Time to take city governance seriously – IRR

Governance in most of South Africa’s metros has become increasingly chaotic. When mayors are constantly being replaced and recycled, it is residents who are the main victims.

The removal of Cilliers Brink as the mayor of Tshwane following the defection of ActionSA from the coalition which governed the capital city, after 18 months in the job, is likely to damage service delivery and governance.

Cities are the engine rooms of our economy. They attract people from across the country and further afield and it is time to take their governance seriously. So says the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), following Brink’s removal as Tshwane’s first citizen.

“Around the world, cities and urban areas power the economies of countries. South Africa is no different,” says Marius Roodt, IRR analyst and writer.

“About 42% of South Africa’s population lives in one of the eight metros, yet the combined economic output of these places makes up nearly 60% of South Africa’s total GDP. If secondary cities are included – places like Rustenburg, Nelspruit, and Msunduzi – then the economic importance of urban areas is even more obvious,” says Roodt.

“In addition, people living in cities and urban areas are far more likely to be employed than those who live in rural areas. They also have higher incomes. One of the best ways of escaping rural poverty is to move to a city. Already, 69% of South Africa’s population live in urban areas, and the number keeps rising.

“It is thus vital that our cities and urban areas are well run and well resourced. And this means that governance in these places must be taken seriously,” Roodt remarked.

However, Roodt said it was an open question whether all South Africa’s political parties took governance of municipalities seriously.

“Did any of the ANC or EFF councillors who voted for former Johannesburg mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda, seriously believe that he was the right person to try and solve the serious problems facing our biggest city? His election was a slap in the face of Johannesburg’s long-suffering residents,” said Roodt.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that if our cities fail, South Africa will fail. Governance in our metros must be taken seriously. We need to stop playing musical chairs with the mayoral seat in municipalities,” said Roodt.

“Urgent thought needs to be given to how to stabilise governance in metros. The people who suffer most from unstable governance are the residents, who it seems, are often secondary to the concerns of many of our political parties,” Roodt added.

He concluded by saying that the IRR is currently developing a set of recommendations regarding the stabilisation of municipal government which it will submit to the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs.

Media contact: Marius Roodt Tel: 082 779 7035 Email: marius@irr.org.za

Media enquiries: Michael Morris Tel: 066 302 1968 Email: michael@irr.org.za