INTRODUCTION

After the democratic local government elections in 1995-96, the new political leadership found that the systems of municipal government they inherited were bureaucratic and slow. In some municipalities, unelected officials were used to taking all the most important decisions, and politicians were treated as "rubber-stamps" who were expected to approve decisions without adequate debate.

In order to fulfil their constitutional mandate to provide developmental local government, we need to transform the ways in which councils are organised. In particular, we need to organise councils so that they:

• Provide strong political leadership.
• Are able to implement decisions effectively.
• Provide democratic and accountable government to the communities they serve.

The five different systems of municipal government provided for by the Municipal Structures Act (1998) will allow councils to provide the kind of strong leadership they are elected to provide. These systems will allow powers and duties to be delegated or shared among councillors and officials in a way that will enable effective decision-making and implementation, with clear lines of responsibility. They also allow for community participation to build democracy and enhance accountability.

The Municipal Structures Act allows for different combinations of these five systems to meet the wide range of needs and circumstances of municipalities across South Africa. The systems will be combined to form different types of municipality- the subject of this document.

Before we examine these systems - and the types of municipality that they will form - we first need to look at the responsibilities, powers and duties of municipal councils and to understand why there is a need to organise these more effectively.

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

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