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Msunduzi Stakeholder Forum: Building Bridges for the Future of the City

The Msunduzi Stakeholder Forum aims to address the lack of communication and consultation in the governance of Msunduzi Municipality, promoting active citizenship and partnership for the development of the city.

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Msunduzi Stakeholder Forum: Building Bridges for the Future of the City

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  1. Msunduzi Stakeholder ForumBuilding bridges for the future of the city Built Environment Support Group Deepening Democracy Project 31 January 2011 financially supported by

  2. What this is about • Msunduzi Municipality, the seat of government of the capital city of KwaZulu-Natal, nearly collapsed in February 2010. Both the political and administrative leadership were displaced, and the provincial government appointed an Intervention Team to administer the city. • Over the next 10 months, many drastic measures were taken to turn around a cashflow crisis, some of which caused hurt to many sectors of the local community – businesses, residents, and especially poor people. • The one common issue in all that hurt was – lack of communication, and in areas where there is a legislative imperative, lack of consultation. • The Msunduzi Stakeholder Forum was the first time that all sectors of the local community had occupied the same space, to hear from the Provincial Intervention Team what it had achieved, what still had to be done, and what was the road map for the future governance of the city. • It provided an opportunity to rebuild a relationship between civil society and citizens in general, and the municipal administration; and for local government to acknowledge the importance of developing a culture of active citizenship and partnership.

  3. Why is BESG hosting this event? BESG is an NGO that has worked in the field of promoting good governance for over 10 years. Through the Good Governance Learning Network, it acts as a civil society informant to the National Department of CoGTA and SALGA. It developed the Deepening Democracy Project in 2007, in response to the wave of service delivery protests that sporadically flared up across the country after the 2006 local elections. The project seeks to assist all 7 local municipalities within uMgungundlovu District develop strategies for meaningful public participation in municipal affairs.

  4. The mandate (1) – The Constitution • Section 152: Objects of local government The objects of local government are - • to provide democratic and accountable government for local communities; • to ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner; • to promote social and economic development; • to promote a safe and healthy environment; and • to encourage the involvement of communities and community organisations in the matters of local government.

  5. The mandate (2)The Municipal Systems Act (32 of 2000) 16. (1) A municipality must develop a culture of municipal governance that complements formal representative government with a system of participatory governance, and must for this purpose- (a) encourage, and create conditions for, the local community to participate in the affairs of the municipality, including in— (i) the preparation. implementation and review of its integrated development plan in terms of Chapter 5; (ii) the establishment, implementation and review of its performance management system in terms of Chapter 6: (iii) the monitoring and review of its performance, including the outcomes and impact of such performance: (iv) the preparation of its budget; and (v) strategic decisions relating to the provision of municipal services in terms of Chapter 8; (b) contribute to building the capacity of— (i) the local community [to enable it to participate in the affairs of the municipality; and (ii) councillors and staff to foster community participation; and (c) use its resources, and annually allocate funds in its budget, as may be appropriate for the purpose of implementing paragraphs (a) and (b).

  6. The mandate (2 cont’d) 17 (2) A municipality must establish appropriate mechanisms, processes and procedures to enable the local community to participate in the affairs of the municipality. 18. (1) A municipality must communicate to its community information concerning— • (a) the available mechanisms, processes and procedures to encourage and facilitate community participation; • (b)the matters with regard to which community participation is encouraged; • (c) the rights and duties of members of the local community; and • (d) municipal governance, management and development.

  7. Who is “the community”? • The general public, via Ward Councillors and Ward Committees…..and block and street committees? (CoGTA, Dec 2009) • Residents and businesses (as ratepayers and consumers) who have common issues, (i.e., not-ward bound) • Other sectors who have common interests, e.g., NGOs, FBOs, CBOs -- both collectively and within specific service sectors

  8. The mandate (3) – national intervention CoGTA State of local government overview report November 2009: • In instances where it was found that there was a lack of a genuine participatory process, due to political instability, corruption and undue interference in the administration, then it can be said that there is a failure to provide democratic and accountable government. • Service failures by municipalities may be attributed to elements of uneven and unstable governance. There is evidence of a high incidence of irregular or inappropriate appointments, coupled with low capacities, poor skills development programmes and weak institutional management….They generally lack the financial and human resources to deliver on their constitutional and legal mandate and on citizen expectations. • A culture of patronage and nepotism is now so widespread in many municipalities that the formal municipal accountability system is ineffective and inaccessible to many citizens.

  9. The mandate (3 cont’d) The Local Government Turn-Around Strategy (CoGTA December 2009): • Five strategic objectives are identified that will guide the LGTAS interventions and support framework. These are aimed at restoring the confidence of the majority of our people in our municipalities, as the primary expression of the developmental state at a local level. These are: 1) Ensure that municipalities meet the basic service needs of communities 2) Build clean, effective, efficient, responsive and accountable local government 3) Improve performance and professionalism in municipalities 4) Improve national and provincial policy, oversight and support 5) Strengthen partnerships between local government, communities and civil society • These objectives have been identified as the key drivers in order to rebuild and improve the basic requirements for a functional, responsive, effective, efficient, and accountable developmental local government. In achieving these objectives we will mobilise government and society to protect and enhance the Local Government system by addressing the forces undermining the system and addressing relevant areas for improvement.

