District Councils; Disestablishment of Local Council Bill

Meeting report

PROVINCIAL AFFAIRS & LOCAL GOVERNMENT PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE; LOCAL GOVERNMENT & ADMINISTATION SELECT COMMITTEE: JOINT MEETING
12 October 1999
BRIEFING BY DEPARTMENT ON DISTRICT COUNCILS; DISESTABLISHMENT OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS COUNCIL BILL; REVISED COMMITTEE PROGRAMME

 

Documents handed out:
Slide presentation from the Department of Constitutional Development on District Councils
District Council Conference: 1 - 3 September 1999: report

 

SUMMARY
Mr Godfrey Mokate, Chief Director: Local Government Development and Support at the Department of Constitutional Development gave a presentation on District Councils, covering the current status quo, the new framework that is in the process of being established and what is being doing to build the capacity of District Councils. The discussion that followed focused on:

- The capacity of the new District Councils to fulfil their mandates.

- The exact division of powers between District and Local Councils.

- The exact process and timeframes involved in establishing District Councils and whether Provinces have the capacity to fulfil their constitutional role in establishing municipalities.

- The funding of District Councils.

Dr Crispian Olver, Deputy Director-General: Local Government, Department of Constitutional Development, gave a brief summary of the Disestablishment of Local Government Affairs Council Bill that will be imminently tabled. This is a simple repeal of a debunk body that should not prove contentious. The chairperson stated that the committee programme is to change. The hearings on the Municipal Systems Bill are to be rescheduled and the new programme should be available by 14 October.

 

MINUTES
District Council
Status Quo

- The current situation is governed by the Acts of 1993 on local government. These are unclear on the role of District Councils leading to problems.

Problems include:

- The funding of District Councils, especially rural District Councils.

- The allocation of resources to District Councils. These are inappropriately directed, are biased toward urban areas and still reflect the segregation patterns of apartheid.

- The new system must address the problems of rural poverty and the lack of infrastructure, capacity and economic development in rural areas.

Proposed new system

- Legislation is aiming to address the problems above and give provinces and municipalities the ability to build capacity.

- The framework for the new system is provided by the Municipal Demarcation Act and the Municipal Structures Act. The Municipal Systems Bill will hopefully address the capacity issue.

- The constitution sets out the following aims for local government:

(a) to provide democratic and accountable government for local communities

(b) to ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable way

(c) to promote social and economic development

(d) to promote a safe and healthy environment

(e) to encourage the involvement of communities in matters of local government

Defining District Councils

- How do District Councils fit together with local government? The Municipal Structures Act defines a 'District Council' as a municipal council of a district municipality. It defines a 'district municipality' as a municipality that has municipal executive and legislative authority in an area that includes more than one municipality - either local municipalities complete with local councils or district management areas.

New Visions for District Councils

- There should be integrated, sustainable and equitable social and economic development in a district area. This will be ensured by Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) for all districts.

- District Councils will promote bulk infrastructure development and improve service provision.

-District Councils will build the capacity of local municipalities and distribute resources to needy areas.

- District Councils will help local authorities develop their own IDPs.

Division of powers between District and Local Councils

- The current situation needs increased clarity.

- District Councils are to support Local Councils and provide them with the capacity to develop.

- The systematic sharing of capacity between Local Councils must be organised by District Councils.

- Infrastructure development across the District must be organised.

- The new legislation tries to define this organising and co-ordinating role of District councils:- The Demarcation Board is working to define District and Local Councils municipalities; The Board can recommend on the allocation of powers to municipalities; MECs must make proclamations to fit the powers they choose to allocate to municipalities; MECs can designate functions and change them as municipal capacity develops; MECs can take emergency action if temporary capacity problems occur; MECs can circumscribe the powers of both Local and District Councils if disputes occur - they are involved in what will be an ongoing process.

Capacity Building

- What is being done?

- The main role of national government is to support and strengthen District and Local municipalities and this is clearly shown through national legislation:

(i) The work of the Demarcation Board has been supported.

(ii) The Municipal Systems Bill - a crucial national initiative.

(iii) The development of the Property Ratings Bill and other actions to give municipalities the enabling finances they need.

- National government is also currently investigating the financing and taxation capacities of local authorities.

District Council Finances

- Financial capacity building is urgently required.

- The focus is on how District Councils source their revenue capacity.

