By JENNIFER SMOUT It’s fair to say that representative equality (equal numbers of all genders on a party list) can’t tell you much about whether a party will govern in a substantively equal way when in office (whether they will act in a manner that promotes lived gender equality for the citizens in the areas they govern). South Africa is falling behind in gender representation at the local government level and has not gone far enough to promote LGBTQI+ inclusion and participation in elections. Now that candidate lists and manifestos are (mostly) out, there is room for us to consider whether things will…
Author: Rod Amner
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The branding and campaigns of many political parties taking part in the 2021 local government elections reveal their cynical and opportunistic view of voters. By contrast, community organisations like the Makana Citizens Front (MCF) and Makana Independent New Deal (MIND) have focused on resolving municipal collapse, writes CHRISTOPHER MCMICHAEL. Local government should ideally be a space for people to see democracy realised in their everyday lives because it ensures that public servants improve their wards and respond to immediate community needs. But ahead of the 2021 municipal elections on 1 November, local government is in a state of crisis throughout South Africa.…
By TIEGO THOTSE, DA councillor candidate for Ward 12 and DA Youth Deputy Provincial Chairperson In his poem ‘Harlem’, acclaimed American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist, Langston Hughes, asks “…what happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?…” “Maybe it just sags like a heavy load,” he continues. “Or does it explode?” he asks again. The deferred dream of Makhanda becoming South Africa’s Creative Capital, far-fetched as it may sound to some, certainly does not have to sag like a heavy load, as Hughes puts it. Makhanda has every potential of…
By ROGER ROSWELL Well, it didn’t turn out as I expected; it is the fourth-lowest rainfall for September in 35 years of monitoring, only 10.7mm for the month. There have been similar circumstances in the past where September rainfall has been exceptionably low, while the LTA is at 52.9mm and the LTMed is 45.0mm, these are; 1996 (12.3mm), 2007 (9.9mm), 2011 (2.2mm) and 2003 (1.4mm). However, the rainfall bounced back in October in 1996 (73.2mm), 2007 (59.8mm), 2011 (101.4mm) and 2013 (140.3mm). This is what we need, buckets of rainfall to replenish our dams. This September, the rain we received…
By LOYISO DYONGMAN On September 9, the Makana Municipality was ordered by the Grahamstown High Court to clean up seven of the city estimated 117 illegal dumpsites within 14 days. Six weeks later, the municipality has cleaned up three of the seven sites. The ruling came after the municipality was taken to court by residents in Ezihagwini (Extension 6) and Mary Waters High School last year. Legal Resources Centre (LRC) attorney Cameron McConnachie said, “Only three dumpsites have received any attention, and even they have not been completely cleared. We have held meetings with municipal officials to highlight that there…
By CARY CLARK, Democratic Alliance (DA) candidate for Wards 1 and 8 The Democratic Alliance is one of only three political parties that can claim any governance track record in South Africa. At a municipal level, the DA has consistently far outperformed every other party. The auditor-general has for years pointed to the DA-run municipalities as the most financially well-managed, with regular clean and unqualified audits. StatSA in the latest Non-Financial Census of Municipalities identifies DA municipalities as providing the best basket of services to indigent residents and having the highest availability of water, sanitation and electricity. News24’s Out of…
Dear residents of Makhanda Grahamstown, We are overwhelmed with the kindness of so many of you in bringing shoes, clothes and bedding to Food4Futures. We don’t know who some of the gifts come from, so if you haven’t received a thank you from us, please know that we are very grateful for your generosity. You can be assured that every bit of the clothing etc., is happily received by the recipients. The same goes for the donations into our bank account. Some are from people we don’t know how to thank, but we are nevertheless grateful to receive them, and…
By ANDREW KIRK, Makana Independent New Deal (MIND) candidate for Ward 13 and 14 When the dust settles, the votes have been tallied, and the results are final, every person, party, and organisation within our municipality should work towards the same goal: improving the lives of everyone in our community. It doesn’t matter if you are part of a big party, a “small” party, or an independent candidate. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose. My only uncompromising goal should be to do everything I can for the betterment of people in whatever way I can. We are at…
By THE MAKANA RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION Globally citizens are generally more engaged with national elections. Probably because the advertising expenditure and hype is much greater by the large political parties where so much is at stake for the senior administrators and politicians. National policies do affect us all but on a day to day basis, it is the running of our local municipal councils and the services which they operate (or fail to operate) on our behalf that impact our daily lives. A significant role of local councillors is to oversee (not interfere with) the running of the administration of council…
By THE MAKANA RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION As we ready ourselves for a historic local election on Monday 1 November, we outline the current composition and workings of our Council. The Makana Municipal Council comprises 14 Ward seats and 13 proportional representation (PR) seats. There should be 14 PR seats, but one was ‘lost’ after the last election when a candidate crossed the floor to the ANC and Makana Independent New Deal (MIND) had to dissolve. MIND has subsequently reformed and is contesting the November 1 election. The current Council is made up of the following councillors: Ward 1 – Cllr Ntombekhaya…