Voorsitter, Adjunkminister en agb kollegas, die doel van hierdie wysigingswet is om bestaande wette te versterk en in ooreenstemming te bring met die nuwe omstandighede wat tans heers. Daar is met die beraadslaging bewys dat hierdie gekose komitee nooit gebruik sal word as 'n rubberstempel nie. Die Adjunkminister het dit so pas bevestig en ons s vir haar baie dankie.
Die DA verskil wel oor die koppeling tussen die Minister van Plaaslike Bestuur en die Minister vir die Staatsdiens en Administrasie. Hierdie is twee verskillende departemente en behoort vir altyd onafhanklik van mekaar te bly.
Waar ons egter nie verskil nie, is dat die Nasionale Raad van Provinsies 'n belangrike rol in wetgewing kan en moet speel, soos nou deur hierdie komitee bewys is. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mr J W LE ROUX: Chairperson, Deputy Minister and hon colleagues, the aim of this amending Bill is to strengthen existing Acts and to bring them in line with the new prevailing conditions. Through this deliberation it has been proven that this select committee will never be used as a rubber stamp. The Deputy Minister has just confirmed the aforementioned and we want to thank her for that.
The DA certainly disagrees with regard to linking up the Minister of Local Government and the Minister for Public Service and Administration. These are two different departments and should remain independent of each other.
However, we do not disagree with the fact that the National Council of Provinces could and should play an important role in legislation, as has now been proven by this committee.]
Chairperson, I would like to touch on some of the important clauses that were amended, starting with clause 6, which deals with ward committees.
Firstly, a metro or a local council must develop a policy to determine the criteria on which out-of-pocket expenses will be calculated and paid; secondly, a budget allocation must be made from the municipal coffers; and thirdly, the MEC must monitor all aspects of the policy. It is important to force councils to be fair to ward committee members without wasting taxpayers' money.
As far as the employment contracts of municipal managers are concerned, the committee decided that the municipal manager's term must not exceed six months after the election of the next council of a municipality. It is important that a new council must, if necessary, be free to appoint its preferred municipal manager.
As far as the participation of staff members in elections is concerned, the committee decided that the candidate needs only to resign his position after being elected, and not when he is accepted as a candidate. It will be grossly unfair to expect from a candidate to lose his position of employment in the event of the candidate not succeeding in an election.
The committee was united in its efforts to fight corruption. As far as doing business with the council is concerned, a councillor, as well as his or her close family, may not be beneficiaries. Right through the country, councillors have benefited from contracts with their councils, and this unacceptable practice must now stop.
Section 102 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act is amended by the addition of subclause 3. I quote the subclause:
A municipality must provide an owner of a property in its jurisdiction with copies of accounts sent to the occupier of the property for municipal services applied to such a property if the owner requests such an account in writing from the municipality.
This is a very important clause because, in the past, property owners were in the dark as to what outstanding amounts were due. Only when the property was sold would the outstanding amounts come to the notice of the owner. In such cases, the transfer of the property could not take place until all debts had been settled.
Lastly, I would again like to thank the chairperson of this committee for the impartial and effective way in which he conducts the business of the committee. Thank you.