A threat to withhold payments to lazy Makana Municipality ward committee members was met with fury at a lack of response to community concerns, during a meeting this week of ward councillors and committees.
A threat to withhold payments to lazy Makana Municipality ward committee members was met with fury at a lack of response to community concerns, during a meeting this week of ward councillors and committees.
What was intended to build bridges and get ward committees working, instead turned into an angry exchange.
The meeting was convened by Manager in the Speaker's office Noluthando Santi, following a suggestion from the Reconnecting with Communities work stream.
The work streams are co-operative forums comprising municipal officials and members of civil society.
Their purpose is to jointly find solutions for operational problems, through enlisting support from professionals and concerned individuals in the community.
They were established as part of the intervention plan of Bhisho-appointed administrator Pam Yako.
Yako was appointed administrator in Makana Municipality on 28 August 2014 in terms of Section 139 1(b) of the Local Government Municipal Systems Act, following the collapse of its finances and administration.
A key recommendation of the Reconnecting with Communities work stream was that ward committees needed to better understand their function.
Council Speaker Rachel Madinda-Isaac said it was time for the ward committee members and councillors to work together. "Right now the ward councillors are on their own side and ward committees are on their own side.
That is not right," Madinda-Isaac said. "It is important for you to understand your role as ward committees and councillors. How are you going to encourage communities to pay for the services they get?"
Madinda-Isaac said if ward committee members felt they could not do the work, they could be relieved of their duties.
"It is going to be a hard year," she said.
"Do yourself a favour: if this is huge work for you, excuse yourself.
"Ward councillors must have meetings with their communities once a month."
The Speaker said if there were no reports from wards, as proof that meetings were held, ward committee members would not receive their stipends.
While ward committee members felt the Speaker needed to stay to answer their questions, Madinda-Isaac made it clear she would not answer any questions and left the meeting.
Despite Santi's assurance that she would convey every issue raised in the meeting to the Speaker, one member suggested that if ward committees weren't working, it means that the Speaker's office also wasn't functioning.
"The whole year last year we did not have a meeting like this," said one Ward 2 committee member.
"When we ask to speak with the Speaker she is never available. Now we hear if we do not submit reports we will not get paid.
"We have been waiting for answers to request made by communities in 2013. We are always told there is no money.
"The reason people don't come to meetings is because there is no progress."
Some members accused councillors of withholding information from them. This in turn made communities angry.
"We hear about things in the media, not from councillors, and that information never comes to us," said a member from Ward 6.
Unfulfilled promises and ignored requests put communities off participating in the ward structures, the member said.
"We proposed that there should be street names in our areas and we were told to go to communities and ask them the names they want. "That was done – but even today we still don't have street names," the Ward 6 member said.
"It is difficult for ambulances to reach our areas because there are no street names. Sometimes we have to go and wait near the police station for an ambulance because that is the only common place that is known."
Ward 4 councillor Marcelle Booysen said in her ward it was hard to hold community meetings. "We don't have a community hall like other wards," Booysen said. "We have to struggle and get a tent and chairs from the municipality," she said.
The meeting was also partly to discuss the Draft Public Participation Policy; however, it was decided that a separate date should be considered for this.
