Public Service and Administration Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi says following the 2016 Local Government Elections, municipalities have been constituted and councillors are settling in to their new roles.

” the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Elections, under the leadership of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Des van Rooyen, oversaw the successful hosting of the fourth democratic Local Government Elections on 3 August 2016.

“Overall, the fourth democratic local government has taken shape, municipalities have been constituted, and councillors are settling in and now seized with the task of understanding their roles in order to deliver on their mandates,” said the Minister.

He was briefing media in Pretoria on Thursday on the progress made by the Governance and Administration Cluster in the implementation of the cluster’s Programme of Action.

Minister Ramatlhodi said there were only two municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal that were still not constituted, these are the Nquthu Local Municipality and Umzinyathi District Municipality.

A legal process was instituted by one of the parties in the Nguthu municipality. The district municipality cannot be constituted because of the pending legal process.

Integrated Councillor Induction Programme

Minister Ramatlholdi said a key element in the transition process at local government is the induction of councillors, known as Integrated Councillor Induction Programme (ICIP).

“This programme is currently being rolled out throughout South Africa to about 10 000 councillors. The ICIP caters for newly elected and returning councillors, and we believe that it will go a long way in assisting to improve service delivery to communities.”

He said municipalities have begun outlining their plans and “government, working with other role players like SALGA, will guide the new era of coalition governance to ensure that the democratic outcome consolidates rather than reverses service delivery and socio-economic transformation which the country so desperately needs”.

Source: South African Government News Agency