Charlie Robert Crawford
Ward Councillor
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DUTIES OF A WARD COUNCILLOR
Ward councillors are expected to make sure that the concerns related to the wards they serve in, and are chairpersons of, are represented in the council.
Apart from the articulation of residents’ needs in council, ward councillors are responsible for:
- Giving ward residents a progress report, explaining the decisions of the council in committing resources to development projects and programmes affecting them; assessing whether the municipality’s programmes and plans are having their intended impact;
- Assessing whether services are being delivered fairly, effectively and in a sustainable way;
- Determining whether capital projects are being committed in accordance with the infrastructure planning and development roadmap;
- Staying in close contact with their constituencies to ensure that council is informed of all issues on the ground; and conveying important information from council to residents.
Ward councillors, therefore, serve as the interface between the citizens they represent and the municipal officials who design and implement development polices. Your councillor is the person you turn to if you feel there is a need for a new road, for tender boxes to be opened in public in future, or for key documents such as the municipal budget or annual report to be made available in a timely manner. He or she will lobby for such requests as they are in the interest of a better-run municipality. But the councillor’s job is not just to serve as the voice of the people, for the expression of there community needs. He or she is also a watchdog who ensures the municipality implements policies to address the needs of citizens. The ward councillor, as chairperson of his or her ward, must raise all concerns with council on behalf of ward members when residents experience problems, for example with the financial management of a council.
Ward councillors are also required to make recommendations to municipalities for the improvement of policies and programmes within the broad framework of developmental local government.
Ward councillors are expected to make sure that the concerns related to the wards they serve in, and are chairpersons of, are represented in the council.
Apart from the articulation of residents’ needs in council, ward councillors are responsible for:
- Giving ward residents a progress report, explaining the decisions of the council in committing resources to development projects and programmes affecting them; assessing whether the municipality’s programmes and plans are having their intended impact;
- Assessing whether services are being delivered fairly, effectively and in a sustainable way;
- Determining whether capital projects are being committed in accordance with the infrastructure planning and development roadmap;
- Staying in close contact with their constituencies to ensure that council is informed of all issues on the ground; and conveying important information from council to residents.
Ward councillors, therefore, serve as the interface between the citizens they represent and the municipal officials who design and implement development polices. Your councillor is the person you turn to if you feel there is a need for a new road, for tender boxes to be opened in public in future, or for key documents such as the municipal budget or annual report to be made available in a timely manner. He or she will lobby for such requests as they are in the interest of a better-run municipality. But the councillor’s job is not just to serve as the voice of the people, for the expression of there community needs. He or she is also a watchdog who ensures the municipality implements policies to address the needs of citizens. The ward councillor, as chairperson of his or her ward, must raise all concerns with council on behalf of ward members when residents experience problems, for example with the financial management of a council.
Ward councillors are also required to make recommendations to municipalities for the improvement of policies and programmes within the broad framework of developmental local government.
Charlie Robert Crawford
