PRESS RELEASE: ANC no-show at consensus-building ward demarcation workshop
For immediate release
The ANC today did not arrive at an important meeting intended to build consensus on the differing ward demarcation proposals of the various parties in the eThekwini municipality. The City Manager, Dr Mike Sutcliffe, informed the parties present that the ANC had stated their proposals were non-negotiable and as such they saw no need to attend the meeting. As a result, the meeting was called off.
The implications of the unwillingness to negotiate by the ruling party are serious for the ward demarcation process ahead of the 2011 Local Government Elections. As political parties we have the responsibility to ensure that collectively we decide the best ward demarcations for the City and do not leave this task entirely to the Municipal Demarcation Board.
The process started late last year with the Municipal Demarcation Board releasing a set of proposals which included the additional 3 wards in eThekwini and catered for movement of voters within the municipality. The MDB proposals by their own admission are “desktop” in nature, and thus political parties and residents were requested to provide comment and, if necessary, counter proposals.
If negotiations around these proposals facilitated by the Municipal Manager failed to result in consensus, then the MDB will attempt to facilitate such consensus itself. This is what happened last Friday in the City Hall when the MDB hosted all political and other interested parties.
ANC Proposals ‘non-negotiable’
Unfortunately no consensus was reached. The ANC presented their proposals along with a declaration that they were non-negotiable. The DA requested that no party be allowed to take such a position and that in the 7-day period granted by the MDB for consensus to be reached, the City be required to host negotiations.
All parties were invited to a meeting today, Thursday 13 May, hosted by the City Manager with a view to all parties reaching a compromise on as many of the proposals as possible.
In the spirit of consensus building the DA had already considered the proposals tabled by other parties with a view to accepting those where we felt the best interests of the people had been upheld.
During the MDB meeting on Friday 7 May the DA motivated our proposals and explained how they seek to reunite the many communities which are split across wards in eThekwini. The ANC tabled proposals which it said intended to “integrate communities” and accused the DA of trying to preserve white areas.
The DA feels it important to acknowledge that there is a difference between the legislated mandate of the MDB not to fragment communities and the stated intention of the ANC that they seek to integrate communities.
Westville and Chesterville
To use the example debated during the Friday 7 May MDB meeting, there is no longer such as thing as a “white suburb” as was argued of Westville by ANC MP Belinda Scott. Any person wishing to move into Westville simply rents or purchases there and moves in. A look at the demographics of the schools in the area and will show that Westville is already an integrated community.
When someone from Chesterville moves into Westville, they leave one community and join another, furthering integration. Integration is not achieved by lumping parts of one community with another in a ward.
It is obvious from the ANC proposals, such as their Ward 52 proposal that their input is frequently less about integration and more about introducing voters which will strengthen the hand of the ANC come election time.
The facts are simple:
1. The legislation governing ward demarcation seeks to avoid the fragmentation of communities
2. The ANC is proposing fragmentation of further communities under the guise of “integration”
Legal Provisions
The 2009 Legal Provisions for Ward Delimitation document stipulates on page 3, item 4.b:
“The need to avoid as far as possible the fragmentation of communities.”
The MDB itself clarifies the question of what a community is on its website under the section Criteria for Delimiting Wards (page 3 of the PDF):
“The need to ensure that residents who think of themselves as a community are able to vote together and are able to participate in ward committees together. It is not always possible to ensure that communities are kept together in the same ward, but, as far as possible, boundaries have been drawn in such a way that individuals can vote and participate in local government together with people they see as their neighbours, and with whom they share common interests and concerns.”
Service Delivery
The ANC is using a populist political argument here to cover up the gerrymandering they are attempting through their proposals. They are not trying to pursue some altruistic integration of communities. All they are trying to do is win as many wards as they can by fiddling the system as effectively as they can regardless of how it runs against the law.
Ultimately, as part of a drive to improve service delivery, we must empower councillors to become specialists at dealing with the needs of their particular communities. The needs of the people in a community like Westville and Chesterville, for example, are very different and require a different set of competencies and knowledge from their councillor.
The DA proposals are designed reunite communities and correct some of the anomalies in the ward demarcations as they stand and in the proposals tabled by the MDB and the ANC.
By refusing to negotiate on the proposals, the ANC is displaying contempt for the institutions of this democracy. The DA will be writing to the MDB to further motivate our proposals and emphasise the positive impact they will have on improving the delivery of services to the various communities in eThekwini.
Enquiries
Warwick Chapman
083 7797 094
ward18@ethekwini.org
