Ramaphosa warns failing ANC councillors will be removed

By Palesa Matlala

• ANC councillors and mayors will sign public performance agreements and could lose their positions if they fail to meet their responsibilities.

• The ANC is promising a 100-day plan for councillors as communities battle water shortages, sewage spills, rubbish and failing infrastructure.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has sent a tough warning to ANC mayors and councillors: fail your community and you could lose your job.

Ramaphosa said the party would no longer protect public representatives who fail to deliver.

He made the warning at the ANC’s local government manifesto launch in Diepsloot on Sunday, 23 August.

His message comes as the party heads towards the November local government elections under pressure over failing services in municipalities.

“We don’t want councillors and mayors who, after being elected, become disconnected from their communities,” Ramaphosa said.

“We want community engagement, community meetings, community report backs, community updates, and community mandate-seeking, so that we move in tandem with our people.”

Councillors will sign performance deals

Ramaphosa said ANC mayors and councillors will have to sign public performance agreements and a code of ethical conduct.

The agreements will include targets and deadlines.

Those who fail to do their jobs could be removed.

“Public representatives who do not fulfil their agreed responsibilities will be removed,” Ramaphosa said.

“We will not seek to explain away the frustration of our people. We feel our people’s frustration. We will not dismiss the anger that our people feel.”

The warning comes after years of anger over service delivery in municipalities across South Africa.

Many communities have battled dry taps, sewage spills, uncollected rubbish, broken streetlights and crumbling infrastructure.

Reports from the Auditor-General have also repeatedly raised concerns about poor financial management, wasteful spending and corruption.

Ramaphosa admitted that political leadership can make or break a municipality.

“Leadership does matter,” he said.

“A municipality can have sound budgets, skilled employees, and good plans. But if its political leadership is divided, corrupt, weak, or indifferent, the municipality will fail.”

100 days to show progress

The ANC is promising a 100-day accountability plan for every councillor.

Within the first three months in office, councillors will be expected to publish their priorities and show measurable progress.

“On the first day after the election, we will begin implementing these reforms,” Ramaphosa said.

He said the ANC had spent recent months meeting communities across the country to hear their concerns and report back on its work in local government.

“The people of South Africa have told the ANC what they think, what they want and what they need,” he said.

Ramaphosa said the party’s manifesto was built from those discussions.

Municipal money under spotlight

The ANC president also promised tougher financial discipline.

He said municipalities would be expected to deal with findings from the Auditor-General within 12 months.

“We will not tolerate wasteful expenditure or corruption. Our people deserve better,” he said.

Ramaphosa presented the manifesto as an attempt to rebuild trust between the ANC and frustrated communities.

“We are determined to rebuild trust, restore services, and ensure that our municipalities work for the people, not against them,” he said.

But big questions remain.

With the elections approaching, the ANC reportedly has not completed the process of establishing whether some of its possible mayoral candidates are suitable for office.

That puts Ramaphosa’s promises of tougher accountability under an early test.

Opposition parties are also preparing for the fight for major municipalities.

The Democratic Alliance has put forward Helen Zille as its Johannesburg mayoral candidate, while ActionSA has chosen former mayor Herman Mashaba and the Economic Freedom Fighters has nominated Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng.

For Ramaphosa, however, the message to his own party was simple: winning office will no longer be enough.

ANC representatives will have to prove they can do the job.

Pictured above: President Cyril Ramaphosa warned ANC mayors and councillors that those who fail communities could be removed.

Image source: ANC