Governance

Batho Pele

Batho Pele Policy and Procedure Manual

The White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service identifies transforming service delivery as one of eight national transformation priorities. This involves achieving service excellence through delivering services professionally, and in a courteous, efficient and cogent manner, which ensures predictable and affordable services to all citizens, all the time.

In terms of Chapter 4 section 17 (2) (a) of the Municipal Systems Act 32 of 2000, the Municipality maintains a reputation of aiming to deliver the highest quality of services. The Municipality’s systems and procedures allow for the establishment of mechanisms, processes and procedures to enable local communities to participate in the affairs of the municipality and for this purpose provide for the receipt, processing and considering of petitions and complaints lodge by members of the local communities. Feedback mechanism are in place whereby citizens can communicate to the municipality when services are not being delivered in line with the expectation as espoused within the eight Batho Pele Principles. The Municipality has approved the Batho Pele Policy and is being implemented as per above.

Jozini Municipality has appointed the IGR/ Batho Pele Officer and has also formed a Rapid Response Task Team which falls under the Office of the Speaker. This committee holds meetings on a monthly basis.

Batho Pele is understood to be an initiative that aims to get our municipal employees to be service oriented, to strive for excellence in service delivery and to commit to continuous service delivery improvement. It commits us, as Jozini Local Municipality to be held accountable by our communities for the level of services we deliver. Therefore, we have to put our communities at the centre in delivering services. Jozini Municipality recognises the need for the existence of Batho Pele and its importance as a service principle and it also acknowledges that a guiding philosophy in service delivery is to get all its employees to be service oriented, to strive for excellence in service delivery and to commit to continuous service delivery improvement.

The purpose of the Batho Pele policy is to enable the Municipal employees to deliver services in a customer focused way as stated in the Batho Pele national policy and ensure that the Jozini Municipality’s systems, procedures and attitudes of its employees are reoriented in favour of service delivery.

The objectives of the Jozini Municipality Batho Pele Policy which was approved by the Council are:

To have a customer – centred approach to service delivery
To reduce financial and time costs incurred arising from poor customer service due to repeat calls from and to customers.
To equip our staff with knowledge and competencies to continuously enhance the service standards according to changing customer needs.
To make the employees of the Jozini Municipality more accountable to citizens
To build effective relationships with the end users of public services (consultation)
To apply high standards and professional ethics
Complaints registers and suggestion boxes are available in all municipal offices. The policy contains service standards which all council employees in all departments [including Senior Managers] should adhere to.
To improve service delivery, with a shift away from inward-looking, bureaucratic systems, processes and attitudes as in increased commitment, personal sacrifice, dedication and a search for new ways of working which puts the needs of the public first, which are better, faster and more responsive to the citizen’s needs.

Service Delivery Improvement Plan (SDIP)

During the Strategic Planning Session, the Municipality identified the following services to be improved and will be implemented in the 20/21 Fiscal Year:

Maintenance of community facilities
Youth Development
Disaster Management

Service Delivery Charter and Standard Service Delivery Improvement Plan (SDIP) are in place and these were adopted in June 2020. These will be reviewed in the next financial year.

Operation Sukuma Sakhe (OSS)

The programme aims to embrace the community partnerships and the integration of fieldworkers, by encouraging coordination of comprehensive services of different service providers such as government departments, state owned enterprises and civil society as it views the delivery of anti-poverty programmes as a collective responsibility. The program is anchored on 3 important areas which are food security, healthier communities (addressing HIV/AIDS and T.B.) and empowerment of youth and women. It also aims to address the social ills which are substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, crime, road accidents and gender-based violence.

There are different steps to understanding household and community needs. The community care givers (CCGS) visit households whereby a household head will provide information on the individuals in the household, using the household profiling tool which is completed by the CCGS and Youth ambassadors, the baseline information of the household is then established.

The war room meetings then take place whereby there is discussion of the household needs per department; the needs are then submitted to the departmental focal person for action. There are three main structures for OSS, the political structure, the coordinating structure and the oversight structure. In Jozini municipality the honourable Mayor is the political champion, there is also a Local Task Team that is supported by the Municipal Executive Council. At the ward level the ward councillors are championing OSS whilst there are Ward Task Teams that are supported by the ward committees. War rooms have been established in all the 23 wards of Jozini with some war rooms in some wards being fully functional.

