Dealing with members' complaints

When and how should the Jeffreys Bay Ratepayers’ Association (JBRPA) be approached to assist with problems relating to municipal service delivery?

Tha association recently established a firm policy in this regard.

It entails:

1. Complaints with regard to service delivery should preferably be taken on only after a member’s own attempts at solving his/her problem has failed, following which their complaint should be submitted to the JBRPA in writing.

2. The JBRPA will in turn submit the complaint to the Municipal Manager in writing and provide the relevant councilor with a copy, asking for his/her intervention.

3. Due to their specialised nature budget and infra-structure concerns should be lodged with the councilors representing members of the JBRPA.

4. Finally, the councilors should be invited to attend JBRPA management committee meetings as well as general meetings (including the AGM) in order to report on progress made with regard to complaints that were brought to their attention.

In a report to the management committee at its monthly meeting in September 2010 dr Barry Vosloo, chairman, stated in his closing remarks:

It should be noted that I am reluctant to accommodate complaints by non-members.

The committee agreed.

He argued as follows:



“Public administration in general is an extension of governance. Administrators have been necessary as long as kings and emperors required pages, treasurers, and architects to carry out the business of government.

“In the United States of America, Woodrow Wilson is considered the father of public administration. He first formally recognized public administration in 1887. One of the concepts he advocated was the separation of politics and administration

“The separation of politics and administration advocated by Wilson continues to play a significant role in public administration today, although the dominance of this dichotomy was challenged by scholars in later years.

“Closer to home, politics and administration cannot be separated – before and especially after the ANC assumed power in 1994. ANC have so far deployed some of its members to key public service positions with a view of promoting loyalty and service delivery. There is good reason to believe that this happens at local government level as well.

“Where does the foregoing leave a civic organistion such as the Jeffreys Bay Ratepayer’s Association (JBRPA) in the scheme of things?

“The constitution of the JBRPA proclaims the fact that it is a non-political organisation. This implies that the JBRPA is not aligned with any particular political party. Nor does it concern itself with the political affiliation of its members. But does this mean that the JBRPA should disregard local politicians when acting on behalf of its members?

“I am not in favour of the latter approach. I believe that the JBRPA should pursue a two-pronged approach, i.e. it should call both administrative officials and councilors to account when the need arises. In this regard, we have a powerful ally in the form of the Municipal Systems Act.

“The Municipal Systems Act obliges municipalities to receive and respond promptly to petitions and complaints lodged by members of the community. Councillors are elected to represent local communities on municipal councils. In fulfilling this role councillors must be accountable to local communities. This means that they must assist their constituents in making formal complaints or petitions for submission to the municipality, and can help follow up on the concerns brought to them.

“With the foregoing in mind we should articulate a broad methodology to address JBRPA members’ complaints. It should be noted that I am reluctant to accommodate complaints by non-members.


Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_administration
http://www.salga.net, http://www.joburg.org.za/content/view/1548/131/
http://www.pmg.org.za/bills/municipalsystemsact.htm