The Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) says it has received an overwhelming number of views and representations from members of the public, following the publication of section 26 notices on proposals for changes to municipal boundaries.
According to the MDB, and for the first time in history, over 51 180 (Batch 1) views and representations from members of the public have been received and recorded.
“This reflects that the awareness, education, and engagement initiatives have yielded positive results as more members of the public are taking an interest in, and actively participating in demarcation processes,” read a statement issued by the MDB.
The MDB further revealed that proposals for outer municipal boundary changes currently under consideration emanate from members of the public, organised groups, political parties, municipalities, national and provincial government, among others.
“Only a few proposals came from the Municipal Demarcation Board – exercising its own initiative according to Section 22(1) (a) of Municipal Demarcation Act 27 of 1998 (MDA). All proposals were analysed against the demarcation criteria as espoused in sections 24 and 25 of the MDA and section 2 of the Municipal Structures Act (MSA),” the statement read.
The MDB will embark on public consultations and/or formal investigations from August to September 2023, and members of the public in affected areas are encouraged to actively participate in the meetings to air their views.
“We are pleased to inform members of the public that no decisions will be taken without proper consultation. We have heard the concerns of our communities, and we encourage them to use this opportunity to engage with the Board.”
“This will ensure that when the final decision is taken, the Board would have considered their views to reach an objective decision aligned with the criteria for demarcation (Sections 24 & 25 of the MDA),” said MDB chairperson Thabo Manyoni.
The MDB reiterated that boundary changes were not a solution to the governance, socio-economic, service delivery, administrative and financial dysfunctionality in municipalities.
“The basis for most of the requests for municipal boundary changes has little or nothing to do with the geographical character of the municipality i.e., demarcated boundaries, but poor institutional governance and related financial dysfunctionality which end up negatively affecting service delivery,” the statement concluded.
