Local government and councillors have largely failed to deliver services and on their mandate because of a lack of will to do their jobs, corruption and a shortage of people with skills.
The efforts of the government to manage the Covid-19 pandemic have been applauded locally and internationally by the likes of the. Friend and foe awoke to the sudden realisation that Covid-19 — the new enemy — is creed, class and colour blind, demanding decisive collective action to prevent large-scale loss of life.
Others have argued that ward committees are a farce and are not working. In general, citizens seem to have lost confidence in their elected local leadership and officials because they have consistently failed to meet the promise of developmental local government envisaged 20 years ago. Now is the time to put purpose together and to leave egos at the door. A time to listen and learn. This is not the space for political grandstanding. This demands innovative thinking and stretching collaboration as advocated by Adam Kahane in his bookThere should be a relook at the Integrated Development Plan and the budget. We know that municipalities do not have a track record of taking people’s input seriously.
Municipalities should also follow a data-driven approach. They have big data sets that they are not mining effectively, which leads to partisan and erratic decision-making that is sometimes inconsistent with the reality on the ground. Once the data is interrogated, it has the potential to map the ward reality.
Last, but not least, municipalities need to build local capacity and equip residents and municipal officials with the skills needed to propel local economies and to manage waste better.
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