Councillors are representatives, not bosses of communities

The concerns raised about service delivery, accountability and municipal governance are important. However, we must be careful not to place the entire responsibility for municipal failures on councillors without clearly distinguishing between the political and administrative roles within a municipality.

Councillors are elected representatives of communities. They are the link between residents and the municipality. Their responsibility is to listen to residents, represent their concerns in council and participate in decisions that affect the communities they serve. They are not municipal employees, nor are they responsible for running the day-to-day administration of the municipality.

This distinction matters. The municipal council makes policies and takes decisions within its legal mandate, while municipal officials and the administration are responsible for implementing the decisions and managing the municipality’s day-to-day operations.

The Municipal Systems Act and other applicable legislation establish the framework within which these responsibilities must be exercised.

We should therefore avoid creating the impression that councillors are the bosses of communities or that they personally control every aspect of municipal service delivery.

They are public representatives whose mandate comes from the people and they must remain accessible to those people. Residents have every right to question their councillors, demand accountability and expect them to take service-delivery concerns to council.

Councillors must serve residents. Municipal officials must perform their administrative responsibilities. Both must operate within the law and be held accountable for the responsibilities entrusted to them.

Tsepo Mhlongo, Orlando East