No Fear, no favour

No fear, no favour: The reality of being a councillor in KwaZulu-Natal

Over decades, the role of local government councillors in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has changed considerably due to the near collapse of many of our municipalities. This as they take on the part of service delivery agents and call centre operators rather than local government lawmakers. However, through all these changes, the core role of a councillor remains that of representing the interests of residents and conducting a vital oversight role in terms of the administration and executive of a municipality.

Regrettably, KZN’s current climate - where corruption, criminals who call themselves business forums, construction mafia, and narrow political interests – are turning our province into a mafia state. The outcome is that being a councillor and fulfilling a crucial oversight role has not only become difficult, but downright dangerous.

Since the 2021 Local Government Elections (LGE) in KZN, 19 councillors have been murdered, with many unsuccessful attempts also made on their lives. While KZN has unacceptably high crime levels and its residents live in fear, it is a sad reality that councillors in our province face an even greater risk of being killed, simply due to the jobs they do.

This should matter to every citizen in our province, for various reasons. Firstly, it considerably weakens our nation’s fight against corruption. Council, at local level, is supposed to be our first line of defence against corrupt activities. When council members are threatened in the execution of their duties, the thin line protecting us from becoming a mafia state is unable to function fully, allowing corruption to flourish.

Secondly, it severely impacts service delivery. Through threats, the so-called business forums and construction mafia are now forcing residents to put up with sub-par delivery - at inflated costs. This is why we see roads that collapse after a few weeks, RDP houses that crack within months and extremely slow progress in terms of storm damage repairs. Ongoing political killings also leave citizens without proper representation. This as political parties fight it out in expensive by-elections, leaving residents in those wards with no one to turn to for months on end.

The reality is that an attack on a councillor is an attack on us all. It is an attack on our quality of life. It is an attack on our still fragile democracy. It is an attack on the very fibre of our society. With the 2024 national elections just months away – and considering the province’s history of political violence - it is astounding that KZN’s Taliban faction ANC government appears unable, or worse, unwilling to act against the pandemic of political violence.

As far back as 2016, the Moerane Commission was called into life to investigate this scourge. Yet, six years later the situation is worse than ever while the Moerane report and its recommendations gather dust in the Office of the Premier. Equally shocking is the comment from current Premier, Nomusa Dube-Ncube – when asked by DA KZN Leader, Francois Rodgers to call political parties to a discussion – that she does not have the time to sit around a table drinking water.

This is one of many reasons why the DA has now taken up the task and has called all political parties - including the ANC – to roundtable talks later this month. Our miracle of 1994 was brought about through dialogue. KZN’s political instability during the 1990’s was also brought to an end by dialogue. It is time to once again find each other through dialogue and bring back the hope of a stable democracy.

The DA and its dedicated team of councillors in KZN will not be silenced through fear. Where corruption exists, we will speak up, where injustice thrives we will fight and where our democracy is threatened, we will hold the torch. Our freedom and our democracy are too fragile and precious to hand over to criminal syndicates.

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Martin Meyer, MPL is the DA KZN Spokesperson on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA)