport; integrated planning development and local economic development; and human settlements and town planning.

The Electricity and Energy / Water and Sanitation Programme would provide one three-day session per province.  The training sessions would cover issues around the electricity and energy value chain; policy and legislative framework; an overview of the status quo within the sector, including challenges and key issues; service authority functions of a municipality; water cycles; policy and the role of municipalities and councillors.

Training under the Municipal Sustainability / Built Environment and Planning Programme would cover the following modules: climate change; environmental management; waste management; disaster management; and human settlements. There would be two five-day sessions per province and dates would be made known later.

Briefing by the Department of Local Government: Councillor Training

Ms Eda Barnard, Chief Director: Municipal Performance, Monitoring and Support, Western Cape Department of Local Government, briefed the Committee on the provincial approach towards councillor development in the Western Cape. She talked about external accredited formal training opportunities and theme-specific informal training opportunities.

Following the 2016 Local Government Elections, the department, supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation, rolled out a councillor training programme. The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) was the implementing agent. The Department had established internal capacity to provide informal training sessions on a number of focal areas like the roles and responsibilities of the Speaker; code of conduct for councillors; combating corruption; the roles of municipal public accounts committees, and workshopping the draft standard rules of order.

Ms Barnard informed the Committee that the greater focus now was on personal and individual growth and development. From the NMMU training, it had been learnt that the material was too legalistic, not applicable to all municipal functional areas, too theoretical, had no practical responses for real life challenges and situations, and had insufficient academic and skills development path. On the other hand, the informal training needed to increase collaboration with other stakeholders such as the provincial treasury and SALGA. There was a need to extend training to other oversight committees in partnership with mandated stakeholders and be more responsive to the needs of municipalities with regard to legislative interpretations in matters such as disciplinary regulations and appointment regulations

New programmes had been introduced to address lessons learnt and councillor feedback. The NMMU accredited training had gone through a full review. More case studies and role playing had been included and a postgraduate diploma had been developed to encourage councillors to complete the programme. There would be more collaboration with SALGA and the Department of Cooperative Government on informal training. MPAC and anti-corruption training would be provided, and guidance would be provided to councillors on interpretations of legislative changes and regulations. 

Looking at the gap analysis in preparation for the 2021 local government elections, it was reported the Councillor Seasonal School debriefing session had acknowledged adjustments to be made in line with requests and feedback from councillors. It had been felt that themes covered in Summer and Winter Schools contributed positively to the individual development of councillors. It had been recommended that there should be a stronger focus on basic principles that impacted service delivery; that there should be alignment with municipal planning, budgeting and implementation cycles; and that there should be a more pragmatic approach – more practical, less theory.

Research, in the form of interviews with the MEC and head of department of local government and targeted councillors, was conducted to inform the development of a multi-faceted formal training programme.  It had been recommended that emphasis should be on practical knowledge that would improve skills, facilitate work capability and boost the confidence of councillors; there should be assessments and recognition throughout the learning programme to identify and address gaps, and there should be more in-depth training courses, focusing on councillors’ mandate, socio-economic factors, policy and legislative imperatives and managing relationships within the system.

Going forward, it was felt there was a need to adapt to the rapidly changing landscape involving coalition governments that were having an impact on council functionality. There was potential for key council decisions not to be passed timeously and a reluctance to call meetings. Changes in senior management leadership could have an impact on administrative culture and affect service delivery.

Ms Barnard indicated the new training would be geared towards functional municipalities and service delivery. The Post-Election Councillor Induction Programme had provided support to SALGA which had already participated in the programme. The Municipal Minimum Competency accredited training for councillors would be introduced and would provide opportunities for councillors to acquire formal qualifications to fulfil roles and responsibilities and provide councillors with practical tools and skills. This would be piloted with 20 councillors in 2022/23. The Seasonal Schools would continue with themes on ethics linked to current trends and realities within local government. Informal training would continue as well. Adaptations would be based on identified needs and the changing landscape. The focused training would assist new councils to optimise their oversight role.

Discussion

Deliberations with Advocate Andre Le Roux

Ms M Maseko (DA) remarked that the executive’s obligation was to monitor and strengthen municipalities. Its budget was approved for that purpose. When parliament did oversight, it had to see value for money.  What was important was to be able, without asking for information, to interact with the municipality regarding the approved budget to empower the municipality.