- Following the District Council Conference in September research is underway. Mr Mokate referred members to the report on the Conference available below.

Questions to Mr Mokate

ANC committee member: Could we utilise existing traditional authorities within the District structure, especially in rural areas?

Response from Mr Mokate: It is merely an oversight that I have included nothing on traditional authorities in my presentation. The new District system will recognise traditional authorities, they will be represented on councils and have a role to play in development. The Municipal Structures Act clearly outlines their specific powers.

Mr P. Smith (IFP): One of the duties of District Councils is to support their Local Councils. However the reality might be that Local Councils are stronger and have more capacity than the District Councils above them. To what extent is this reverse scenario being considered?

Response from Mr Mokate: It is acknowledged that this is a possible scenario and we know that it is happening now. Currently this situation is overcome by capacity being sourced at the strong local municipality for the district as a whole. The co-ordination is still done by the district authority and in future various agreements will be possible between local and district authorities and any number of contracts could be signed to run service provision in a district.

Ms M. Buthelezi (ANC): Will the people who serve District Councils be trained and remunerated?

Response from Mr Mokate: Councillors will be trained. This was a key resolution taken at the District Council Conference and is crucial if Councillors are to develop and manage IDPs. Regarding payment the poor situation in many provinces mean that this will be difficult. There will be a variety of incentives and the richer provinces will obviously be able to offer more.

Mr M. Nonkonyana (ANC): The Local Government White Paper states that money will be directed in favour of rural areas, is this policy directive still to occur?

Response from Mr Mokate: There is a rural development strategy currently underway and money and capacity are being directed in to this.

Mr M. Bhabha (chairperson of Select Committee on Constitutional Development and Public Administration, ANC): Is the Department working with other departments on SMMEs to combat the inadequacies in rural municipalities?

Response from Mr Mokate: The Department is collaborating with several Departments on economic development and SMMEs. We want to build a cooperative system so have set up clusters to look at possible strategies and are developing our rural development strategy. Many Departments outside the clusters are also involved.

Various MPs asked questions regarding the precise division of powers between District Councils and Local Councils. Dr C. Olver, Deputy Director-General of Local Government, Department of Constitutional Development, gave the following explanation. The division of powers will be dealt with by the Provincial establishment notices - 'proclamations', as outlined in the Municipal Structures Act. The Act itself makes some basic divisions and then the proclamations will designate the name, type, category, precise allocation of powers and functions etc. of each municipality and what each municipality will inherit - staff, assets, by-laws etc. This process was devised by this committee to fit section 155, sub-section 6 of the constitution - 'Each provincial government must establish municipalities in its province in a manner consistent with the legislation enacted.....' The provinces have this constitutional right but the problem is whether they have the capacity to establish these municipalities. Dr Olver did express that there was departmental concern on whether the provinces would pull this off. They have between the end of the Demarcation process until the time needed to put the election machinery in place to make the proclamations so currently cannot do anything.

Ms M. Verwoerd (ANC) suggested that if it was known that provincial capacity would be lacking, action should be taken now. Dr Olver responded that the lack of capacity had already been recognised and so:-

- The Demarcation Board will draft the establishment notices for provinces.

- A local government transformation programme is working to build provincial capacity.

- The Department has an outreach programme to deal with all the legislation that is occurring. It will communicate with provincial and local authorities so that local government will be able to function following next year's elections.

- The Department, the Demarcation Board and the IEC met yesterday to discuss ways to increase voter education.

However Dr Olver stressed that the committee should acknowledge the obligations of the provinces and should hold them to account!

Both Mr Y. Carrim (ANC) and Mr M. Bhabha (ANC) asked for further clarification on the timeframes involved in the proclamation process and so Dr Olver responded that all nine MECs have met with the minister to discuss timeframes. The proclamations process is a standing item at all MINMEC meetings. The Department, the Demarcation Board, the IEC and MECs are meeting to work out precise timeframes. That the working hypothesis is that:-

- The Demarcation Board will have completed its work by the end of March.

- The IEC needs five to six months to be ready for elections.

- If the elections are to held on 1 November 2000, the IEC must begin its work by 1 June and so the proclamations process must be finished by then.

- Therefore the proclamations must be completed during April and May.

- However the Demarcation Board hopes to complete a draft proposal of its work by December meaning that it could have completed its work by January.

