In 2001, South Africa adopted an indigent policy intended to provide free basic services to poor households. Under this policy, municipalities are required to identify indigent households that would receive services such as water, electricity, sanitation, and refuse. Households are required to register with municipalities to qualify for free basic ...

What are Integrated Development Plans (IDPs)?

An IDP encompasses all of a municipality's goals and objectives for economic and social development in the short, medium and long-term. IDPs are meant to outline strategies to manage municipal finances for the purpose of facilitating everything from basic service provision to infrastructural development, ...

Municipal ward councillors play a vital role in ensuring that residents receive the municipal services entitled to them. In this blog, we interview an out-going Ward Councillor, David Potter from the Democratic Alliance, who shares his lessons learnt throughout his term.

Which municipal ward do you represent?

I represent Ward ...

Public participation is a vital part of our democracy, and allows for citizens to get involved in how their communities are governed. At local government level the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998, requires, among others, that municipalities develop mechanisms to consult communities and community organisations in performing their functions ...

The Constitutional Court confirmed on the 3rd of September 2021 that the Local Government Elections (LGE) must go ahead on any day between the 27th of October and the 1st of November 2021. This came after the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) had brought an application before the court to postpone ...

Access to basic municipal services is a right enshrined in Section 152 (1) of the Constitution. The Constitution states that the purpose of local government is to provide a democratic and accountable government to local communities; to ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner; to promote ...

There will be a brief lull in Parliament this week, with the National Assembly in recess from today until 5 October.

During this period NA lawmakers will be performing constituency work. They have a duty to: be available to the public, help solve problems and report back to their constituents ...

The constituency period beckons, with MPs due to depart at the end of the week and return to Parliament on 11 October 2016. But a fair amount of heavy-duty business will be done before they go.

With nothing scheduled in the NA chamber, the committee corridor will be the main ...

The Institute for Security Studies, Democracy Works and the Goedgedacht Forum would like to invite you to attend: Digging deeper into Elections 2016: A detailed look at electoral participation and party support.

The seminar will be addressed by Dr Collette Shulz-Herzenberg (Lecturer - Politics at Stellenbosch University) and Dr William ...

Code4SA has published a detailed blog that looks at PR and ward lists across parties and the wards won by women across the country.

In the 8 metros, results show the following interesting items:

• All 252 women that won wards in the 8 metros represent either the ANC (61%) or ...