Local Government: General Laws Amendment Draft Bill

The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has published the Local Government: General Laws Amendment Bill 2024, and is asking you to comment.

The Bill seeks to amend—
• the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, 2000, so as to include "whip" in the definition of "political office bearer"; to allow for the electronic communication of information concerning community participation; to include growth and climate change scenarios as a core component of the integrated development plan; to provide for the responsibility of national and provincial organs of state to provide inputs into a municipality’s integrated development plan; to provide that the additional needs of women and youth are considered in the consultation and development of the integrated development plan; to provide that the MEC for local government must facilitate the coordination and alignment of integrated development plans across spheres of government; to insert provisions for municipalities to display on their official websites the municipal code and the roles and areas of responsibility of each political structure, political office bearer and the municipal manager; to increase the period for acting as municipal manager; to increase the period within which the MEC for local government must enforce compliance with the provisions for appointment of municipal managers and allow for a municipal council to reconsider the appointment; to increase the period within which the MEC for local government must enforce compliance with the provisions for the appointment of managers reporting directly to municipal managers and allow for a municipal council to reconsider the appointment; to add further requirements concerning the maintenance of records of dismissed staff; to add the Minister of Finance among parties to be consulted before organised local government embarks on negotiations in the bargaining council; to allow for service of documents to be made electronically; to determine on whom legal documents must be served in a municipality; to amend Schedule 2 to require staff members to refrain from committing financial misconduct and to ensure that unauthorised, irregular or fruitless and wasteful expenditure and other losses are prevented;
• the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998, so as to redetermine the date from which to begin the calculation of the period within which a by-election to fill a vacancy in a ward must be held; to provide for the speaker to provide reasons for refusing to call a meeting of the municipal council as requested; to provide for the councillors dissatisfied by the refusal of the speaker or acting speaker to call a meeting of the municipal council, or by the reason or reasons given by the speaker or acting speaker for refusing to call a meeting of the municipal council, to request the MEC for local government in the province to designate a person to call and chair the meeting; to prohibit councillors holding the position of speaker, whip or chairperson of a committee reporting directly to the municipal council from being members of an executive committee or participating in its activities; to prohibit members of executive committees from holding the position of speaker, acting speaker or whip; to provide that if the executive mayor vacates office, the mayoral committee appointed by that executive mayor dissolves and must vacate office; to require metropolitan or local councils to establish ward committees within 120 days after the election of the speaker of the municipal council; to provide the timeframe within which the Municipal Public Accounts Committee must be established; to provide for the participation of traditional or KhoiSan leaders in ward committees; to redetermine and re-adjust the division of functions and powers between district and local municipalities; to redetermine the formula regarding the quota of votes required for a seat in the district council; to provide for an appeals process if the MEC for local government suspends or removes a councillor;
• the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act, 2004, so as to allow service of notices of valuation rolls by electronic mail or any appropriate electronic communication; and to provide for matters connected therewith.

Comments can be emailed to Mr Nhlamulo Mathye at [email protected] by no later than Wednesday, 31 July 2024