Various questions were asked regarding the financing of District Councils. Dr Olver responded that it was clear that District Councils were under-funded. However it is not necessarily clear whether this is because the local government 'pot' is insufficient or because the division of the 'pot' between District and Local Councils failed to equate to the functions allocated to each. Section 229, sub-section 3 of the constitution spells out the criteria for allocating funds to District and Local Councils and this will come to the fore in the Property Ratings Bill. Dr Olver added that beyond this we should also be asking whether District Councils are adequately using their existing revenue base and we must be clear on this before we start enhancing their tax base. He believes that District Councils are failing to maximise their tax base especially on the RSE levies and through poor collaboration with revenue collectors. Between 30-40 per cent of the tax base is probably not being collected. Provincial taxation is currently under investigation and it must be remembered that provinces do have constitutional tax rights for example they could place surcharges on the services they provide.

Due to the shortage of time various questions and comments received no respond most obviously the comments from Mr Y. Carrim (committee chairperson, ANC). He raised the issue of how soon it would be until District Councils truly perform the functions set out for them in the white paper and the Municipal Structures Act. Local Council representatives have already expressed concerns to this committee that District Councils will only debilitate local government. It is accepted that District Councils cannot perform all the functions set out for them overnight. However it now appears that the Department expects District Councils to be stronger much faster. If it is intended that District Councils will be fully functional immediately following next year's elections this makes things like staff transfer a real issue and also suggests that the current decentralisation of government services should be aligned with the development of District Councils as a crucial decentralised unit.

Disestablishment of the Local Government Affairs Council Bill

Dr C. Olver, briefed the committee on the Bill. Work on the Bill by the Department and the Cabinet is complete. It has now been submitted by the state law advisors to parliament and is awaiting the speaker's permission for it to be tabled. It is recommended that it be a section 75 Bill but this is yet to be confirmed. Dr Olver stressed that although it has been exciting to develop new frameworks for local government it is also an essential duty of the committee to clean up the past. The Local Government Affairs Council began life in 1944 as the Peri-Urban Council. It was set up to administer the peri-urban areas in the Transvaal that did not have full municipal status. These were predominantly white residential areas. During the reconfiguration of the state in the 1980s the Local Government Affairs Act (Act 84 of 1989) replaced the council with the Local Government Affairs Council. The functions and municipalities this body administered to have since been taken up by transitional local government councils meaning the body has effectively fallen away. The financial affairs of the council have since being wound up and it effectively no longer exists. However the Local Government Affairs Act made it a requirement that the body could only be disestablished by an Act of Parliament. So the Bill is very simple;

- it will disestablish the council;

- it will repeal the law that established the council;

- it empowers the minister to wind up the council and transfer any money left to national local government funds.

The Bill is really nothing more than cleaning up the body of statutes. It could be tacked on to the Municipal Systems Bill, as other repeals will be, but as it is not specifically linked to the Systems Bill it has been decided to disestablish the council separately.

Revisions to the committee programme

Mr Carrim spoke of the various changes to the committee programme. The programme for October will be available by 14 October.

- As the Municipal Systems Bill will not arrive until 4 November at the earliest the scheduled hearings have been postponed. If it arrives on 4 November then the hearings will occur on 15, 16, 17 November.

- The committee will not meet on Friday 22 October.

Provisionally:

- Tuesday 19 October - hear reports on the Heritage Day Conference (24 September).

- Wednesday 20 October - Demarcation Board - the boundaries determined for metros and District Councils will be discussed and the committee will be briefed on section 26 notices for local municipalities.

- The Disestablishment of Local Government Affairs Council Bill will be looked at on both days. It is not expected to be contentious so should be quickly dealt with.

- Telecom will hopefully give a presentation to the committee next week as they were unable to give it last week.

Appendix 1:

Slide presentation from the Department of Constitutional Development on District Councils

PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE PRESENTATION ON DISTRICT COUNCILS

12 OCTOBER 1999

CAPACITY BUILDING

Chapter 154(1) of the Constitution states that "national government and provincial governments, by legislative and other measures, must support and strengthen the capacity of municipalities to manage their own affairs, to exercise their powers and to perform their functions."

To effect this several initiatives have been initiated:

 

• The Department provides support to the Demarcation board in its work of determining boundaries for Metropolitan and District Councils. Its proposals have now been published for public comments within 30 days from the 4^th of October 1999. This process will assist provinces in establishing municipalities.

