30,000 WhatsApps a day – the life of an opposition councillor

Imagine getting 30,000 WhatsApp messages in a crisis-ridden day. That’s more than a thousand an hour, or 20 every minute.

It would drive anyone insane but, says councillor Simon Lapping, a legion of messages, e-mails and phone calls all count in a day’s work as an elected local government representative.

Lapping is a ward councillor for the DA as official opposition in Ekurhuleni and spokesperson on energy and water.

Lapping says that 10 years ago, life as a public representative was somewhat different.

“In the days before instant messaging, it was a bit slower than the frantic pace at which we work now. Today, people want answers immediately and they demand action. Councillors are now a finger tap away from their constituencies.”

However, he says, the sheer volume of incoming issues can be overwhelming.

“In a well-run municipality, it would likely be less, but when call centres take forever to respond, if at all, and if service delivery is lacklustre, councillors tend to be the last resort in ratepayers’ endeavours to get anything done,” he says.

“A councillor is voted into council to represent the interests of their respective constituencies and to influence and shape local policy.

But more and more we are expected to effect delivery, too, because there’s just none.”

This, he says, is sometimes impossible, yet, as a matter of course, he logs daily complaints with the various service provision departments in the metro.

“I made it my business to get to know as many of the professionals in the various departments as possible and, more often than not, eventually get the help needed for businesses and the public.”

Yet he says the ANC-led administration made it clear officials are not allowed to talk to councillors.

“This is unfortunate as both the constitution and the Batho Pele principles provides for this – at the very least some form of feedback to citizens.”

A ward councillor also gets some very strange requests, he says.

“A couple of years ago, I had two churches fighting. So, I was called in to mediate between the two pastors. At other times, families call me to settle household disputes and neighbourhood arguments. While I am not a counsellor, many mistake the role as somewhat of a community peacemaker,” he says.

Death threats are also nothing new, as well as abusive WhatsApps and stalkers.

“It’s endemic to being a public figure of sorts, that some crazies would get hold of your number and use it to meet the ends of some whack job’s agenda.”

He says there is a definite lack of education about what local government really does “and with it the role of councillors”.

It’s about local issues, service delivery and municipal checks and balances.

“This is not about national issues or parliamentary debate but dealing with the issues and opportunities on the ground.”

It’s about the local economy, service delivery and issues such as crime and social problems. Lapping often meets police, emergency services and various departments and spends a lot of time in council meetings.

The demands on local public representatives can be quite challenging.

“That’s why it doesn’t really help to vote for smaller parties; they just don’t have the people power to attend a multitude of simultaneous oversight committee meetings, keep their ear on the ground and engage with ratepayers.”