When the residents of Bisley in KwaZulu-Natal were faced with the construction of a new community hall, to which they objected, they came together and through collective power and a petition stopped the planned construction.

Bisley residents’ opposition to the hall included concerns around the suitability of the site for such a development, potential traffic congestion, the environmental impact, and most importantly, the lack of proper public consultation before decisions were made. 

The Bisley residents, like thousands of other South Africans are using petitions to demand change from local councils, proving that petitions are a critical tool for citizens to the raise awareness for their cause and to create a groundswell of support to tackle the problems they face in dealing with their local authorities.

What was the problem?

The community argued that the Msunduzi municipality did not consult the affected parties about the planned construction of a new community hall.  They argued that the process was irregular and unlawful. 

Furthermore, residents questioned the suitability of the site, the potential impact on traffic and the environmental impact, and the lack of proper public consultation before decisions were made. 

How did they solve it?

Following a community meeting where residents expressed their objections, the Msunduzi Association of Residents, Ratepayers, and Civics (MARRC) is a non-profit, and non-political civil society movement, engaged the municipal planning department and KZN COGTA on the community’s concerns and the apparent lack of due process.

The residents also started a petition to stop the construction of the hall and managed to secure 120 signatories, and organised a picket at the construction site. A group of residents continued to picket at the site until the project was stopped.

As a result of these efforts, the construction of the hall on Holder Road was stopped. And the municipality decided to rebuild the hall at its original location in Oribi Village.

“The Msunduzi Association of Residents, Ratepayers, and Civics was established to address systemic municipal challenges and to promote active citizen participation within the community,” says Anthony Waldhausen, co-founder and chairperson of MARRC.

“We started to organise as residents, because we were very frustrated about how things are the functioning of our municipality.\

We started in 2019, and the aim was to try to mobilise and get residents organised, because residents were not organized. We vote and we give the power to the politicians and they mess things up for us and then we complain. So I think what we're trying to achieve here is really to give residents a voice.”

Why does it work?

A collaborative approach – MARRC brings together members with diverse expertise and experiences to contribute to the efficiency and improvement of the city.

Integration - Integrates multiple Residents and Ratepayers Associations under a unified platform, enabling meaningful dialogue with authorities.

Engagement with duty-bearers – They engage with the municipality, sector departments, and affected parties to promote services that benefit the public.

Unity and Advocacy – The Association works to foster unity, accountability, and sustainable urban development through partnerships, advocacy, and capacity-building efforts.

“We encourage residents to work with your ward councillor, but at the same time, we also we also make them aware that they also need to hold councillors accountable, because we're finding we finding a lot of challenges with our ward councillors at the moment, that the bar is very low,” says Waldhausen

For more information, you can visit MARRC.

Find out how to organise a petition.