DURBAN – The eThekwini Municipality has hailed the ward committee elections which were held last weekend as successful.
The municipality saluted residents who heeded the call to participate in the first week of the 2022 ward committee elections that took place on March 13, 2022.
Municipal spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said sleepless nights and selflessness by the dedicated women-headed City Administration Unit paid off. The unit efficiently and diligently champions the ward committee operations within the municipality.
The election will be held this weekend, on March 20.
Mayisela said all hands were on deck to claim another victory in a bid to promote participatory governance.
“Forty-two of the scheduled 56 wards had formed a quorum of 100 and more and proceeded with successfully electing 10 member committees for their respective wards. However, a person elected will be officially declared a ward committee member once the verification process has been finalised,” Mayisela said.
eThekwini speaker Thabani Nyawose, as the custodian of public participation, expressed his gratitude to residents, his City Administration Unit team, for the support of Metro Police and the SAPS as well as other units that contributed to the success of the March 13 elections.
Mayisela said elections for the 14 wards that were unable to proceed with the election process would be held within 14 days of the initial scheduled date. New dates will be published on all municipal platforms. Alternatively, residents can contact their respective ward councillors for more information.
The remaining 55 wards will hold their elections on March 20.
A list of the wards scheduled for Sunday can be accessed in the link.
Mayisela said the municipality urges residents to ensure that the voice of the community is heard in municipal governance by participating in the coming elections.
Meanwhile, at the start of the week, eThekwini DA caucus leader Nicole Graham, said a lot of the ward committee elections were unsuccessful because not enough people went to the ward committee elections to participate, therefore they had to be held again.
“My team is compiling information from different councillors and writing to the speaker, but primarily a lot of them, particularly in our DA wards, did not quorate because there were not enough people present which is the quorum which is required,” Graham said.
She said it was frustrating that when ward committee elections were held there were big wards, wards with 20 000 people, where only 20 or 40 people showed up, not enough to be able to elect these committees.
Graham appealed to the public to get involved.
“We would really appreciate to have more people involved and to make a success of these committees, to hold the municipality to account, to make sure communities are engaged and really demanding accountability and getting things done,” Graham said.
Election process:
- All voters need to carry their identification documents.
- Registration and verification from the voters roll.
- Opening and explanation of the election process by a presiding officer.
- Nomination and voting process.
- Thereafter, the votes will be counted, followed by the announcement of results and closure.
Mayisela said ward committees were composed of the ward councillor as the chairperson and 10 nominated members of the community.
The following requirements apply, should a resident want to be a committee member:
- Should be a registered voter and appear on the voters roll of the ward they are nominated in.
- Be nominated by an interest group or by any member of the community to serve on the committee.
- Is not indebted to the municipality for a period longer than three months, unless he or she can prove that arrangements for the settlement of the account have been made.
- Is not an employee of the municipality.
- Is not a community development worker; community caregiver; or appointed by any national, provincial or municipal government department in any other capacity.
- Is not a person of unsound mind who has been declared so by a competent court.
The term of the posts align with the local government term of office from 2022 to 2026.
Daily News