Implementing the plan to make local government work better for all
To fulfil its 2006 election manifesto commitments the ANC needs to improve the coordination of its local government programme, step up the support provided to local councillors and strengthen the political life of ANC branches.
The outcomes of the 2006 local government elections have underscored the confidence of the South African people in the ANC as the leading force for meaningful change in South Africa. They have also highlighted the critical responsibility the ANC bears to work with the people to bring about a better life for all.
The results represent a significant victory for the democratic movement: the ANC's overall share of the vote has increased in every province in comparison with the 2000 local government elections. More councillors are from the ANC and more councils are controlled by the ANC. These results are consistent with those of the 2004 elections.
This means that in the most recent national, provincial and local elections, the people of South Africa have given the ANC a clear, unequivocal and unprecedented mandate to accelerate the transformation of South Africa.
This places a profound responsibility on the ANC to meet people's expectations. The people have placed their confidence in the ANC, and now they expect it to prove itself worthy of their support.
This means that, in addition to the work already being done, the ANC needs to identify and undertake those specific tasks which will enable the ANC to steer the implementation of the plan to make local government work better for all. Some of these tasks relate to the coordination and monitoring of the work of local councils, while others relate to the organisational life of the ANC and the involvement of its branches in building local democracy and driving local development.
The lessons of the first five years of democratic local government, the issues that have arisen from government's izimbizo programme in municipalities, and the interaction with residents during the course of the election campaign, all point to the fact that the ANC needs to improve its capacity to support, monitor and intervene at a local government level.
Most importantly, the ANC needs to give consistent, programmatic support to its cadres deployed at local government level.
The ANC has made clear commitments to the people to improve the performance of local government, and to ensure councillors are effective and accountable. As we do this, we also need to provide the newly-elected councillors with a clear sense of an ANC programme for local government.
This will need to include improved mechanisms at national and provincial level to coordinate and monitor implementation of the ANC's local government programme in every municipality. These mechanisms need to take account of the multitude of government structures and stakeholders that interact with local government - providing direction, making demands, setting frameworks and delegating implementation. It is estimated that municipalities produce around 40 monthly reports to different government departments, yet there remains a sense that the ANC, as the leading party in the majority of these councils, does not have a clear sense of specific areas of problems.
At a national and provincial level, government has developed benchmarks against which to measure its performance on a regular basis. This approach needs to be extended to all municipalities. At the same time, the ANC needs to develop mechanisms to measure progress against the commitments made in the 2004 and 2006 manifestos.
The support will involve an induction and political education programme for all ANC councillors. This is not only to acquaint incoming councillors with the skills and understanding to ensure the smooth-running of councils, but also to politically equip them to understand their responsibilities and political tasks as cadres of the movement charged with important developmental objectives. Consistent cadre development is the first line of defence against non-performance and corruption at a local level.
One of the features of the ANC 2006 manifesto that attracted a lot of attention and elicited a favourable response from communities was the ANC councillor code of conduct, which requires all ANC councillors to work hard and listen to the people. In addition to the role that individual communities must play in holding their councillors to account, the ANC will need to put in place clear mechanisms for monitoring adherence to the code of conduct by all of its councillors.
A comprehensive review of the performance of each ANC councillor - as was conducted prior to the 2006 list process - will need to become a regular feature of the monitoring process. There will need to be an annual review of the performance of every ANC councillor. Where necessary, corrective measures will need to be taken.
Political life of the branch
While there is much emphasis on providing support to councils and councillors, one of the most critical elements in the implementation of the plan to make local government work better is the ANC branch. In identifying the tasks of the movement in meeting people's expectations, the challenge of building active ANC local structures cannot be overemphasised.
The election campaign saw the revitalisation of the political life of ANC branches. The branch-based activity associated with election campaigns needs to be sustained beyond the elections period into other campaigns and community-based programmes.
Among other things, this means that some of the key features of an ANC election campaign should be replicated in the planning and implementation of the national campaigns of the organisation. Some of the features of the ANC election campaign which we should seek to reproduce in campaigns between elections include:
This means that serious consideration needs to be given to the ANC's approach to mass-based campaigns outside of election years. The organisation should work with its Alliance partners towards an approach which ensures that mass work takes place between elections; that ANC branches have a structured mechanism to interact with communities; that branch members are active and engaged in political activity; that leaders are interacting with branches; and that progress in local development can be monitored over time.
