With the Local Government Elections (LGE) fast approaching on Monday, November 1, Councillor André Beetge aims to clarify questions raised by residents.
Who are the present ward councillors in Amanzimtoti?
The larger Amanzimtoti (extending from the Amanzimtoti golf course south to Illovo beach and the Ezimbokodweni area inland of Southgate Industrial park) is essentially divided into two wards. Ward 93 (Golf Course Road through Athlone Park to Lewis Drive and extending inland to include Umbogintwini and eZimbokodweni) was won by the African National Congress (ANC) in 2016 leading to Councillor Thabasile Zungu entering her first term as ward councillor. This is as opposed to the urban voting stations of Kuswag, Umbogintwini and Athlone park that instead favoured the Democratic Alliance (DA) on both the yellow (ward) and blue (proportional representative or PR ballot). During the same LGE, Councillor Andre Beetge with twenty years of political experience and representing the DA, was elected by the majority to a second term as Ward 97 councillor. Ballots on both the yellow (ward) and blue (PR) favoured the DA.
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How is voting conducted and what do the yellow (ward) and blue (PR) ballots mean?
During LGE, voters will again receive two ballot papers. One will be to elect a ward councillor, identified by both name and party. The individual who receives the majority of votes on this ballot will become the ward councillor directly representing the people of the ward as its first citizen at the local government level. Such individuals will be so elected to represent the interest of the people across eThekwini in the 2021 to 2026 term. In turn, the second or PR ballot will reflect only the name and symbol of a political party. These PR councillors, from a ranked list submitted by all political parties using different criteria that could include specific and scarce skills, are subsequently allocated to wards while essentially remaining answerable to their political parties.
A ward councillor cannot (officially) also be deployed as a PR councillor, albeit that some might (unofficially) assume such responsibilities in the better interest.
Why should people vote?
It is the one thing in a participative democracy where everyone is absolutely equal. Whether the President, a professional or a beggar asking for alms, one man equals one vote. It is the one privilege that every adult citizen has, to decide who best represents his or her interest. Residents need to decide who has their finger on their community’s pulse, who is prepared to tell them what they need to hear and not necessarily what they want to hear, who does not make promises, but who are prepared to roll up their sleeves to make things happen, who thrives not on popularity but on getting things done. Complain not, become part of the solution and vote, it is your right.
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How are parties or their representatives deployed within Council?
Council is broken into various committees starting with the twelve members Executive committee (Exco) chaired by the Mayor and including the Deputy Mayor, Speaker and Chief Whip. The committee, based on the PR ballot, comprises of political party representatives with the 2016 – 2021 term consisting of eight members from the ANC, three from the DA and one from the IFP. Exco members are deemed full-time councillors and with exception of the Mayor, also have to serve on one of the other five standing committees or various sub-committees. The second committee, directly answerable to full Council and not Exco as opposed to the other five standing committees, is the 11 member Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) that in the same term comprised of six ANC, three DA, one IFP and one EFF. Members of this committee are part-time councillors but may not serve on any other committee so as not to compromise impartiality. The remainder of councillors are allocated to one of the 5 standing committees, local labour forums and an array of sub-committees of the standing committees which in turn, makes it extremely difficult if not totally impossible for individuals to properly represent their constituents across all platforms. These committees investigate & make recommendations to the full Council (everyone from all committees) that is the highest decision-making structure in the municipality. Matters so ranked, are debated prior decision with speaking time to substantiate or deliberate items being allocated on a sliding scale in accordance with the proportional representation in full Council (both ward and PR ballots taken into account) with single representatives receiving 1 minute per item to the majority ANC with 45 minutes followed closely by the DA as the official opposition and half the DA time to the IFP and EFF respectively.
Can one person stand in more than one ward?
Indeed they can as smaller parties (including one-man crusades) are reliant on the required number of proportional (PR) votes (across the entire municipality) to project them into the Council Chambers. Should such a person however receive the majority vote on the ward ballot in more than one ward, the individual would be forced to choose one of such wards and relinquish the position in the second. It is thus imperative that voters take the second ballot as seriously as the ward ballot, as it could effectively secure additional representatives, thus strengthening representation within committees and full Council. The PR ballot is often characterised by smaller parties or individual populist campaigning yet when such a party or individual fails to secure sufficient votes, it could construe what is deemed a “lost vote” when the intended objective is not achieved, yet at cost of a meaningful seat.
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DID YOU KNOW?
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