 

 

• Appropriate and enabling legislative framework is being developed through the following Bills:

 

 

• Municipal systems Bill (1999)

 

 

• Property Rating Bill (1999)

 

 

• Public Finance Management (Local Government) Bill (1999)

 

 

• Repeal of Local Government Legislation

 

 

• Establishment of a Sector Education Training Authority (SETA) for Local Government

 

 

• Reform of the finance and taxation system is being addressed by both the Ministry for Provincial and Local Government and the Ministry of Finance

 

 

CURRENT PROBLEMS:

 

• Limited funding

 

 

• Lack of clarify on the relationship between local council and district councils and provincial government.

 

 

• Allocation of resources not appropriately directed to areas of need much as rural areas and smaller urban municipalities

 

 

• Segregated settlements

 

 

• Abject poverty

 

 

• Lack of infrastructure

 

 

• Lack of economic development

 

 

• Limited Capacity

 

 

• Revenue available for district councils not used appropriately and no investment in capital expenditure programmes.

 

1996/96 local government elections was a step toward change through establishment of transitional local government structures.

NEW VISION FOR DISTRICT COUNCILS

To achieve "integrated, sustainable and equitable social and economic development of its area as a whole by -

(a) ensuring integrated development planning (IDP) for the district as a whole

(b) promoting bulk infrastructural development and services for the district as a whole

( c) building the capacity of local municipalities to perform their functions

(d) promoting the equitable distribution of resources between the local municipalities to ensure appropriate levels of services.

(Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998, Chapter 83(3)

 

DISTRICT COUNCIL FUNCTIONS

 

• District IDP

 

 

• Bulk water supply

 

 

• Bulk electricity supply

 

 

• Bulk sewage purification and disposal

 

 

• District waste disposal sites

 

 

• District roads

 

 

• Passenger transport

 

 

• Municipal airports

 

 

• District health

 

 

• District fire services

 

 

• Abbattoirs and markets

 

 

• Local tourism

 

 

• Public works

 

 

• Direct service provision in district management areas

 

ELECTORAL SYSTEM FOR DISTRICT COUNCILS

40% Directly Elected Councillors	60% Indirectly Elected Councillors
District residents Vote for parties	Local municipalities Appoint representatives

 

DIVISION OF POWERS: DISTRICT AND LOCAL COUNCILS

District councils support and assist local councils through:

 

• Facilitating the sharing of specialised capacity and equipment between municipalities

 

 

• Assisting in the development of co-operative relations between municipalities

 

 

• Planning and legal services

 

 

• Assistance to local municipalities in the preparation of budgets

 

 

• Local municipal infrastructure programmes.

 

 

DIVISION OF POWERS: PROCESS

 

• Demarcation Board must make recommendations on powers when demarcating or on request

 

 

• MEC may reallocate powers between district and local

 

 

• if local municipality lacks capacity

 

 

• after consultation with Demarcation Board

 

 

• within a prescribed policy framework.

 

 

• MEC must furnish reasons for disagreeing with Demarcation Board.

 

 

• MEC must amend establishment proclamation to reflect powers.

 

 

• MEC monitors progress and assigns functions as capacity develops.

 

 

• Minister may reallocate powers between district and local.

 

 

• MEC makes temporary allocation if services collapse

 

 

• Written objections within 14 days

 

 

• Minister may confirm, vary or withdraw

 

 

• MEC may circumscribe powers of district or local if there is dispute.

 

 

• District and local can render functions on behalf of each other.

 

 

DISTRICT COUNCIL FINANCES (REVENUE SOURCES)

 

• RSC levies (or future equivalent)

 

 

• Tariffs for bulk services

 

 

• Fees from facilities such as abattoirs and markets

 

 

• Property or land taxation in areas of direct service provision

 

 

• Equitable share allocations in areas of direct service provision; and

 

 

• Transfers for agency functions (where district council carries out function on behalf of another department or sphere of government).

 

ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION

1. Status Quo (current Realities)

2. New Proposed System

(a) Legislative Framework

(b) Definitions

 

( c) Powers and Functions

(d) Electoral Processes

 

3. Conclusion

Capacity Building

2. NEW PROPOSED SYSTEM

Legislative Framework

 

• Municipal Structures Act, 1998

 

 

• Municipal Demarcation Act, 1998

 

 

• Municipal Systems Bill (1999)

 

The objects of local government as stated in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996, are:

(a) to provide democratic and accountable government for local communities;

(b) to ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner;

(c) to promote social and economic development;

(d) to promote a safe and healthy environment and

(e) to encourage the involvement of communities and community organisations in the matters of local government.

