South African local government elections 5 December 2000
Politics - Issues - Policies - Who is Who 

Misanet.com / EPoliticsSA
The recognized South African magazine EPoliticsSA focuses on the upcoming local government elections. The Issue briefing revisits the Traditional Leadership-Local Government debate; the Policy Briefing provides the context for local government reform; and the Who's Who profiles the leading candidates for the Metrocities - set to play a more important role in local government after December 5.

POLITICS BRIEFING

The local government election is now exactly one month away. Save for two marginal contests in the Western Cape and Kwazulu-Natal, the campaign has not yet gained momentum. This despite two high-profile, national campaign launches by the two main political parties - the African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance (the combined forces of the NNP and the DP).

The run-up to the elections have been stymied by disputes over demarcation (particularly as it affects the powers of traditional leaders in six of the nine provinces), insufficient funds allocated to the Independent Electoral Commission (managers of the election), lack of voter interest (a low poll is expected similar to 1995 when around 60 percent of voters stayed away) and the continuing threat of destabilisation (most notably in the Western Cape and Kwazulu-Natal).

The African National Congress looks set to dominate the 284 councils - six metropolitan councils, 241 local councils, and 52 district councils. The metropolitan councils, which are completely new structures (see POLICY BRIEFING), are: Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg, Pretoria and the Greater East Rand. Of these, Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg are crucial for parties. These new metropolitan councils or unicities will have budgets far in excess of the provincial governments under which they fall.

Cape Town will have a R8,7 billion budget and will run crucial services like water and housing, with the provincial government becoming more obsolete. As such they are the big prizes for the parties. The ANC is assured of Durban, where incumbent Obed Mlaba (see WHO'S WHO) and the urban support of the ANC will serve them well. In Johannesburg, Amos Masondo (see WHO'S WHO), is almost a certainty for mayor.

Cape Town is more of a marginal contest. The DA is the overwhelming favourite. Relying on white votes as well as more importantly the coloured working class vote, the DA will dominate the ward elections (half of the councillors in these metros are elected through a ward system). Peter Marais could be Unicity Mayor after December 5. However, the DA's confidence may still be dented by breakaways by former NNP councillors disgruntled over the candidate list for the Unicity. At least 40 NNP councillors are standing as the 'Independence Alliance of Ward Candidates'. They are explicit in their opposition to the DA and make no reference of anti-ANC sentiment.

The ANC's candidate, Lynne Brown, appears uninspiring and her elevation of appears to be as a consequence of the 'politics of numbers' - the main parties favour coloured candidates because coloureds make up the majority of eligible voters in the Western Cape. Much of the early press on Brown focused on 'Who is Lynne Brown?' The organisation aware of the numerical strength of coloured voters, dumped popular Cape Town Central Substructure Mayor, NomaIndia Mfeketo, in favour of provincial MP, Brown. The ANC is assured of the African votes in the Unicity (about 35 of the wards come former African group areas) and its is openly courting the swing vote among coloureds now.

The ANC campaign countrywide conflates the achievements of national and local government. The party's councillors have not done very well and as a result the party has emphasised national achievements such as electrification, housing, clean water to rural areas and improved schooling in rural provinces.

Not surprisingly the ANC's manifesto also does not say much of its policy shift towards privatisation of municipal services or the opposition it is facing from its union allies to projects such as iGoli 2002, a major privatisation initiative in Johannesburg. None of the other parties, though, oppose the ANC on local government policy issues like privatisation of municipal services. Instead parties focus on national level issues such as HIV/AIDS as well as crime. The DP has made political capital out of the ANC government's (and especially President Thabo Mbeki's) dithering on HIV/AIDS and his handling of foreign affairs (the Zimbabwe crises and the ANC's support of the unpopular Robert Mugabe, in particular).

POLICY BRIEFING

Local government has undergone major restructuring over the last decade. The November elections will complete a process whereby boundaries of councils have been redrawn, the number of councils reduced, a new tier (the 'Megacity' or 'Unicity') introduced, and the role of local government expanded somewhat in relation to provincial government.

The Local Government Negotiating Forum that was launched in 1993 as part of national political negotiations at Kempton Park between the ANC and then-National Party government, became an embodiment of the negotiation process that subsequently gave birth to the Local Government Transition Act (LGTA) of 1993. This Act stipulated time frames for restructuring of local government and identified and entrusted powers to different institutions as a way of outlining the process of restructuring.

The process was divided into pre-interim, interim and final phases of the transition of local government. During the pre-interim phase negotiations, local government forums were set up to negotiate new forms of local authorities and parties were divided into statutory (existing local government at the time) and non-statutory (civics and the former liberation movements). The pre-interim phase was completed with local government elections on November 1,1995.

