Involving communities in municipal processes is not simply a matter of courtesy, it is encouraged through various pieces of legislation. It allows residents to have a say on matters that affect their lives, but more importantly, it ensures transparency, accountability and fairness in the decision-making process.
The Buffalo City Metro (BCM) set the cat among the pigeons when at the end of May it approved the 2024/2025 budget and Integrated Development Plan (IDP) without physically meeting ratepayers.
Opposition parties — and even members within the ruling ANC itself — lamented the approval without meaningful public participation as prescribed by the Municipal Systems Act.
BCM was adamant it had ticked the necessary boxes: the metro had placed an advert in the newspaper in April calling on residents to view the documents at its premises and to make written submissions.
One thing that is clear, however, is the importance of municipalities engaging with their communities
The metro had previously hosted roadshows, which would have allowed residents the opportunity to engage the city on its plans for the new financial year and the planned tariff hikes for municipal services.
However, these did not take place this year.
While the rates increases had been anticipated, as is the norm at the start of the financial year, the introduction of a new fee on metered electricity on top of the 12% annual electricity hike has angered ratepayers.
From this month onwards, BCM expects households on prepaid and post-paid meters to pay a flat rate of R376 and R660 a month for infrastructure maintenance.
For those families already struggling to make ends meet, being forced to pay a few hundred rand more on their municipal bill each month could mean the difference between putting food on the table or not.
A petition has already garnered thousands of signatures online and, today, residents intend marching to the East London City Hall in the hope of getting an audience with mayor Princess Faku.
It remains to be seen if residents will have any success in convincing the powers-that-be to not only hear their arguments, but to reconsider the implementation of the fee.
One thing that is clear, however, is the importance of municipalities engaging with their communities on matters that will have an impact on their financial wellbeing.
Failure to do so not only erodes trust in our local government, but also to an extent undermines the legitimacy of decisions, especially when councillors themselves sound the alarm bells.
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