Service delivery protests against municipalities at the end of August this year were within a more consistent range of recent records and were lower compared to the same period last year‚ Municipal IQ said on Thursday.
Municipal IQ‚ a specialised local government data and intelligence organisation‚ collects data on service delivery protests staged against municipalities on its Municipal Hotspots Monitor.
The organisation said service delivery protests at the end of August last year were marginally higher than they were at the end of August this year‚ notwithstanding a rash of earlier protest activity earlier this year.
Cars ahead of service delivery - Lekwa signs contract to hire 29 vehicles for R50m
This prompted Municipal IQ to warn in May that if sustained at the same rate as the first four months of the year‚ major service delivery protests in 2016 were likely to reach a new peak level.
The organisation recorded 107 service delivery protests against municipalities at the end of August this year. There were a total of 164 such protests in the whole of last year.
Karen Heese‚ economist at Municipal IQ‚ said it was a welcome sign of a well-functioning democracy that service delivery protests retreated in the immediate run-up to the local government elections held on August 3 and over the course of last month.
“The onus is now on newly-elected councillors and councils to live up to the expectations of their constituencies and to engage on grievances in a constructive fashion that mitigates against the need for protest action‚” Heese said.
Municipal IQ’s Hotspots Monitor records major protests staged by community members against a municipality‚ as recorded by the media or other public domain sources such as the police.
These protests may be violent or peaceful‚ but there is a clear dissatisfaction with the management of a municipality.
What is not included in this figure are protests against councillor candidates‚ a political issue which featured significantly this year.
Where protests are sustained over several days or weeks‚ these are recorded as a single entry.
“It is deeply regrettable that the processes of selecting councillor candidates has been both contentious and violent in so many communities‚ with an unacceptable loss of life‚ and it is hoped that the issue will recede with the new term.”
Heese said said that ultimately the issue was one that needed to be resolved within political party structures‚ but it was also important that local administrations supported new councillors in their roles as elected community representatives.
— TMG Digital
Service delivery protests retreat following local elections
Service delivery protests against municipalities at the end of August this year were within a more consistent range of recent records and were lower compared to the same period last year‚ Municipal IQ said on Thursday.
Municipal IQ‚ a specialised local government data and intelligence organisation‚ collects data on service delivery protests staged against municipalities on its Municipal Hotspots Monitor.
The organisation said service delivery protests at the end of August last year were marginally higher than they were at the end of August this year‚ notwithstanding a rash of earlier protest activity earlier this year.
Cars ahead of service delivery - Lekwa signs contract to hire 29 vehicles for R50m
This prompted Municipal IQ to warn in May that if sustained at the same rate as the first four months of the year‚ major service delivery protests in 2016 were likely to reach a new peak level.
The organisation recorded 107 service delivery protests against municipalities at the end of August this year. There were a total of 164 such protests in the whole of last year.
Karen Heese‚ economist at Municipal IQ‚ said it was a welcome sign of a well-functioning democracy that service delivery protests retreated in the immediate run-up to the local government elections held on August 3 and over the course of last month.
“The onus is now on newly-elected councillors and councils to live up to the expectations of their constituencies and to engage on grievances in a constructive fashion that mitigates against the need for protest action‚” Heese said.
Municipal IQ’s Hotspots Monitor records major protests staged by community members against a municipality‚ as recorded by the media or other public domain sources such as the police.
These protests may be violent or peaceful‚ but there is a clear dissatisfaction with the management of a municipality.
What is not included in this figure are protests against councillor candidates‚ a political issue which featured significantly this year.
Where protests are sustained over several days or weeks‚ these are recorded as a single entry.
“It is deeply regrettable that the processes of selecting councillor candidates has been both contentious and violent in so many communities‚ with an unacceptable loss of life‚ and it is hoped that the issue will recede with the new term.”
Heese said said that ultimately the issue was one that needed to be resolved within political party structures‚ but it was also important that local administrations supported new councillors in their roles as elected community representatives.
— TMG Digital
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