There are different types of municipal councillors, namely Ward Councillors and Proportional Representative (PR) councillors.
All municipalities except for District municipalities are divided into wards. A Ward Councillor represents a specific ward on the municipal council and is elected through the “first past the post system” in which the candidate that receives the most votes wins. Ward Councillors are the chairperson of their ward committees and must give special attention to their wards.
A Proportional Representative Councillor represents a political party on the municipal council and is elected through the system of “proportional representation”. In this system, the political party nominates its candidates on the party list. The number of votes a party receives determines the number of candidates a political party will have.
The duties of councillors are to: 1. represent the people within the municipality and co-operate with other councillors in the best interest of the community – not only the members of their political party; 2. communicate the needs of the community to the municipal council and the council processes to the community; 3. prepare and attend meetings unless they have a special leave of absence; 4. monitor the performance of the municipality; 5. raise issues of concern with the relevant bodies and provide feedback on the municipality’s performance; 6. follow the code of conduct which includes not disclosing information to people that can unfairly benefit from it.
What is the Role of a Municipal Councillor? Watch this video for more information:
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