Often, if your municipality is not delivering services, it's because civil servants in the local government aren’t doing their jobs as they should. Although officials are appointed rather than elected, they still need to be responsive to communities. 

It’s often best to work on building a good relationship and recognising shared interests with municipal officials. But if issues still aren’t resolved, there are several channels you can use to report municipalities and demand action.

Build collaborative relationships

Many active citizens in South Africa are recognising that one of the best ways to get government officials to do their jobs is to create helpful relationships, despite disagreements and major frustrations. Show the local government that your community would rather work with them than against them.

Seek out those officials who are engaged and responsive, get to know their names and engage respectfully with them on the issues facing your community. If you or someone in your neighbourhood has luck getting an issue fixed through a specific person, keep in touch and grow the relationship to grow the accountability. 

Some active citizen groups find out what their neighbourhood can offer to make municipal service delivery easier. For example, some groups pick up litter on a park clean-up day, the day before the municipality cuts the grass. By showing local government officials that you really are serious about helping them, it can be easier to ask the municipality to fulfill their responsibilities to your community. 

Contact your municipal manager

If your municipality is regularly failing to provide basic services, you should contact your Municipal Manager to demand answers. The Municipal Manager is responsible for making sure that municipal services (like water, electricity, sanitation, etc.) are delivered efficiently. They also manage all municipal staff. You can find the contact details for most municipal managers here.  

Report to the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC)

If you have evidence that local government officials are misusing public resources, you can report them to your local Municipal Public Accounts Committee. Most, although not all, municipalities have one. It’s a committee made up of councillors and is responsible for municipal oversight, especially to improve financial management and transparency. Your ward councillor can help you get connected to the Municipal Public Accounts Committee. You can find more resources for reporting corruption in your municipality with fixlocal here. 

Report your municipality to other spheres of government

If you cannot get your municipality to take action on service delivery, you should escalate your concerns with your provincial or national government. One avenue is your provincial or national office of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA). This is the government department tasked with supporting and overseeing the functioning of municipalities. 

Although provincial governments can be just as dysfunctional and unresponsive as local authorities, in some cases, provincial departments have the power to impose a recovery plan to mobilise resources and set out timelines for municipalities to take action. 

Use your city ombudsman (if you have one)

If you live in Cape Town or Johannesburg, your municipality has a city ombudsman office. These are independent institutions designed to mediate between the residents and the administration of the municipality. You can use them for free. The ombuds office is typically an institution of last resort, once you have tried to resolve an issue with your municipality for many months through multiple other channels. If you haven’t had luck elsewhere, reporting to the ombudsman can be an effective way to get your municipality to take action. 

You can also contact the Joburg Ombuds office by email complaints@joburgombudsman.org.za or via WhatsApp on 081 365 0225. 

Organise your community

While you escalate your concerns about municipal service delivery, organising your community to place greater pressure on government departments is essential. Depending on the case, you can also approach the courts, public protector and human rights commission. You can find resources and advice on organising your community here. 

Acknowledgements

Author: Maru Attwood

Material adapted from the Activist's Guide to Making Local Government Work  the Integrated Development Planning Process and the People’s Assembly.

Thanks to Professor Tinashe Chigwata of the Dullah Omar Institute for his feedback on fixlocal’s local government series.

Photo credits: NJR ZA, Wikimedia Commons