We all live and work within the boundaries of a municipality, where all economic activity takes place. Local government, which the constitution enjoins to promote social and economic development, is therefore the closest thing we have to a democratic staple.
But it’s a staple that fails to provide “nutritional value”. Of course, the staple’s nutritional value varies depending on which part of the country you live in. The nutritional value is relatively better in the suburbs of major cities and gets progressively worse as you move to the townships, small towns, squatter camps and rural villages. Wealth is also a big determining factor. The wealthier you are, the more options you have of buying yourself a better life.
Expect more misery
Unfortunately, this means all the lofty promises President Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet colleagues make about improving the lot of the majority of South Africans will amount to nothing unless municipalities up their game. Take Bela Bela, which lies on the southern side of the Waterberg District Municipality in Limpopo, bordering Gauteng on the south and southeast and Northwest on the west. It is located just over a 100km from Pretoria, the country’s administrative capital.
Most of the people of Bela Bela have had to make do with the municipality’s poor nutritional offering. But they have maintained their sense of humour. They named the biggest of the six informal settlements in the area after Jacob Zuma, no doubt in honour of his sterling contribution to the upliftment of their community. The Zuma informal settlement is built on wetlands. They will no doubt bestow a similar honour on Ramaphosa, whose Phala Phala game farm is some 43km west of their CBD.
Reading the latest iteration of Bela Bela’s integrated development plan (IDP) shows why their municipality’s performance isn’t about to improve any time soon. The IDP is the municipality’s development promise to residents for the council’s term of office due to end in 2026.
The [Bela Bela] IDP lists other problems including inadequate technical skills, low staff morale and a poor work ethic. Based on those three problems alone, residents of Bela Bela should expect nothing more than empty promises.
— Jabulani Sikhakhane, editor of The Conversation Africa
Bela Bela mayor Gloria Seleka explains in her foreword to the 2022-26 IDP that through the projects reflected in the document, her council will “leave a lasting legacy to the community of Bela Bela” that will set the tone for service delivery for generations to come. Unfortunately for the people of Bela Bela, the only legacy they can expect from the current council is more misery. Evidence for this is contained in the very IDP.
The municipality simply doesn’t have the capacity to deliver what the IDP promises. It hasn’t had a full-time municipal manager for more than a year. Its vacancy rate sits at 44%. And a breakdown of the vacancy rate shows why development isn’t possible. The budget & treasury department’s vacancy rate sits at 40%, planning & economic development at 48%, and technical services at 49%. In the municipal manager’s office, 16 (55%) out of 29 posts and 10 (45%) out of 22 in corporate services are vacant.
The IDP lists other problems including inadequate technical skills, low staff morale and a poor work ethic. Based on those three problems alone, residents of Bela Bela should expect nothing more than empty promises from the municipality.
A lack of capacity and capability
This is confirmed by the auditor-general’s reports. The latest, for the 2020/21 financial year, makes several observations including the fact that the municipality’s financial staff “do not understand the requirements of the financial reporting framework”. Key vacancies in the IT department haven’t been filled, because of budget constraints, which has resulted in Bela Bela having no IT strategy. The municipality, which relies on transfers from national and provincial government, lacks the capacity and capability to manage those funds properly.
The municipality’s approach to development as outlined in the IDP is as amusing as it is depressing. Consider this gem on where new police stations should be built: “The need and location of future public safety facilities should be informed by the crime statistics and the good road network to ensure that the emergencies are attended to efficiently.”
The municipality’s approach means crime may be high in an area, but a police station will not be built there until the roads improve. This clearly leaves the residents of Bela Bela hostage to the municipality’s failure to build and upgrade roads.
Another gem: “Over the last fiver (5) Council had the same developmental Vision, which remained the same throughout, with the exception of removal and incertion of some fraces therein to enhance its focus and intent thereto.” (sic)
That paragraph sums up what nutritional value the people of Bela Bela will have to make do with over the next five years.
• Sikhakhane, a former spokesperson for the finance minister, National Treasury and SA Reserve Bank, is editor of The Conversation Africa. He writes in his personal capacity.
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