Strengthening Ward Committees
Ward committees are non-partisan neighbourhood-level structures intended to act as the link between communities and municipalities. Despite their important role in facilitating public participation in local governance, many ward committees are not functional and face issues such as: lack of clarity around roles and responsibilities; inadequate support and resourcing; political interference; inaction around reporting; and lack of training and capacity-building.
COMPACT has developed a pamphlet on ward committees as part of its civic education materials and has drawn on municipal good practice to develop templates for important ward committee processes and structures.
- COMPACT Pamphlet on Ward Committees (Afrikaans, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Setswana, Sesotho)
- COMPACT Pamphlet on Municipal Councillors (Afrikaans, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Setswana, Sesotho)
- COMPACT Policy Brief on Strengthening the Functionality of Ward Committees in South Africa
- Checklist for Functional Ward Committees
SALGA has also developed two useful guides about ward committees, dealing with ward committee establishment and ward governance in municipalities, as well as a Code of Conduct for Ward Committee Members.
- SALGA (2023) Ward Committee Members Code of Conduct
- SALGA’s Effective Ward Governance System Guide
- SALGA (2016) Ward Committee Establishment and Election Guiding Framework
In 2005 DPLG published Having your Say: A Handbook for Ward Committees which is still widely used. A video on municipal ward committees was developed by COGTA in 2022.
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