DEFINITIONS:

A district council means the municipal council of a district municipality. A district municipality on the other hand is a municipality that has municipal executive and legislative authority in an area that includes more than one municipality, and which is described in section 155(1) of the Constitution as a Category C municipality.

(Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998)

DEFINITIONS IN TERMS OF CATEGORIES

DISTRICT MANAGEMENT AREAS

METRO COUNCIL

 

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Appendix 2:

 

District Council Conference: 1 - 3 September 1999

 

REPORT BACK BY CHAIRPERSONS OF COMMISSIONS

COMMISSION 1: COORDINATING CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMMES

Report back by Cllr N Dube, Mayor: Durban North Central Local Council

The following short term tasks was identified by Commission1:

 

1. Conducting an analysis on capacity needs and development of a strategy for coordination by the Local Government Transformation Programme Board, SALGA and national government;

 

 

2. Defining the role and coordinating capacity building programmes of professional institutes and other roleplayers such as Institute for Municipal Finance Officers (IMFO) and the Institute for Local Government Managers (ILGM) by the South African Local Government Association (SALGA);

 

 

3. Targeting of district councils that require training for the development of workplace plans by the Training Board;

 

 

4. Preparing capacity building programmes with regard to the establishment of district councils by provinces. These capacity building programmes should focus on collating information on the determination of boundaries, staff implications, assets, liabilities, by-laws, management strategies and budgets of newly established district councils;

 

 

5. Investigating the role of national and provincial government to assist district councils with capacity building;

 

 

6. Coordination of information from other structures (e.g. Municipal Demarcation Board and the Local Government Transformation Programme Board) to perform tasks for the establishment of municipalities;

 

 

7. Determination of the responsibilities and timeframes by the Department of Constitutional Development for the above mentioned short term tasks;

 

 

8. Preparation of Establishment notices. Provinces, Department of Constitutional Development, SALGA and MINMEC to establish provincial project teams to prepare establishment notices and to advice MEC's on the establishment of municipalities; and

 

 

9. Building capacity of communities through information sharing (briefings & notices) and the development of mechanisms to consult the community and community organisations in performing its functions and exercising its powers.

 

COMMISSION 2: BUILDING FINANCIAL VIABILITY AND MANAGEMENT

Report back by Mr M Morobe, Chairperson: Financial and Fiscal Commission

Mr Morobe indicated that the following important matters were raised by members of Commission 2:

 

1. The importance of determining a constitutional definition in terms of how local government understand itself in the context of the intergovernmental relations as provided for in the Constitution;

 

 

2. The need to investigate how current financial resources are exploited;

 

 

3. The need to integrate the roles and functions that revenue collection agencies such as the South African Revenue Services (SARS) and district councils perform;

 

 

4. Better usage of revenues and the need to look at best practices and directives from other spheres of government;

 

 

5. Municipalities do not have to accept mandates from any sphere of government which are not associated with funds ("unfunded mandates);

 

 

6. Ongoing discussions with regard to the transfer of staff to R293 towns were noted;

 

 

7. An approach needs to be developed on how to deal with outstanding debts of municipalities;

 

 

8. The need to investigate the possibility of establishing an transitional fund for municipalities;

 

 

9. The need for the development of a phased approach by the Department of Constitutional Development to asses and evaluate the implementation of the Municipal Structures Act;

 

 

10. Management issues

 

 

1. Capacity Building - A national approach needs to be developed to deal with the lack of financial management by municipalities;

 

 

2. Transparent financial reporting - The availability of transparent budgetary information which should be readily available and financial accounts which are comparable across all spheres of government should be addressed;

 

 

3. Capacity requirements for financial oversight of municipal budgets at national government level should be investigated;

 

 

4. Issuing of directives by the Department of Constitutional Development and Finance as well as SALGA with regard to the budget transition of district councils.

