Department of Local Government Provides Post-Election Support to Municipalities

Media Statement by Minister Anton Bredell

I am pleased to announce that 23 local municipal councils have been successfully established in the Western Cape. They have had their first council meetings and have elected councillors to various positions.

My department provided intensive support to municipalities to make this happen. We provided guidelines and a "First Council Meeting Agenda" to all municipalities. I also deployed senior managers to every council meeting to provide advice and support. This ensured that councils were properly and legally constituted.

There is only one local municipal council that has not yet met, namely Hessequa. This is because legal challenges have delayed the convening of the first council meeting. Hessequa council is now scheduled to meet on 13 June.

My department will provide further support at the first council meetings of district municipalities, which could only be scheduled after the local municipal councils had met.

We must ensure good governance in our municipalities and must equip our councillors with the knowledge and skills that they require. My department will maintain ongoing communication with councils and will provide extensive training and capacity support over the next 12 months. I will be announcing further details of the various programmes as and when we roll them out.