In attendance were Chairpersons of Section 79 Committees, the Legislature’s senior management staff, researchers and co-ordinators and the Office of the Integrity Commissioner.
The objectives of the workshop included the following:
• Review the current oversight and scrutiny model adopted by the City of Joburg in 2006;
• Improve capacity of members to perform robust oversight;
• Share good practice and innovation;
• Contribution to the effectiveness of Chairpersons Committee members in performing oversight roles, including monitoring and evaluation of the executive and committee performance, preparation of reports, performance evaluation, chairing of meetings, etc.
“We’ve been working hard to ensure that we beef-up our oversight mechanism. We are in the process of acquiring a tool, which would assist us with early warning system in terms of strengthening oversight. We need to get more teeth in order to enforce accountability,” says Cllr Christians.
Topics which were debated on the first day included the separation of power between the Executive and the legislature.
Cllr Victor Penning, Chairperson of Section 79 Committee on Finance says: “We need to bring accountability right to the top, to the executive. People must really be held accountable. For many years I’ve been in Joburg, we haven’t had good results. We must focus on getting results.”
According to Cllr Ingrid Reinten, the Chairperson of Section 79 Committee on Health and Social Development, bringing back participatory democracy in the City– where all stakeholders are involved can improve accountability and openness.
Cllr Tyrrell Meyers, the Chairperson of Section 79 Committee on Transport says one of the effective tools which his committee has employed, is to conduct unannounced oversight visits on the ground.
“We do a lot of unannounced oversight visits on Metrobus, Rea Vaya buses and transport related-projects. This gives us the opportunity to engage directly with passengers and residents,” says Cllr Meyers.
Dr Kay Brugge, a Parliamentary Oversight and Research Practitioner, advised councillors to follow through with their strategy and not rely on data and reports from officials.