With the exception of KwaZulu-Natal and the Cape Town metropolitan the local elections took place on the 1 November 1995. The delays in KwaZulu-Natal and Cape Town metropolitan were due to disputes that ranged from demarcations of metropolitan and substructure boundaries to voter-candidate registration irregularities. This led to the amendment of the LGTA in order to accommodate an extension of the pre-interim structures until 31 August 1996 for the sake of the delayed elections. Elections were then held in the Western Cape and Kwazulu-Natal.

The councils that were formed after November 1, 1995 and June 1996, did not alter the apartheid boundaries of cities and allowed for over-representation of 'minorities' in ward allocations (in Cape Town, it resulted in 50 percent of wards allocated to African areas). Many of the councils were not financially viable and the system made provision for over 800 councils and thousands of councillors.

To redetermine the boundaries, an independent body, the Municipal Demarcation Board MDB), was entrusted with powers to determine demarcation of boundaries in terms of a Municipal Demarcation Act (1998). The Municipal Demarcation Act further specified criteria to guide the MDB processes.

The Municipal Structures Act of December 1998 further impacted upon the demarcaction process and provided for different categories of municipalities: category A (metropolitan councils), category B (local councils) and C (mainly rural district councils).

Politically the demarcation process led to a political crisis in six of the nine provinces where traditional leaders felt the demarcation encroached on their powers (in most cases incorporating areas into local authorities run by elected officials). The reduction in the number of councils and by implication of councillors has seen the jockeying for seats in political seats. In some cases, independents have sprung up (most notably the Western Cape, Gauteng and Eastern Cape) and ANC ally, the South African National Civics Organisation (SANCO) has decided to field its own candidates in ward elections.

A new model has been introduced, in terms of which metropolitan councils have been grouped together under the umbrella of 'unicities'. The former metropolitan substructures have been integrated to form single metropolitan councils. An example is Cape Town metropole where the Unicity has replaced the six substructures (Helderberg, Oostenberg, Blaauwberg, Tygerberg, South Peninsula and Cape Town Central). There is only one mayor and 200 councillors to serve for the 4 million citizens of Cape Town (one hundred of these councillors will be voted in by way of a ward system and the remaining through a party-list proportional representation system).

The rationale for the concept of the unicity is efficiency. However local activists, trade unions and civic groups (particularly in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg) have responded with skepticism and opposition to the plan, suggesting it is designed to favour neo-liberal policy imperatives, that is, to ensure that policy directives of the government macro-economic strategy are heeded at all levels.

Preparations for the local elections have not been without incident. The budget allocated for local government elections, R450 million, is far less compared to the R998 million requested by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). However, the IEC and the Minister of Home Affairs (Mangosuthu Buthelezi) are in a position to make some additional funding given that the IEC indicated the expected budgetary shortfall to the Minister of Home Affairs.

To improve relations and interaction between citizens and the local government Parliament is in the process of drafting the Municipal Systems Bill. The intended purpose of this bill is to ensure that values such as accountability, transparency and public participation in the local government processes are harnessed and strengthened. The Bill seeks to place the people's needs and interests as first priority on the local government agenda.

ISSUE BRIEFING: 
Traditional Leadership and Democratic Local Government

The announcement of the election date (initially anticipated on the September 29, although the actual announcement was made on October 10) was postponed several times on account of traditional leaders, who are concerned about the consequences of the new style local government for their own status, role and power.

Traditional leaders are influential in six of the nine provinces: KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, the NorthWest and Northern Province. Recognition of the institution, status and role of traditional leadership is laid down in Chapter 12 of the Constitution. However, the importance attached to their power is not discussed in the Constitution, which has led to a degree of dissatisfaction amongst traditional leaders.

The traditional leaders have also been protesting against the new municipal boundaries. This has led to a shift in the local government election date.

The decrease in the number of municipalities clearly has an impact on the powers of traditional leaders. The number of municipalities has been decreased from 843 to 284, which creates more powerful local governments that have more administrative control over their areas. The Demarcation Board aimed through the new boundaries to bring together areas with functional linkage and those municipalities that are dysfunctional. The aim was to promote resource sharing and better service delivery and to ensure financial sustainability.

This demarcation process met with resistance from traditional leaders, which in some instances even led to litigation, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. In some cases, the new municipality boundaries cut across traditional tribal land. Traditional authorities had always exercised local government powers before 1994 and the creation of local municipalities in areas traditionally ruled by chiefs would amount to removing those powers from traditional leaders (especially on land allocation). Traditional leaders feared that the new boundaries would undermine their powers and they demanded compensation in several ways: i.e. more representation of traditional leaders on local government structures, no sharing of resources with councils and no new municipalities to be set up in areas falling under traditional jurisdiction.

Sydney Mufamadi, Minister of Provincial and Local Government, has been forced by traditional leaders to postpone the proclamation of the local elections date several times. The problems of the traditional leaders were to be resolved prior to the elections taking place. On September 28, 2000, representatives of traditional leaders met with President Thabo Mbeki, Deputy President Jacob Zuma and Mufamadi, in an attempt to reconcile the divergence of opinions regarding the demarcation process.

