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DA Local Government Councillor Job Description |
Appendix A(4)
DA Local Government Councillor Job Description
1. Introduction
All DA public representatives have four broad, inter-related functions
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To serve the community
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To represent the voters’ interests in a sphere of government
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To build the DA’s support base
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To participate in the party’s organisational structures
These functions can be broken down into many tasks. The key tasks of DA councillors are set out in this job description.
2. Serving the Community and Representing Voters’ Interests in Local Government
Ward Councillors are elected directly to represent the residents in a Ward.
One of their most important functions is to be the voice of the people they represent and to ensure effective service delivery to them.
Proportional Representative (PR) councillors have an equally important role as public representatives ensuring service delivery. The DA will, wherever possible, assign PR councilors to wards in order to support a DA councillor in a DA-ward, build the DA presence in a new ward, and increase the Party’s profile across the municipality.
Service delivery must be done within the framework of the Party’s principles and policies, and through implementing the Local Government Manifesto.
The means that all councillors must:
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Know and understand the DA’s principles and policies
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Know and understand the DA’s local government manifesto
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Develop expertise on the issues affecting the ward they wish to represent, and the municipal area as a whole
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Develop knowledge and understanding of the relevant aspects of the Constitution, as well as laws and by-laws affecting the municipal area.
In particular, councillors must have a good understanding of Chapter 7 of the Constitution that deals with Local Government. An effective Councillor must also have a sound working knowledge of important laws regulating local government. Of these, the most important are the following six: The Municipal Systems Act, the Municipal Structures Act, the Municipal Finance Management Act, the Property Rates Act, the Municipal Demarcation Act and the Municipal Electoral Act.
In working to improve service delivery in a ward/municipality a councillor must:
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Be present, punctual and prepared at all relevant meetings of Council, including portfolio committees and working groups
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Take the time, and make the effort required to read and understand council agendas
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Participate in debates through well-researched and informed speeches and questions
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Develop a detailed understanding of the Council budget and understand the implications for service delivery in the relevant ward/municipality
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Be available to residents at all reasonable times to attend to their service-related concerns
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Respond to problems/reports/complaints from residents promptly
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Refer matters to the appropriate council official and report back
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Keep records of calls/complaints/problems and the action taken
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Follow up on the actions of council officials in dealing with the issue
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Monitor and initiate service improvement in the area
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Know precisely how the channels of service delivery work, and how to access them
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Develop sound relationships with officials responsible for service delivery
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Personally inspect sites of problems
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Hold officials accountable for meeting commitments to service delivery
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Ensure that residents’ issues are taken up in portfolio committees and council meetings
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Attend workshops and briefings relevant to ward and community issues
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Develop expertise on specific policies, procedures and issues that directly affect a specific community
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Hold regular report-back meetings
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Facilitate public participation in important policy debates or decisions that affect them
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Distribute relevant newsletters in wards/municipalities
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Understand changes and developments in the ward and identify important trends early
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Understand and communicate the implications of policies to residents.
In representing voter interests, political parties participate in local government through specific organisational structures. One of these is the DA Caucus within the relevant municipality.
A Councillor must:
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Be present, punctual and prepared for caucus meetings
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Maintain the confidentiality of caucus discussions
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Abide by the decisions and the discipline of caucus
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Take their caucus responsibilities seriously and fulfill the obligations placed upon them.
A particularly important part of a councillor’s role in representing voters is to build contacts within the local community. In order to do so, a DA councillor must:
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Attend meetings of Ratepayer, Residents and Civic Associations
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Attend meetings of Community Police Forums
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Develop constructive relationships with social, welfare, religious, sporting and other interest groups within the ward/municipality
3. Build the DA’s voter support base
If all DA councillors fulfill the above functions efficiently, they contribute to building the Party’s voter support base.
These activities must be maximized through good communication with residents.
This should be done, inter alia, by:
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Speaking at public meetings
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Publishing and distributing newsletters
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Developing sound relationships with the local media
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Being a regular contributor to the local media addressing issues of concern to residents
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Giving radio interviews
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Being present at community “events” and occasions
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Visiting organizations and institutions within the community
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Holding regular “information tables”
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Distributing pamphlets at appropriate locations
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Supporting and organizing “DA leadership events” when required to do so.
4. Building the DA’s structures
If a DA councillor fulfills the above functions, he/she will soon develop a strong network of like-minded individuals within the ward.
The councillor should actively recruit such individuals to be members of the DA branch in the ward. One of the key organisational functions of a DA councillor is to help build a strong branch of DA activists in the ward.
A councillor is also required to attend meetings of other Party structures of which he or she is a member, such as regional and provincial councils and congresses. Inability to attend must be duly recorded by means of apologies.
A councillor has a duty to pay any contributions levied by authorized structures of the Party and to actively fund-raise for the Party within the framework of the fundraising policy.
A councillor has a duty to sign, and abide by, the Party’s Constitution and the Code of Conduct for Councillors, and to undergo regular evaluations. A councillor has a duty to receive appropriate training as required by the Party.
A councillor has a responsibility to participate actively in elections and by-elections and to implement all reasonable instructions of campaign managers during election campaigns.
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Hi All
Watch this space for news on the re-aligning of the TVRPA
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