IGR

Intergovernmental Relations in South African context concern the interaction of the different spheres of government. The Constitution declares that government is comprised of National, Provincial and Local spheres of government which are distinctive, interdependent and interrelated. According to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act, No.108 of 1996, Section 41 (2), an Act of Parliament must establish or provide structures and institutions to promote and facilitate Intergovernmental Relations and provide for appropriate mechanisms and procedures to facilitate settlement of Intergovernmental disputes. The primary location of Intergovernmental Relation system is within the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG) in conjunction with the Cabinet Governance.

Jozini Municipality has developed a number of programmes and actions to improve good governance and relations with external role-players but also to improve internal efficiencies. Jozini Local Municipality falls under the uMkhanyakude District Municipality which has an operational IGR structure. There are a number of forums/ clusters that have been established in the District and Jozini is part of those forums and participates in IGR forum meetings. Each Forum/ cluster is chaired by municipal managers except for the Mayors’ Forum which is chaired by the District Mayor. The Forums are as follows:

Mayor’s Forum
Municipal Managers’ Forum
CFO’s Forum
Planners’ Forum (which includes LED)
Corporate Governance Cluster
Technical Services and Infrastructure cluster
Community Services cluster

Sector Departments participate in the IGR Forums.

The MUNI-MEC is a provincial intergovernmental body that meets quarterly to analyse the state of local governments and is made up of the MEC and Municipal Mayors and Municipal Managers within the province. The body also serves and platform where programmes and projects by Provincial and National Government that will be implemented locally are packaged. Current issues and challenges affecting municipalities are identified and strategically dealt with. His Worship the Mayor Cllr DP Mabika and the Acting Municipal Manager form an integral part of this forum as representatives of the municipality.

The municipality has the IGR/ Batho Pele Officer who is based in the Office of the Mayor under the Office of the Municipal Manager. The officer prepares items on IGR reports and submit them to Council. The DDM and IGR reports also get discussed at Management Committee meetings.

Ward Committees

In terms of the Municipal Structures Act, (Act 117 of 1998) municipalities are required to establish ward committees to enhance community participation in municipal development processes. In compliance with this legislative requirement the Jozini Council set up ward committees in each of the 23 wards and the total number of the ward committee members is 230 (10 per ward).

The ward committees have since their establishment added much value to municipal processes by providing inputs from a community perspective. They play a major role in the IDP process both in terms of highlighting community priorities but also in maintaining constant communication between the Council and the communities. The municipality has dedicated Officials that deal with matters relating to ward committees on behalf of the Office of the Speaker. Training opportunities will be made available for ward committee members to increase their capacity.

The municipality has ward-based plans for 20 wards.

Traditional Leadership

The Traditional Leadership institution has been and continues to be at the centre of social development within the Jozini Municipality, particularly as the rest of the country experiences challenges resulting lack of social cohesion and the crumbling of family units. Amakhosi work and live with people within their communities and are well-positioned to advise and guide the municipality using local/historical knowledge. Jozini is fortunate to have 07 Traditional Authorities and they all sit in the Council and Portfolio Committee meetings. The Synergistic partnership has begun to create a good working relationship and communication between Amakhosi and the Municipality in all matters concerning the development of the area.

Jozini municipality has set aside a budget for each Traditional Council, this budget will also contribute in the Traditional events that the TC’s have, e.g. (Umkhosi Wamaganu, Umkhosi Womhlanga, Umkhosi wokweshwama, etc.).

IDP / Budget Steering Committee

The municipality has an IDP/ Budget steering committee which consists of the Managers, HOD’s, Mayor, Speaker and Whips of political parties. This committee has four standing meetings and it seats as and when required. The IDP/ Budget Steering Committee is chaired by the Mayor.

Management Structures

The municipality has a Top Management Committee (TOP MANCO) which consists of the HOD’s and it seats weekly; and the Extended MANCO which seats monthly.

Communication Plan / Strategy

Jozini municipality has an adopted communication strategy. The primary purpose of the strategy is to present mechanisms and guidelines for communication between internal and external environment of the municipality. It is further in the interest of the strategy that could be used in formulating the municipal policy on communication.

The strategy focuses on a number of interventions/ programmes aimed at strengthening the communications between the stakeholders, strengthening the social responsibility of the municipality and further harmonizing the relationship that the municipality has with the community at large.

Internal Audit Unit, Performance and Audit Committee

The municipality has a Permanent Internal Audit Manager who works with Tshidi and Associates Consultants. Each financial year a risk based internal audit plan is prepared and approved by the Audit Committee.

The Internal Audit Activity reports to the Performance and Audit Committee on the implementation of the risk based internal audit plan and matters relating to internal audit, internal controls, accounting procedures and practices, risk and risk management, performance management, loss control and compliance with the relevant legislations.

