Johannesburg - Watch out for those red berets! Municipalities are quietly sprucing up their rules to make sure there’s no disruption of the meetings of new councils where the EFF now has councillors.
The EFF has become known in Parliament for breaking the dress code with red berets, gumboots and overalls and for disrupting proceedings.
Last week uMhlathuze municipality in KwaZulu-Natal gazetted a one-page amendment to its 2003 standing orders for council and committee meetings, to make it easier to throw out badly behaved councillors.
The ANC runs uMhlathuze with 43 seats, while Inkatha has 13, the DA eight and the EFF has three seats.
The Speaker or chairperson can order the removal of misbehaving councillors and can order security personnel to remove them.
Unruly councillors can be suspended. A first suspension is for five council working days, a second for 10 days and any subsequent suspension for 20 days “without pay in all three instances”.
Suspended councillors who apologise may be allowed back sooner but those who continually misbehave “will be dealt with” in terms of the councillors’ code of conduct.
Midvaal municipality in Gauteng issued its new 24-page standing orders on Wednesday.
Male councillors must wear “a jacket, tie, shirt, long trousers and appropriate shoes” to council meetings while women must wear “a dress, suit, blouse and skirt or trouser suit and shoes”, but they can wear “formal traditional” clothing and rules may be relaxed in “exceptional” circumstances.
“It is expressly forbidden to wear T-shirts, jeans, takkies or sneakers and tracksuits,” said the Midvaal rules.
The Speaker can order councillors who misbehave to leave and, if they refuse, can direct “an officer” to remove them.
Those who break the rules can be convicted and face a fine or imprisonment.
Matatiele municipality in the Eastern Cape planned ahead, with 89 pages of standing rules gazetted in December. The ANC has 38 seats in Matatiele, the DA five, the EFF three and other parties share five. Matatiele councillors must dress formally for meetings: “This normally means men with tie/cravat and a jacket, except when wearing safari suits,” while “ladies” can wear “trouser-pants” but must ensure that “their tops or jackets cover their waistline”.
There’s a little leeway for “cultural and religious inclusiveness” but “sexually provocative” clothing is out and there’s no mention of acceptance of gumboots or overalls.
“Should the members of council so required to vacate the meeting because of misconduct, refuse to do as advised, the council shall have the power to engage the services of security personnel to that effect including those of the SA Police Service,” said Matatiele’s new rules.
Members of the public who disrupt proceedings can be thrown out and, if they refuse to leave, can face a fine or be jailed for up to six months.
The 33 pages of new standing rules for Makhado municipality in Limpopo were gazetted on July 29.
The EFF has seven seats there, while the ANC has 56, the DA nine and other parties three between them.
The Speaker must “ensure that any councillor or member of the public refusing to comply with the ruling of the Speaker or chairperson leaves the meeting”.
Councillors may not wear “any clothing or accessory containing partly (sic) political paraphernalia to any meeting”. Those who break the rules may be suspended.
Emthanjeni municipality in Northern Cape issued its 10-page standing rules on August 8.
The Speaker must ensure members behave and those who don’t must leave; those who won’t leave can be “ejected” with the Sargent at Arms’s help. If they can’t get the offending councillors out, the meeting can be postponed, to resume at another venue, where the offenders can be refused entry.
Those who break the rules can be suspended or fined.
Ekurhuleni Metro issued its standing rules a year ago.
The Speaker can tell security officers to remove anyone who disrupts meetings; this appears to apply to the public, rather than to councillors. The Speaker can order out and suspend misbehaving councillors.
The Star