Adv le Roux said if the committee was doing oversight on functions or responsibilities of the provincial minister, the municipality would release the information.

Mr C Dugmore (ANC) commented that the presentation was clear about the spheres of government and reports that needed to be provided. Members of the legislature had different constituencies. Members had a right to file direct questions to the MEC for Local Government. The City of Cape Town had indicated it was not obliged to respond to Members’ questions. No other municipality in the province or anywhere in the country had taken that position. He asked what the view of the advocate was.

Adv le Roux explained that the executive had the power to monitor what was happening in municipalities for the province to assess if interventions might be warranted under section 139 of the Constitution. The scope for monitoring what was happening in municipalities was quite wide. Members in their constituencies raised issues that could be related closely to the work of local government. If the legislature required oversight of the work of the local government, it had the right to request information from the provincial minister, and the minister had the right to receive it from the municipality. Municipalities had the right not to disclose information that was not within the capacity or scope of the provincial minister and therefore the provincial minister would not be able to release the information to the legislature.

The Chairperson wanted to understand if this meant the Committee should direct its questions to the minister of local government or if it meant the committee should go straight to the municipality if it wanted information.

Adv le Roux stated that if the information related to the scope of the provincial minister, that information could be obtained from the provincial minister. If the provincial minister required that information from the municipality, the municipality would release the information to the provincial minister.

Mr Dugmore wanted to know if the advocate was drawing a distinction between a Member’s question and one from a Committee.

Adv le Roux said the provincial legislature had the power to obtain disclosure of information from the municipality to monitor the work of the provincial minister. He did not think an individual Member could use the Committee to get information from the municipality or provincial minister.

Ms D Baartman (DA) commented there were issues that had an impact on provincial and national mandates. For instance, the province had good relations with Eskom but not with the national department. This happened as well with other national departments.

Adv le Roux explained that the same principles were applied between the three spheres of government. Decisions by the national department had an impact on the other spheres. There was an overlap. The Committee should make clear the purpose of the request for information from a department, entity or municipality, and it should state that the request was within its mandate.

Mr Dugmore suggested the Committee discuss this matter in a separate meeting to look at the legal issues, challenge conventions and write to the new Mayor of Cape Town to hear if he shared the views of his predecessor.

Ms Baartman added it would be better to ask the national parliament for assistance on guidelines to ensure questions asked were in line with the mandate of the Department, including the format of the questions to ensure Members were reasonable when interacting with a municipality or other entity.

Ms Maseko remarked that Members did agree they needed to get together to ensure there were reasonable rules going forward. Mr Dugmore had raised questions that Members should consider as a Committee. Other committees got information from the City of Cape Town. Members needed to find ways of putting questions to the municipalities.

The Chairperson said the Ccommittee needed to have a broader discussion about the presentation by the advocate so as to have better synergies with the other departments it engaged with.

Deliberations with SALGA

Ms Maseko wanted to understand if SALGA had an opportunity to sit down with the Department to discuss the kinds of training that needed to be prioritised.

Mr Joseph Hearne, Advisor: HR and Capacity Building, SALGA, said they had noted in the past that being a councillor was a giant task. Councillors went through an induction process so that they knew what was expected of them. Before running an induction, SALGA asked councillors what they would like to be covered. The product was refined for incoming councillors.

The Chairperson wanted to know if the training was accredited to lead to a diploma or further education certificate. Was psycho-social support given to councillors? How did SALGA ensure that councillors gave feedback to their municipalities about the training they attended?

Mr Hearne said the training was not accredited, but they were working towards accreditation of the ICIP. The portfolio-based induction programmes provided information to help portfolio councillors understand their responsibilities. Accreditation would take place after the portfolio induction. The training was intensive so that they were able to transition from being activists to councillors and be able to interact with councils. Officials from the municipalities were trained over a five-year period. Councillors received training in financial and performance management.

Mr Khalil Mullagie, Western Cape Provincial Director of Operations, SALGA, said SALGA had partnerships on sector training with various departments. He also noted that some questions would be answered in writing because they were not related to what SALGA had been asked to present

Mr Dugmore remarked that SALGA was like a guardian to the councillors who came from the wards. He wanted to know if psycho-social counselling was provided to councillors. Their growth was important, including personal and financial management. He asked who should chair a MPAC. In many cases, the governing party held the MPAC seat, whereas it should go to the opposition member. He asked if there was any consistency in the appointment of ward assistants and administrators.

