Pretoria - The process for nominating and electing ward committees in the City of Tshwane has been scheduled to start in January.
This is according to council speaker Dr Murunwa Makwarela, who reminded residents about the importance of ward committees, saying they would promote and enhance community involvement in the affairs of the municipality.
Makwarela said the nominations and election process followed the promulgation of the City of Tshwane ward committees by-law, which came into operation from December 14.
He was elated that the new development would allow for the establishment of ward committees in all 107 wards in Tshwane in terms of Section 73 to 78 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act.
“This is truly an auspicious moment, as the City of Tshwane has been functioning without ward committees for a decade, after the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, nullified the ward committees’ elections in 2014. The ruling followed a legal dispute which questioned the constitutionality of the committee elections on the grounds that they excluded the participation of public members.”
The elections in 2012 took place under the then ANC Tshwane administration. The ruling followed a legal challenge by the DA, which questioned the constitutionality of the committee elections on the grounds that they excluded the participation of public members.
The process for correcting the unconstitutionality of the by-law was set in motion some years back, but it was delayed on several occasions.
On March 30, 2017 the draft ward committees by-law was presented to council by the Office of the Speaker for approval after public participation processes.
In 2018 the municipality was on the verge of hosting the ward committees elections when the then speaker, Katlego Mathebe, was forced to call off the process after it was discovered that the amended by-law risked excluding other members of the public.
The postponement of the elections, which had already been advertised, was said to have cost the municipality at least R4 million.
The ongoing election process would take place under the leadership and guidance of the chairperson of the electoral committee, Alderman Dana Wannenburg.
Makwarela said for this year a participation process was started for the establishment of ward committees in all seven regions to solicit inputs from stakeholders and communities on the draft ward committee by-law as resolved by the council on August 26, 2021.
“On October 11, 2022, during the City of Tshwane’s continuation council meeting, the draft ward committee by-law of the City of Tshwane, 2021, was approved for promulgation. Additional to the public participation process, the Section 79 electoral committee has been established to be the driving force behind the successful implementation of the process spearheaded by the chairperson of the electoral committee, Alderman Dana Wannenburg,” he said.
Pretoria News