  10. The context • February 2010: Cashflow crisis; officials do not co-operate with provincial task team • March 2010: Political leadership removed, Municipality placed under provincial administration. A mixture of threats, promises, and suspensions of senior managers follows. Mettler quoted addressing employees 22 April – “I’m busy with arrests…” • May 2010: Provincial Intervention Team (PIT) implements Turn-Around Strategy (TAS). 4 elements: Financial recovery strategy, infrastructure development strategy, Community Service Strategy, Good Governance Strategy • July 2010: Desperate measures put in place to prevent insolvency • October 2010: Cashflow crisis averted; CoGTA hears representations to extend the term of the PIT • January 2011: PIT extended to June but only one of original 6 member team remains. Disciplinary hearings begin. Mayor briefs media on progress and next short term measures in the TAS

  11. The effect • Cashflow crisis averted but at what cost? • Service delivery reduced to bare minimum • No communication outside of print media, no public engagement • Residents hit by triple-whammy of drastic changes in indigent support policy, hard disconnections (on the back of property rates hikes), fines for unlicenced dogs in selective areas; businesses subject to penalties & hard disconnection for “wrong MCB” • Funding and logistical support withdrawn without notice from various cultural and sporting events • Relationship with public breaks down due to disaffection, anger, scepticism

  12. So what was wrong?

  13. Unanswered questions • Why are the suspensions of senior staff (34? 25?) unresolved, when an interim staff placement process has already been implemented? • Has a skills audit been conducted to inform the placement process? • Rampant overtime claims of R50m. Who exploited the system? To what level? • Dubious tender award(s) unresolved – the R240m meter reading tender and what other skeletons in the cupboard are being investigated? • Irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure of R22m identified by the AG; irregular expenditure on a political party rally – will heads roll? • Alleged sabotage of fleet vehicles (refuse trucks) – was there any substance to the claims? • What if any skills transfer has taken place to ensure the work of the PIT is sustainable?

  14. Is there an elephant in the room? Everyone can see it but no-one wants to say it:

  15. “Are key offenders being protected, and if so, what does that say for the future of administration in the city?” • Sometimes cartoonists can express public opinion in satire when a burning question is too hot to handle:

  16. Turn-Around Strategies – it has been done before • uMgungundlovu District Municipality crashed in December 2007 with both political and administrative leadership removed and a cashflow crisis • An Acting Municipal Manager was seconded from province initially for three months – extended by 6 months – transferred to UMDM on a 5 year contract commencing January 2009. • 5 pillars of UMDM’s Turn-Around Strategy: • Focus on core business – delivering basic services, not PR events • Secure a clean audit – achieved an unqualified audit after only 4 months; moved money management to Pastel; conditional grants began flowing; AG attends quarterly audit meetings as a routine • Develop strategic partnerships – cannot do it all on their own • Monitoring and evaluation systems developed, performance management system currently being introduced • Professionalise the staff – no cadre deployment, maintain boundaries between politics and administration

  17. Where lies the future? The Dinokeng Scenarios:Three futures for South Africa WALK APART   • There is a breakdown in trust and relationship between government and the public. Evidenced by action or threats of action – petitions, angry letters in the press, rates boycotts, marches, street protests. WALK BEHIND • In this scenario where the state assumes the role of leader and manager -- find the problem and fix it. Citizens are passive vessels who pay for and (sometimes) receive services. WALK TOGETHER • This is a scenario of active citizen engagement with a government that is effective and that listens.

  18. Civil society and its relationship to the state (1) • Prof. Steven Friedman, former Director of IDASA and currently Head of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at Rhodes and the University of Johannesburg (Witness 30 December 2010) • Experience has shown that, in African conditions, a more democratic government is also a more effective government….The key to this is greater accountability to citizens. Unless citizens are able to act collectively with people who share their interests and values to hold the government to account and to press it to respond to their concerns, there is little or no incentive for people in the government to make public service a priority. • If democracy is to deepen and the government is to become more accountable to citizens, it is crucial that every effort be made to move beyond purely middle-class concerns and to highlight the impact of government actions on grass-root citizens.

  19. Civil society and its relationship to the state (2) • Richard Baloyi, Minister of Public Service & Administration, commenting on the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) review process of good governance within the African Union (Daily News 27 Jan 2011): • “Civil society…is arguably the most important component of the APRM process…without active participation from our civil society sector this process would be devoid of any legitimacy.”

  20. Step 1: Restoring confidence • The public want transparency and accountability • The public need confidence that there is a realisable plan for service delivery, not a quick fix of potholes before the elections • The municipality needs to strengthen the relationship of Ward Councillors and Ward Committees to communities, as prescribed in the Municipal Systems Act and envisaged in the NTAS • The municipality needs a major effort to improve the management of information and stakeholder relations.

  21. Step 2: Creating space for active citizenship The well-being of the city will be nourished if: • Council uses the opportunity of this event to engage routinely with interested and affected stakeholders, and thereby actively promote public participation in the affairs of the administration. • In order to achieve the above, public engagement processes are made accessible in terms of time, location, complexity of information, and language • The contributions made by civil society, in all its facets, are acknowledged and promoted in the public arena – by the media as well as the municipality.

  22. Structure of today’s event • 1. Report back, questions & answers: What has been achieved by the PIT, what is still to be done, and what is the plan to achieve sustainable improvements in administration and service delivery? • 2. After lunch, a participatory session to explore opportunities for further engagement, and ways in which stakeholder groups and the general public are contributing, or would like to contribute, to the well-being and development of the city.

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