 

COMMISSION 3: SYSTEMS FOR PROMOTING DEVELOPMENTAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

Report back by Mr G E Nkwinti, MEC for Local Government and Housing (Eastern Cape Province)

Mr Nkwinti elaborated on the following key steps identified by Commission 3:

 

1. Auditing of existing initiatives such as the Rural Development Strategy which are being undertaken with regard to developmental local government. These audit's must be conducted within 3 months by the Office of the Premiers;

 

 

2. Implementation of the Rural Development Strategy and other initiatives by provinces and district councils. The Premier's office should coordinate the implementation of these initiatives;

 

 

3. Redirecting the Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programmes due to the fact that it is currently biased on urban areas and should be re-directed to include rural areas as well. The process to re-direct CMIP must be concluded by 30 September 1999;

 

 

4. Identification of projects by district councils with regard to Local Economic Development Plans by not later than 30 October 1999 and with regard to Social Plan Funds which is an ongoing process; and

 

 

5. Expediting the demarcation process in order to implement the establishment phase of municipalities.

 

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION BY CHAIRPERSON

(Mr S L Tsenoli: MEC for Local Government and Housing: Free State Province)

Mr S L Tsenoli, MEC for Local Government and Housing (Free State Province) concluded the session on the report back by chairpersons of commissions by emphasising the following issues:

 

1. Provision must be made for the transitional phase of local government in order to avoid the destabilisation of municipalities. Provision should therefore be made to cover transition costs in order to assist district councils with their new roles and responsibilities and to eliminate the burden of "unfunded mandates" placed on district councils;

 

 

2. National and provincial government should consider as a matter of urgency ways and means to devolve some of their capacity to newly established district councils. This matter should be communicated to national and provincial cabinets as well as Directors-General and Deputy Directors-General in provinces.

 

 

3. The format of municipal budgets should be revisited to ensure that they are much more user friendly and accessible in order to practicalise policy processes. The format, nature and quality of information contained in municipal budgets should be improved.

 

The following concrete steps were decided on by the Conference:

 

1. The establishment of transitional coordination mechanisms to prepare for the new district municipalities after the next local government elections and the need for district councils to reflect on how transitional mechanisms should be established;

 

 

2. The need to prepare for district council budgets for the 2000/2001 financial year in view of the local government elections during November 2000;

 

 

3. The need to build the financial base of the new districts through reform of the RSC levies and property tax systems;

 

 

4. Eliminating the burden of "unfunded mandates" placed on district councils with regard to their new roles and responsibilities in terms of the Municipal Structures Act;

 

 

5. The development of a policy initiative to clarify the division of financing powers between district and local councils;

 

 

6. Initiating directives to address and resolve the debt burden of district councils;

 

 

7. The need to investigate the possibility of establishing a transitional fund for municipalities;

 

 

8. The need for district councils to submit inputs with regard to boundaries to the Municipal Demarcation Board;

 

 

9. The need for district councils to collate information on staff, assets, liabilities and by-laws;

 

 

10. The need for districts to make inputs on types of municipalities and other section 12 notice provisions to guide MEC's;

 

 

11. The development of a strategy for management of new powers and functions as well as new council structures;

 

 

12. The need for district councils to prepare for the new administration and to reflect on management structures and conditions of service in terms of setting up the new administrations;

 

 

13. The need for district councils to develop a programme for capacity building to include decentralised functions and district offices of national and provincial departments;

 

 

14. The need for district councils to cooperate with the Independent Electoral Commission in managing the next local government elections;

 

 

15. Defining the role and coordinating capacity building programmes initiated by professional institutes such as the IMFO and ILGM;

 

 

16. Conducting an analyses on capacity needs of newly established district councils and development of a strategy for coordination of these needs;

 

 

17. Auditing of existing initiatives within three months such as the Rural Development Strategy which are being undertaken with regard to developmental local government;

 

 

18. Coordination of the implementation of the Rural Development Strategy and other initiatives by provinces and district councils;

 

 

19. The need for district councils to build the capacity of their communities through information sharing and the development of mechanisms to consult the community and community organisations in performing its functions and powers;

 

 

20. The need for district councils to identify projects with regard to Local Economic Development Plans by not later than 30 October 1999 and Social Plan funds which is an ongoing process;

 

 

21. The need to integrate the roles of revenue collection agencies such as the South African Revenue Services (SARS) and district councils;

 

 

22. Submitting a report and action plan to the Inter Ministerial Committee for discussion;

 

 

23. To arrange a joint MINMEC and IGF meeting to discuss the implementation of decisions taken at the District Council Conference;

 

 

24. Arranging of a Conference for Metropolitan Municipalities.