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COLLECTIVE EXECUTIVE SYSTEM WHAT IS A COLLECTIVE EXECUTIVE SYSTEM? Only municipalities with more than nine council members may have a collective
executive system. In this system, the municipal council elects an executive
committee, and then delegates executive responsibilities to the executive committee.
The executive committee can take decisions on matters that fall within its delegated
powers.
Most of our existing municipal councils have established executive committees to increase the efficiency of the decision-making process. The establishment of a separate executive structure enables a small group of councillors (those who sit on the executive committee) to deal with the day-to-day business of running the municipality. If there is no executive structure, the whole council would need to meet every time a decision had to be taken. If the municipal council is large, or responsible for a wide range of powers and duties, taking decisions in plenary would result in a slow decision-making process. In a collective executive system, the municipal council must elect one member of the executive committee as the chairperson of that committee. The chairperson of the executive committee is called the mayor. If the MEC for local government allows for the election of a deputy mayor, the municipal council must elect another member of the executive committee to serve as the deputy mayor. The deputy mayor exercises the powers and performs the duties of the mayor if the mayor is absent or not available. The MEC is likely to allow for the election of a deputy mayor in cases where the workload of the mayor is very demanding, and he or she requires dedicated support. Deputy mayors may be appropriate in large municipal councils, or even in small councils where additional demands are placed on the mayor. For example, in towns where the local economy depends on tourism, the mayor will have numerous ceremonial and marketing responsibilities. The Municipal Structures Act describes a process for the election of a mayor and deputy mayor. This same process is used to elect an executive mayor or deputy executive mayor, or Speaker. The election process is described in Annexure A. It is important to note that in this system the council delegates powers to the whole executive committee, and not to any individual member of the committee. This means that the executive committee must exercise its powers collectively, and no individual member of the executive committee can take decisions on behalf of the committee. This "team approach" is the key strength of the collective executive system. Individuals all have different life experiences, skills and ideas. By taking decisions collectively, an executive committee can draw on the experiences and insights of all the members of the executive committee. The collective executive system also ensures that there is a proper check and balance on executive decision-making. Because no single executive committee member can take decisions on their own, there is much less chance of decisions being taken in a biased or self-interested way. A collective approach to decision-making can also facilitate problem solving. Many people find it difficult to think through complex issues and problems on their own. We all know that it is sometimes easier to work out a problem by talking to a friend or colleague. A collective approach to decision-making may generate innovative solutions to problems, which individual members of the executive committee may not have thought of on their own. DELEGATING POWERS TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE If a municipality establishes an executive committee, it must delegate certain minimum responsibilities to that committee. These are described in the Municipal Structures Act, and are discussed later in this document. These responsibilities are very general and do not include any particular service functions. For a well-functioning executive, a municipal council should delegate additional specific powers and duties to its executive committee. HOW LARGE SHOULD THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE BE? Municipalities with a collective executive system must first decide how big the executive committee should be, and then elect councillors to serve on the executive committee. The Municipal Structures Act sets out the minimum and maximum number of councillors that may serve on the executive committee. The maximum For example, if the Bergville Local Council in KwaZulu-Natal has 20 members, its executive committee cannot consist of more than four councillors. (This is 20% of the total number of councillors on the municipal council.) If the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council in Gauteng has 250 members, then its executive committee cannot consist of more than 10 councillors. (This is because 20% of the total number of councillors on the municipal council is more than 10 councillors. In such a case, the maximum limit of 10 applies.) The minimum An executive committee cannot have fewer than three members. Using these guidelines, each municipal council must decide on the size of its executive committee. Municipal councils must carefully consider how large the executive committee should be to enable efficient and effective government. If the executive committee is too big, it will not be able to take decisions efficiently. If it is too small, it may not be able to cope with all the powers and duties delegated to it. HOW IS THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ELECTED? Once the municipal council has decided how large the executive committee will be, it can elect councillors as members of the executive committee. The executive committee must be composed in such a way that the parties and interests represented in the municipal council are represented in the same proportion within the executive committee. The simplest way to elect the executive committee is by using a proportional system. If a political party has won 70% of the seats in council, then 70% of the members of the executive committee must be drawn from that party. If a municipal council does not wish to use a strict proportional system, it may elect its executive committee in any other way, provided that the method used:
The legal interpretation of the above constitutional provisions is not easy and this will probably be the subject of future legal dispute, which will hopefully provide greater clarity regarding this system. However, municipal councils that do not use proportional systems to elect executive
committees may be challenged to prove in court that the method they have used
is consistent with democracy and ensures that parties and interests reflected
in council are fairly represented. To avoid lengthy legal and constitutional
disputes, municipal councils are encouraged to use the proportional system to
elect executive committees, unless they are confident that they are able to
manage the potential legal problems of an alternative approach.
In metropolitan and local municipalities, the executive committee of a municipal council must be elected within 14 days of the election of that council. In district municipalities, the executive committee must be elected within 14 days after all local councils have appointed representatives to the district council. Usually, members of the executive committee will remain members until the next local government elections, when a new municipal council is declared elected. However, a member of an executive committee stops being a member when he or she:
HOW DOES THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TAKE DECISIONS? The municipal council may lay down rules and orders to guide the procedures of the executive committee. Within these guidelines, the executive committee may determine its own procedures. The majority of the members of the executive committee must support the procedures adopted. A majority of members of the executive committee must be present to form a quorum (a quorum is the number of members that must be present before a valid meeting can be held). Matters before the executive committee are decided if there is agreement among the majority of the members. There may be instances where the executive committee does not agree on an issue (i.e., if there are the same number of votes against and in favour of a resolution). In these cases, the member presiding at the meeting (usually the mayor) must cast a deciding vote in addition to their vote as a member of the committee. The collective executive system is not the only way in which executive powers and duties can be delegated by municipal councils. The mayoral executive system also allows for the delegation of executive powers and duties. WHEN WOULD A COLLECTIVE EXECUTIVE SYSTEM WORK WELL? Where a municipal council is large, or is responsible for a wide range of issues, it may wish to delegate executive powers to a smaller group of councillors, to facilitate fast and effective decision-making. Introduction | Responsibilities of municipal councils | Delegation of powers and duties | Community participation and accountability | Municipal types | Systems of municipal government | Plenary executive system | Collective executive system | Mayoral executive system | Executive powers, duties and committees | The ward participatory system | The subcouncil participatory system | Combining the systems of government to form municipal types | Applying types to individual municipalities | Conclusion | Annexure A | Annexure B Back to Types Of Municipalities Table of Contents | Back to booklets |