To accommodate the leaders, a technical committee of government officials and traditional leaders was set up to find a way out of the impasse. The chief task of the committee was to examine the effect of the establishment of new local government on the role, powers and functions of traditional leaders in the municipalities. On October 9, the committee completed its task and it presented a report to government the next day. On the same day, Minister Mufamadi proclaimed that the date for the 2000 local elections was to be December 5 for all of the 284 newly demarcated municipalities. Have the grievances of the traditional leaders now been accommodated, or has government simply forged ahead and announced the date regardless of whether consensus has been reached or not? The latter seems to be the case. The traditional leaders have articulated demands regarding amendments to local government legislation and the constitution on definitions of traditional leadership powers and roles. So far, this has met with no response from government apart from President Mbeki's verbal assurance, given prior to the installation of the technical committee, that ways would be found to prevent the erosion of traditional leaders' power. For example, Mbeki suggested that the representation of chiefs on local councils would be expanded from 10 to 20 percent.

After the announcement of the election date the traditional leaders pledged their cooperation during the elections (and support for the ANC), however they simultaneously created a further demand: a re-opening of voter registration for people in the tribal areas. They claim that because of the dispute between traditional leaders and government, many people in these areas had not registered. However, in terms of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) rules the voters' roll is closed. Legal requirements state that the voters' roll is closed on the date that the election date is made public. So once again the leaders are to be disappointed.

The ANC appears to be divided about the amount of power to be awarded to the traditional leaders. On the one hand, vice president Jacob Zuma and president Mbeki have tried to accommodate traditional leaders by acknowledging their power and giving assurances that these powers will not be removed or drastically curtailed. On the other hand Sydney Mufamadi is hamstrung by the constitutional deadline for local elections that has passed more than a year ago and seems unwilling to accommodate traditional leaders at the expense of local elections. He has the support of some provincial leaders. In Kwazulu-Natal, a provincial ANC MP, Mtholephi Mtimkhulu, has openly proposed dissolution of traditional leadership and a Group of Concerned AmaQadi People that is aligned to the ANC has been formed outside Durban to counter the traditional leadership of their area.

So what is the ANC's policy regarding traditional leadership? The different opinions within the ANC are confusing to voters and could be perceived as a political ploy to accommodate both proponents and opponents of traditional leadership. This may well have a negative effect for the ANC on the outcome of local elections in areas where traditional leadership is strong. To prevent confusion and anger, the ANC would be well advised to issue a statement on its stance regarding the status of traditional leadership. If not, the opposition parties will reap the benefit of the confusion and double speak the ANC has thus far engaged in.

WHO'S WHO

AMOS MASONDO. ANC candidate as Johannesburg Metropolitan Council Mayor. Masondo (b.1953) is currently employed by the Gauteng Provincial Government as political adviser to Premier Mbhazima Shilowa. In 1994 he was elected as an ANC Member of the Gauteng Legislature and served as Gauteng Member of the Provincial Legislature for Health until 1998. Masondo's political background dates from the early 1970s and he was imprisoned on Robben Island (1975-81) for ANC activities. In the 1980s he was involved in United Democratic Front leadership structures in the Soweto area. He also has a background in trade unions organisation, serving as secretary of the COSATU Witswatersrand region. He was a surprise choice following heavy lobbying for Kenny Fihla, CEO of Johannesburg.

OBED MLABA. ANC candidate for Durban Metropolitan Council Mayor. Mlaba (b.1943) is currently serving his third term as Metropolitan Mayor of Durban after he was first elected in 1996. Mlaba has a background in corporate business, before his turn to electoral politics. He holds an MBA from the International Management Centre in Buckingham, UK.

LYNNE BROWN. ANC candidate as Cape Town Unicity Mayor. Brown (b.1961) is a member of the Western Cape Provincial Legislature since 1994. She was re-elected in 1999 and is currently chairperson of the standing committees on Community Services and on Health and Welfare. She also served as ANC Whip in the legislature and as deputy speaker. She has a long history in women's and community organisations in the province. Brown has served as provincial secretary of the ANC's Women's League since 1990. Her choice surprised many as NomaIndia Mfeketo, currently mayor of Cape Town Central substructure in the Cape Town metropole, was considered the favourite for the post.

PETER MARAIS. Democratic Alliance candidate as Cape Town Unicity Mayor. Marais is a member of the Western Cape provincial government executive committee. He is a colourful politician, known for his sometimes-controversial statements. Marais was a key organiser for the New National Party's victory over the ANC in the 1994 provincial elections. He later fell out with the NNP leadership in a leadership tussle with current Premier Gerald Morkel for the post of NNP provincial chairperson, but was later rehabilitated.

By: EpoliticsSA

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