Mr Hearne said he would send a written response to the MPAC question. 

Mr Mullagie stated they encouraged the chairing of MPACs by opposition parties.

Ms Baartman remarked that the MPAC chairs in most small municipalities in the Karoo were not given to the opposition. Some ward councillors did not have office space and tools of trade to do their work. She wanted to know if the courses given to councillors were accredited because when their terms of office came to an end, they struggled to find work in the private sector.

Mr Hearne said the provision of tools of trade to councillors was the responsibility of the municipalities.

Mr Armstrong Mpela, Senior Advisor: Inter Governmental and Strategic Relations, SALGA, added that tools of trade were determined by municipalities and executive mayors for full-time councillors, depending on the capacity of the municipalities.

Ms Baartman remarked she did not understand why only full-time councillors were getting full perks. She said she did not know the definition of a full-time councillor or part-time councillor because, in practice, part-time councillors were working full-time even if they had another job.

The Chairperson asked if SALGA had encouraged communities to partake in the 2022 census.

Mr Mullagie said they had not done anything related to the 2022 census with communities.

Ms Maseko said all councillors, in principle, were full-time. She wanted to know if SALGA had a system for empowering itself to respond to community demands.

Mr Mpela stated the legislation was clear about full-time and part-time councillors. Their work required them to be in the communities 24/7. These matters had been raised with the remuneration commission. Engagements were ongoing on this matter.

The Chairperson asked if there was cooperation between missionary stations and municipalities. She asked whether councillors who were not returned were given an honorarium.

Mr Hearne asked to reply in writing to the questions.

Deliberations with the Department of Local Government

Ms Maseko wanted to find out if the capacity value chain paid dividends, because councillors refused to provide information during interactions. How did the Department identify some responsibilities within the municipalities to ensure the implementation of the Integrated Development Plan (IDP)?

Ms Barnard explained that once the Department was approached by a council for review of delegation, monitoring kicked in to identify potential new gaps and policies that needed to be changed. IDP training was needed to improve the lives of people in the communities. Decisions that were taken were followed through and it was important to explain the processes step by step.

Mr Dugmore asked how the training of the Department was aligned to that of SALGA. How long had the partnership with the Hanns Seidel Foundation been going? Had the foundation been paying the NMMU to do the work and how long would the partnership work? Was there any relationship with the School of Governance in the training of the councillors on modules? He asked whether the Department had a database of retired councillors to mentor current councillors.

Ms Barnard stated there were no less than two formal structures. The Department pulled from other departments that dealt with municipalities and also from its own internal programme. She said the partnership with the Hanns Seidel Foundation had been going on for 20 years, and it included other provinces. An MOU had been signed three years ago and the NMMU was paid in full by the foundation. The Department did not collaborate with the School of Governance because the Department's focus was on officials, not on councillors. The Department was trying to offer the same lessons to councillors.

The Chairperson asked what kind of support was given to councillors who became victims of protest. What was the spread of the municipal minimum competency training in the province? Where did the 20 councillors in the pilot project come from? He asked whether councillors held community meetings and provided feedback to the municipality and the Department, because after the inauguration they ended up in cosy, air-conditioned offices. How many councillors registered for the university training and how many passed the training?

Ms Barnard said all districts would be given an opportunity to nominate councillors for the competency training. A provision was being made to involve more than 20 in the next financial year. Councillors were encouraged to provide feedback towards and to assist in the establishment of ward committees. All 20 councillors that attended the NMMU training completed all 9 modules.

The Chairperson wanted to know what happened in an urgent matter when a councillor who did not have medical aid needed psycho-social support.

Ms Barnard said there were wellness programmes in many, but not all, municipalities.

Committee resolutions

The Committee resolved that SALGA should provide its list of accredited and non-accredited development courses. It should provide information on what legislation was needed to ensure full-time and part-time councillors had equitable access to resources.

It resolved that the Committee should receive a legal opinion on whether municipalities had an obligation to respond to questions from Members sent via the provincial minister. It also resolved to get a legal response from the provincial minister.

There should be a follow-up meeting with SALGA regarding the MPAC matter; provision of tools of trade; and the appointment of ward assistants and administrators. It called for a list of retired councillors to be considered for mentoring roles. Lastly, it agreed that it needed to have better synergies with the departments of human settlements, transport and public works.

The meeting was adjourned.


 

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