TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE CONFERENCE

1
TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE
CONFERENCE

• The Impact of Traditional Leadership and
  Councillor Collaboration on Development
• Presentation by Khayo E. Mpungose
• Municipal Manager, Ugu District Municipality
• Elangeni Hotel, Durban Tuesday, 31 July 2007

2
TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Introduction
• Legislative Framework for Local Government
• Legislative Framework for Traditional Leadership
• Historical Perspective on Traditional
  Leadership/Councillor Collaboration 1996-2000
• Historical Perspective on Traditional
  Leadership/Councillor collaboration 2001 2006
• New Framework for Traditional
  Leadership/Councillor Collaboration 2006 2011
• Development Practitioners Perspectives on
  Collaboration
• Conclusion

3
1. INTRODUCTION1.1 VALUES OF SOUTH AFRICA

• Human dignity, the achievement of equality and
  the advancement of human rights and freedoms.
• Non-racialism and non-sexism.
• Supremacy of the Constitution and rule of law.
• Universal adult suffrage, a national common
  voters roll, regular elections and a multi-party
  system of democratic government, to ensure
  accountability, responsiveness and openness.

4
1.2 BILL OF RIGHTS

• Everyone has inherent dignity and the right to
  have their dignity respected and protected.
• Everyone has the right -
• To an environment that is not harmful to their
  health or well-being, and
• to have the environment protected, for the
  benefit of present and future generations,
  through reasonable legislative and other measures
  that
• (i) prevent pollution and ecological
  degradation
• (ii) promote conservation and
• (iii) secure ecologically sustainable
  development and use of natural resources while
  promoting justifiable economic and social
  development.

5
2. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• 2.1 Chapter 7 of the Constitution of the RSA,
  Act 108 of 1996

• 2.2 White Paper on Local Government, 1998.

• .
• Current Reality.
• Developmental Local Government.
• Co-operative Government.
• Institutional systems.
• Political Systems.
• Administrative Systems.
• Municipal Finance.
• Transformation process.

• Objects of Local Government.
• Developmental duties of Municipalities.
• Categories of Municipalities.
• Powers and functions of Municipalities.
• Terms of Municipal Councils
• Organised Local Government.

6
LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK (Cont.)

• 2.3 Municipal Structures Act 117 of 1998

• 2.4 Municipal Systems Act of 2000

• Establishment of Municipalities and their
  Councils.
• Internal structures and functionaries.
• Participation of Traditional Leaders (581)
• Functions and Powers

• Community Participation.
• Integrated Development Planning.
• Performance Management.
• Municipal Services.

7
LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK (Cont.)

• 2.5 Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003.
• 2.6 Municipal Property Rates Act 6 of 2004.

8
3. LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR

TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP

• 3.1 Chapter 12 of Constitution of the RSA, Act
  108 of 1996.
• 3.2 Traditional Leadership and Governance
  Framework Act 41 of 2003.
• Mandatory role for national and provincial
  spheres of government to promote partnerships
  between municipalities and traditional councils

9
LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK
(CONT.)

• Partnerships to be-
• (a) Based on the principles of mutual respect and
  recognition of the status and roles of the
  respective parties and
• (b) Guided by and based on the principles of
  co-operative governance.
• Permission to enter into a service delivery
  agreement with a municipality as per Municipal
  Systems Act.

10
3.3 KWAZULU-NATAL TRADITIONAL
LEADERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE ACT 5 OF 2005

• Establishment of Traditional Councils
• Establishment of Local Houses of Traditional
  Leaders
• Institutions as Organs of State

11
4. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON TRADITIONAL
LEADERSHIP/COUNCILLOR COLLABORATION 1996-2000

• Traditional Leaders served as ex officio voting
  members of Regional Councils
• No ward councillors in rural areas

12
5. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON TRADITIONAL
/COUNCILLOR COLLABORATION 1996-2000

• Municipal Systems Act provision of 20
  participation by Traditional Leaders in Local
  Government ignored.
• High tension levels
• Participation by Traditional Leaders in IDP
  processes

13
6. NEW FRAMEWORK FOR TRADITIONAL
LEADERSHIP/COUNCILLOR COLLABORATION

• Hope emanating from new legislative dispensation
  on Traditional Leadership
• Prospects for collaboration enhanced by new
  institutional framework

14
7.DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONERS PERSPECTIVE ON
COLLABORATION

• Traditional Leaders as the majority land owners
• Presidential addresses to the National House of
  Traditional Leaders
• Case Study eThekwini Municipality
• Case Study Ugu District Municipality

15
7.1 TRADITIONAL LEADERS AS MAJOR LAND OWNERS

• Ingonyama Trust as the de jure land owner
• Amakhosi as de facto land owners
• Municipalities responsible for land use
  management
• Common jurisdiction between local government and
  traditional leadership.
• Impact on local economic development, eg.
  Umhlanga Ridge development following
  collaboration between erstwhile North Council and
  Traditional Leaders.
• Impact on moral regeneration

16
TRADITIONAL LEADERS AS MAJOR LAND OWNERS
(Cont.)

• Tension created ahead of transformation of
  traditional leadership
• Great prospect for collaboration given the new
  institution framework for traditional leadership.

