Seminar: “Voice and Accountability: What Councillors Say”
Councillors play a critical role in closing the gap between the constitutional promise of equality and the lived reality for the majority of South Africans. They are expected to represent communities, provide leadership, communicate needs, mobilise citizens and conduct oversight. But how do councillors themselves view their roles? What are their views on issues such as communication, citizen voice, influence, job satisfaction, the pressures they face, honest government etc.?
Prof Evan Lieberman, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, presented the results of a study, surveying more than 1000 councillors. Cllr Thembekile Nkadimeng, Executive Mayor of Polokwane Local Municipality and Deputy President of SALGA responded to the report. She delivered a spirited, thoughtful and, at times, personal account of the demands placed on councillors and the violence they are sometimes confronted with. She also spoke about capacity and attitudinal problems among councillors, how hard it is for councillors to exercise oversight over technical staff, the unfairness in the remuneration of councillors and a range of other contextual factors that drive councillor behaviour.
It was agreed that this research is critical because by assessing what drives councillors at an individual level, important lessons can be learned. These lessons must influence how stakeholders (voters, residents, civil society, political parties etc.) approach local government and extract accountability from municipalities through their political representatives.
The discussion was chaired by Prof Jaap de Visser, Director of the Dullah Omar Institute and supported by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.