“Further consultation over proposed amendments to the Constitution is needed”
Barry Streek
In an unusual move, the African National Congress head of Parliament’s local government committee, Yunus Carrim, has publicly urged further consultation on planned constitutional changes that have controversial implications for local government.
Carrim’s intervention signals for the first time that the ANC is worried about the proposals, which emanate from the Department of Finance. Opposition parties have already attacked them for bypassing the provinces and centralising in the national government more power to step into financially ailing municipalities.
The Inkatha Freedom Party’s constitutional affairs spokesperson, Peter Smith, has complained that the changes subvert a key concession to federalist parties like the IFP in South Africa’s constitutional settlement.
The chairperson of the municipal demarcation board, Michael Sutcliffe, has criticised them for belittling local government.
Carrim said in a statement to the Mail & Guardian: “Given the painstaking process through which the Constitution was drafted and the nature of these amendments, we are surprised that there was not more consultation with the key stakeholders.
“Certainly key actors in the local government sphere have expressed concern. The parliamentary process will obviously have to provide the space for them to be heard and responded to.”
Parliament’s justice committee is to meet again on Tuesday to consider the constitutional package. But in view of Carrim’s call for more consultation, the local government clauses could be withdrawn and considered later.
This week senior national treasury official Ismail Momoniat defended the proposals. He denied any intention to increase national government’s powers over local government, saying the amendments were aimed at promoting delivery and enabling municipalities to borrow more easily and at lower interest rates.
The amendments, incorporated into two Bills, are the most extensive proposed by the government since the adoption of the Constitution in 1996. They include controversial proposals aimed at securing the tenure of Constitutional Court judges and reducing the size of the Financial and Fiscal Commission. Compromise agreements on these amendments also seem likely.
In evidence to the justice and constitutional development committee, the legal adviser to the Western Cape government, Etienne Pretorius, said although the local government proposals were aired with finance MECs in the budget council, they were asked not to discuss them with their provincial colleagues or their legal teams. “As a province, we were not consulted properly,” he said.
The spokesperson for the Western Cape Local Government Organisation, Michael Evans, said legislation was normally designed to match the provisions of the Constitution. In this case the Constitution was being changed to fit in with the Municipal Finance Management Bill. “This, with respect, is a case of the tail wagging the dog,” he said.
Momoniat said the proposed amendments dealt with the technical provisions of the Constitution that prevented municipalities from borrowing long-term and as cheaply as possible.
In a submission to the committee on behalf of the Banking Council of South Africa, Cas Coovadia echoed the view. The constitutional amendments were absolutely necessary in two critical areas where there was a need for urgent intervention in financial emergencies in municipalities and for legal continuity in municipal borrowing and investment.
Momoniat said: “We are quite open to any suggestions or improvements and constitutional amendments require a lot of debate. It is good that there is debate. However, it is important to understand the reasons for the proposed amendments.”