Municipality’s ward committee induction begins
The induction will be followed by a series of seminars that would go over the portfolios in depth.
Municipality’s ward committee induction begins:
The Newcastle Local Municipality’s Public Participation Unit kicked off its ward committee induction process March 14, 2022. This took place at the Farmers Hall.
The purpose of the programme, according to Mlungisi Khumalo, is to ‘provide newly elected ward committee members with information to help the municipality deliver its services’.
Khumalo, as the head of the municipality’s Communications Department, said the following:
“The induction process follows after a two month long ward committee election process, where 340 ward committee members were elected in all 34 wards.”
He added that public participation was an essential aspect of our democracy.
“It allows residents to participate in the governance of their communities. Municipalities must build methods to consult communities and community organisations in executing their tasks and exercising their powers, according to the Local Government Municipal Structures Act of 1998.”
Khumalo also mentioned that ward committees are an important part of the local government system.
“They serve as a link between the councillor and the community,” he explained.
Bonginkosi Nxumalo of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) facilitated the induction process.
“The induction aims to define the roles of ward committee members in the various five portfolios,” explained Nxumalo.
The five portfolios are:
- Infrastructure and service delivery
- Social development
- Municipal planning and environment
- Financial sustainability, and
- Municipal transformation and governance.
“The first round of the induction process was designed to provide ward committee members with a thorough grasp of their tasks within the five portfolios they will be serving in,” said Nxumalo.
He concluded by confirming the induction will be followed by a series of seminars that would go over the portfolios in depth.
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