Jozini Municipality has established a Performance and Audit Committee in accordance with section 166 of the Municipal Finance Management Act, no 56 of 2003. The status, authority, roles and responsibilities are in accordance with section 166 of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), no 56 of 2003 and MFMA Circular 65 of 2013 and are delegated by the Jozini Municipal Council.

The Audit Committee of the Jozini Municipality is authorized, in terms of its charter, to perform the duties and functions required to ensure adherence to the provisions of the Municipal Finance Management Act, the applicable provisions of the Municipal Systems Act and the Municipal Structures Act and other applicable regulations. In carrying out its mandate, the Audit Committee must have regard to the strategic goals of Jozini Municipality and its strategic focus areas and development priorities as outlined in the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and the Service Delivery Budget Implementation Plan (SDBIP).

The Audit Committee is required to consider any matters relating to the financial affairs of the municipality, internal and external audit matters. The committee must review and assess the qualitative aspects of financial reporting, the municipality’s processes to manage business and financial risk, governance processes and compliance with applicable legal, ethical and regulatory requirements. The Audit Committee does not assume the functions of management which remain the responsibility of Exco, Council and the delegated officials.

The Audit Committee may:

Communicate with the Council, Municipal Manager or the internal and external auditors of the municipality.
Have access to municipal records containing information that is needed to perform its duties or exercise its powers.
Request any relevant person to attend any of its meetings, and, if necessary, to provide information requested by the Audit Committee.

The following are members of the Audit and Performance Audit Committee and Mrs. C.B. Jugnarayan was appointed as the chairperson of the Committee:

The Committee members are remunerated for attendance of meetings in line with the National Treasury Regulation that regulates the remuneration of commission and committee and are reimbursed for expenses incurred for attending audit committee meetings.

Risk Management

Bid Committees

In terms of Section 112(1) of the Local Government Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003 the supply chain management policy of a municipality must be fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective and comply with a prescribed regulatory framework for municipal supply chain management.

In terms of the Jozini Supply Chain Management Policy the Accounting Officer is required to establish a committee system for competitive bids consisting of:

A Bid Specification Committee;
A Bid Evaluation Committee; and
A Bid Adjudication Committee.

Municipal Public Accounts Committee

The primary function of the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) is to assist the Council in exercising its oversight and accountability responsibilities and functions; by generally exercising political oversight on behalf of the council; by holding the executive and municipal administration to account; by overseeing and reviewing municipal accounts to ensure the effective and efficient utilization of the municipal resources; and by carrying out the responsibilities of initiating and preparing the annual oversight report. The Jozini LM MPAC meets at least quarterly per annum.

Land Use Management

The municipality commenced with the process of developing a Land Use Management Scheme (LUMS) that aims at managing and directing development in Jozini jurisdiction. With unforeseen circumstances; the municipality had to terminate the contract with the Service Provider who was appointed to develop LUMS. To date; the municipality have applied for exemption to COGTA for extension of time.

Public Participation Analysis

In terms of Chapter 4 section 16 (1), a municipality must develop a culture of municipal governance that complements formal representative government with a system of participatory governance, and must for this purpose encourage, and create conditions for, the local community to participate in the affairs of the municipality, including in the preparation and implementation and review of its integrated development plan in terms of Chapter 4.

Jozini Municipality’s public participation unit is mainly responsible for the day to day running of the Speaker’s offices and councillors. Its main purpose is to build a working relationship between the council and the communities; this relationship is through the ward councillors and the ward committees. Ward committees serve as the vehicles of information from the council to the community and from the community to the council. Jozini Municipality has got 20 wards and under each ward 10 ward committee members are elected to serve on the structure.

Jozini municipality has trained all the ward committees on 8 skills development modules. And on day to day, they get support from the office of the Speaker. They are also getting a stipend of R1000.00 each monthly for easy and smooth running of their programs in their respective wards. This unit has developed a public participation plan that the council adopted. This plan plays a great deal in the IDP processes. It has also developed a ward committee support plan. This plan serves as a guiding document that the council needs to follow when dealing with public participation matters.

This unit is also part and parcel of three forums under uMkhanyakude district and the province:

Speakers Forum (where the Speakers of 5 sister municipalities meet to discuss public participation matters since they are the champions of it.)
Public participation practitioner’s forum (5 sister municipalities under the district)
Provincial public participation Forum (where all KZ municipalities meet to discuss public participation related matters)

For the IDP to be in line with provincial guidelines, this unit has developed ward based plans for each ward.