It is clear from this campaign that direct engagement with communities remains the most effective form of campaigning and mass mobilisation. The ANC's great strength, which is unmatched by any other political formation in the country, is its capacity to engage directly with residents where they live. We need to ensure that opportunities are created to ensure such engagement is more regular, and is approached more systematically.
This form of engagement needs to be used to advance the theme for 2006 of 'The Year of Mobilisation for People's Power through Democratic Local Government'. Specifically, it needs to be used by ANC branches to assist councillors in better serving communities and responding to their needs.
A successful national campaign requires the involvement of national, provincial and regional leadership in coordinated, focused mass work. The involvement of leadership and public representatives in mass work serves a number of functions. It raises the profile of the campaign among the broader public; encourages and enthuses branch members; and provides leaders with greater insight into the state of the organisation and the challenges facing branches.
There therefore needs to be a more systematic approach to the deployment of leaders and public representatives to branches for mass work. This should incorporate some of the lessons learnt in coordinating the deployment of leadership for the 2006 election campaign.
Work has begun to develop improved systems and procedures for coordinating and monitoring the deployment of national and provincial members to branch work. These systems will also need to provide mechanisms for deployees to feed information back to the Secretary General's Office and Provincial Secretaries on their activities and the state of branches and regions to which they have been deployed. Leaders should be organisers.
One of the challenges which these deployees will need to confront together with branches is the apparent breakdown in communication - and sometimes trust - between communities and councillors.
Despite the ANC's good showing in almost all municipalities - including in the ward ballot - a recurring theme in interaction with residents during the campaign was dissatisfaction with the performance of councillors and concern about their honesty and integrity.
A major challenge going forward is therefore to rebuild the relationships between communities and councillors. At one level, this requires work to counter some of the perceptions of councillors - whether real or imagined. The ANC and government have some responsibility in this regard, making sure that we desist from talking councillors down or blaming them for lack of delivery. At another level, it requires a concerted effort to ensure that councillors remain in constant contact with communities, and that they are supported and empowered to effectively implement the mandate they have received.
Correcting the problems
The ANC list process is unsurpassed by any other in South Africa in terms of its extent, thoroughness, popular involvement and democratic character.
The list process has evolved over the course of six elections to become an important exercise of the popular will of the ANC membership. This element of an oft-maligned process needs to be highlighted, profiled and deepened. Through review and refinement, the organisation needs to build on the achievements and experiences of past processes.
We need to start using the list process more effectively to strengthen democratic organisational practice and use it as a tool for building unity and cohesion.
However, the list process also served to highlight some of the chief problems affecting the internal functioning and, therefore, community activism of ANC branches.
In many areas, branch activities revolve primarily, if not solely, around the selection of candidates for public office or the nomination of people to regional, provincial or national leadership structures.
The list process has exposed the lack of political activity in many branches. Branch General Meetings (BGMs) are often convened for no other purpose than to make nominations for conferences or select candidates for public office. For many ANC members, their first and only experience of branch life consists of such elections.
The pursuit of personal advancement and enrichment is undermining proper organisational processes, values and discipline. The list process saw a number of instances of ill-discipline and undemocratic behaviour in many parts of the country. Some BGMs were disrupted; some ANC members clashed violently; and there were even instances where ANC members hijacked others responsible for registering candidates with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
In most cases, these acts were the consequence of a competition for positions and resources. They were not the result of political or ideological differences.
As identified by the 2005 NGC, this poses a major challenge to the movement, which requires an intensive and sustained programme of political work among our members and leadership. While some work can be done in reducing the potential for such tendencies through improving organisational systems and procedures - through, for example, closing loopholes in the membership system - this problem can only really be addressed through the inculcation of revolutionary values and a progressive political consciousness among all members and leaders.
Branches need to be engaged in a consistent and ongoing political programme, which includes the involvement of the general membership in mass work, political discussion, cadre development and sectoral outreach.
The 2006 election has pointed the way ahead for ANC branches and local government structures. It has also provided important lessons on what organising tactics work, which don't and what internal problems will need to be overcome if the democratic movement is to be effective in making local government work better for all.
This article is based on a discussion at the ANC National Executive Committee meeting of 24-26 March 2006 on the lessons and tasks arising from the local government elections.
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