POSTPONING POLLS POSES DANGERS

THE uncertainty around the election date due to the Covid-19 lockdown is putting municipalities around the country in a difficult position, as the move is likely to have a negative impact on service delivery.

The Constitutional Court is expected to make a pronouncement following the application by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to have the local government polls postponed to early next year.

If the application is granted, many municipalities could be faced with a leadership vacuum, as the majority of ANC councillors would have been voted out in the party's nomination process. This situation would have the unintended consequence of crippling service delivery in a number of municipalities.

In eThekwini Municipality, for instance, ruling party councillors who have not been nominated by their communities to stand as ANC representatives in councils are not interested in performing their council duties. ANC councillors, according to opposition parties, are snubbing committee meetings crucial to their oversight role. Once again, ratepayers are finding themselves bearing the brunt of the lack of service delivery.

If elections are postponed, outgoing councillors who have failed to get the endorsement of their communities would stay on and continue to receive a salary, while doing the least amount of work. In KwaZulu-Natal we already have a record number of municipalities that have been placed under administration, and the postponement of the elections would prolong the lives of these councils.

While we respect the argument of the IEC, a mechanism should have been found to ensure that the postponement of the elections would not be not at the expense of much-needed service delivery.

Residents expect nothing less from their councils than to see their refuse being collected on specific days, water running through their taps, and a stable electricity supply.

Municipal chief whips, the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, and the SA Local Government Association need to foster discipline by ensuring that councillors continue to discharge their responsibilities irrespective of their political future.