Ward 2 Development Forum

Municipal Structures Act

Properties3
descriptionThe law that sets up municipalities, their councils, and their wards. It creates the ward committee, the formal channel between Ward 2's residents and the ward councillor, and it is a different body from the Ward 2 Development Forum.
tagslang/en
aliasesLocal Government Municipal Structures Act, Municipal Structures Act 117 of 1998, ward committee

5 min read

A working page, open for review

This page is published while it is still being checked, so that people who know this law, and people it affects, can correct it. It explains the law in plain language, and it does not give legal advice or speak for the Forum, the municipality, or any other body. The official text, linked under At a glance, is what counts. Before you act on anything here, read the official text or ask the body named under Who to ask. To correct or add to this page, see How to Submit.

Questions for reviewers:

  1. For Theewaterskloof Municipality: who sits on the Ward 2 ward committee now, how were they elected, and when does it meet? Does the municipality have its own ward committee policy or rules?
  2. For the ward councillor: how would the councillor like the Forum and the ward committee to work together?

The Local Government: Municipal Structures Act sets up the kinds of municipality South Africa has, how their councils are elected, and how each municipal area is divided into wards [IC]. It is the law under which Theewaterskloof Municipality has a council and fourteen wards, of which Ward 2 is one [IC]. Its sections on ward committees matter most to residents: a ward committee is the body the law provides for residents of a ward to advise their councillor [IC].

What the letters in square brackets mean

Facts on this page are followed by a tag that shows where they come from.

  • [IC] Independently Corroborated. Confirmed by the official text of the law, or by at least two sources that do not depend on each other.
  • [MS] Mission-Sourced. Comes from one party’s own documents or statements. It has not been checked against other sources.
  • [TBV] To Be Verified. Seems likely, but nobody has confirmed it yet.

Sentences without a tag under What it means in the valley are the Forum’s reading of how the rule could apply here. They are not legal advice.

At a glance

Full nameLocal Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998
CitationAct 117 of 1998
Made byParliament
Administered byEach municipality; the national Department of Cooperative Governance oversees it
In force since1998
Official textLawLibrary

What it does

  • It sets up councils and wards. A local municipality such as Theewaterskloof is divided into wards. Each ward elects one councillor directly, and other councillors are elected from party lists [IC].
  • It provides for ward committees. A municipality of the right type may have ward committees, whose object is “to enhance participatory democracy in local government” (section 72) [IC].
  • It says who sits on them. A ward committee consists of the ward councillor, who chairs it, and not more than ten other people (section 73) [IC]. The council must make rules for electing them that take into account the need for women to be equitably represented and for a diversity of interests in the ward to be represented [IC].
  • It says what they do. A ward committee may make recommendations on any matter affecting its ward to the ward councillor, or through the councillor to the council (section 74) [IC]. It has the duties and powers the council delegates to it [IC].

What it means in the valley

Ward 2 has a ward committee. Theewaterskloof Municipality’s IDP lists ward committees for its wards, and reports back to them during the year [IC]. Who sits on Ward 2’s committee is not yet recorded on this site [TBV].

The Forum is a different body. The Ward 2 Development Forum is run by the community, and the municipality gives it administrative support [MS]. It is not set up under this Act, it has no limit on its members, and it does not replace the ward committee. The Forum reads the two as serving different purposes: the ward committee is the statutory channel to the council, and the Forum is where the valley’s initiatives meet each other and shape proposals together. A proposal shaped at the Forum that needs a council decision would normally reach the council through the ward councillor, and the ward committee is one route for it.

For residents. Matters of service delivery (water, roads, refuse) in Greyton, Heuwelkroon, Genadendal, and the other settlements can be raised with the ward councillor and the ward committee. On Farm 39, some services depend on who owns the land, which this Act does not change. See Transformation of Certain Rural Areas Act.

Where it touches this site

Who to ask

  • The ward councillor for Ward 2, through Theewaterskloof Municipality.
  • Theewaterskloof Municipality’s office responsible for public participation and ward committees.

What is still open

  • The members of the current Ward 2 ward committee, and when it meets.
  • Whether Theewaterskloof Municipality has published its own rules for ward committees.
  • How the Forum and the ward committee will share information.

Have your say

If you sit on the Ward 2 ward committee, or can confirm or correct anything on this page, contact the moderators through How to Submit.

References

Graph View

Backlinks