Better collaboration and communication is needed between communities and their respective ward councillors.
This was according to City of Johannesburg Speaker of the Council, Nonceba Molwele, during the recent instalment of the speaker’s weekly panel discussions on July 7. The virtual discussions are aimed at helping residents understand the role of the City.
In an effort to help residents better understand the role and capabilities of their ward councillors, Molwele was joined by a panel consisting of chairpersons of the Section 79 Committee, Nandipha Zonela and Tshidi Mfikoe, Advocate Siduduzo Gumede of the Office of the Ombudsman and Stan Itshegetseng, the deputy director of communications and stakeholder relations in the office of MMC for Environment and Infrastructure.
According to Molwele, in recent weeks, the City has seen a rise in service delivery protests. While residents have a right to do so, the City believed that residents should not be violent toward ward councillors and their families.
“In this term of office alone, over 65 councillors and their families have been attacked – this is one too many. Given the nature of the problem, I have been on a drive to raise awareness on the work and responsibilities of ward councillors in our communities,” she said.
Molwele added that as local government elections neared, the City anticipated that there would be increased instances of conflict between residents and ward councillors.
“We [residents] must be constructive in the way that we engage with our councillors. Once we [council] understand the frustrations and concerns, there is no need for there to be any loss of life.”
As chairperson of the Section 79 Oversight Committee for Environment and Infrastructure Services, Mfikoe noted that ward councillors served as a bridge of communication between the council and its residents.
“This means that these people [ward councillors] are representing communities; this means that they must be able to communicate the concerns of the community and report back to the community on developments from the council,” she said.
Mfikoe added that while ward councillors couldn’t implement any policies, they played an important role in helping the council determine which policies needed to be better understood and adopted. Policies responded to the various challenges that communities faced.
“Communities are encouraged to engage with their councillors, as they undertake these roles so that as and when there is a problem, such as street lights that are not working, City Power is informed.”
Gumede added that when the council had not resolved the issues facing the community, the office of the ombudsman was involved.
Residents were, however, advised to first report the issue to their City of Johannesburg regional office as the ombudsman served as a last resort.
“Give the City the opportunity to first resolve your problem, if the problem does, however, persist and the City is not helping you, you can come to us and we can determine if it is under the jurisdiction of the office of the ombudsman.”
Visit www.joburg.org.za to find out who your ward councillor is.
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