17
7.2 PRESIDENTIAL PRONOUNCEMENTS AND
EXPECTATIONS

• Formation of partnerships between municipalities
  and traditional councils to speed up service
  delivery and development.
• Collaboration on local economic development.
• Neighbourhood development partnership grant and
  its beneficial impact on surrounding rural areas
  eg. Mpophomeni in Umngeni, Nkowankowa in Tzaneen
  and Ndwedwe.

18
PRESIDENTIAL PRONOUNCEMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS
( Cont.)

• Transformation of traditional leadership
  institution as a spring board for collaboration
  against corruption and promotion of Batho Pele
  objectives.

19
CASE STUDY eTHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY

• Insengwakazi, a Section 21 special purpose
  vehicle, was created to focus on social
  facilitation and development of infrastructure
• -a four-year old success story on collaboration
  between councillors and traditional leaders
• Area based management
• -Rural Area based management
• -Ward based approach
• -Funded through EU
• -Covering more than 1 Amakhosi areas
• -Infrastructure development, eg. MPCCs

20
CASE STUDY (Cont.)

• Collaboration experience is varied
• -KwaXimba is very good
• -Umnini fraught with tension and mistrust
• -On the whole common jurisdiction reality
  compels both parties to collaborate.
• Amakhosi attend municipal council meeting as
  observers and receive locomotion allowance from
  municipality.

21
CASE STUDY (Cont.)

• Amakhosi Forum and Steering Committee
• - Foster cooperation and mutual respect
• -Dedicated councillor looking into collaboration
• Party political interests and preferences
  sometimes undermine collaboration.

22
CASE STUDY UGU DISTRICT MUNICIPALITY

• Amakhosi do not attend Municipal Council meetings
• Masakhane water pipeline extension
• -Conceptualised in January 2005
• -Project commenced in November 2006
• -Emanated from the lack of branch pipelines to
  communities.
• -Communities through councillors and traditional
  leaders made representations to municipality
  asking to dig trenches and lay pipes as
  volunteers.

23
CASE STUDY (Cont.)

• -Municipality had to undertake studies to ensure
  water availability
• -KwaNzimakwe Traditional area has 80 of
  households with access to communal standpipes
  within 200m
• -KwaNdwalane Traditional area has 60 of
  households with access to communal standpipes
  within 200m and work is still in progress to
  eradicate backlog
• -KwaMadlala Traditional area has 55 of
  households with access to communal standpipes
  within 200m and work is still in progress to
  eradicate backlog

24
CASE STUDY (Cont.)

• Alcohol abuse, coupled with Hlonipha custom,
  sometimes undermines collaboration
• Party political interests and preferences
  sometimes undermine collaboration
• -Some councillors bypass and/or ignore Amakhosi

25
CASE STUDY (Cont.)

• Vulamehlo Water Scheme
• -R24m scheme for three traditional communities
• -15 000 beneficiaries
• -Scheme was on the verge of delays and vandalism
  due to cross boundary disputes and interests
• - Lack of collaboration between councillors and
  Amakhosi was evident.
• -Ugu District Municipality intervened by
  approaching neighbouring Sisonke District
  Municipality who agreed to offer similar services
  .

26
CASE STUDY (Cont.)

• Mathulini Cemetery
• -Umzumbe Local Municipalitys R2m project for a
  cluster
• -Ward Community and ward councillor were opposed
  to the cemetery, whereas cluster community,
  Inkosi and other councillors wanted the project
  to be based in that particular ward
• -Consultants and contractor were appointed by
  the municipality and preliminary work amounting
  to _R300K was done.

27
CASE STUDY (Cont.)

• -Community meeting held, but boycotted by ward
  community, endorsed project and its location
• -When contractor, consultant and municipal staff
  were on site, they were stoned by the ward
  community and fled.
• -Project did not materialised and money was lost
  to the cluster.

28
8. CONCLUSION

• Collaboration must be underpinned by community
  participation in development.
• Literacy levels of both traditional leaders and
  councillors must be enhanced.
• Regular meetings between local municipal councils
  and traditional councils must be encouraged.
• Regular meetings between district municipal
  councils and local houses of traditional leaders
  must be encouraged.
• Participation of traditional leaders in local
  government in terms of Municipal Structures Act
  must be encouraged.

29
CONCLUSION (Cont.)

• Collaboration will speed up service delivery and
  development.
• All communities will benefit through
  collaboration between traditional leaders and
  councillors.
• THANK YOU !