EThekwini Speaker Councillor Thabani Nyawose addressed councillors during a councillor conduct workshop recently.

ETHEKWINI SPEAKER Councillor Thabani Nyawose led a councillors conduct workshop at the City Hall on 22 September. The workshop, which was well attended, intended to improve the way councillors work and the manner in which they interact with communities. 

Addressing the councillors, Councillor Nyawose said it was worrying that he was not receiving positive feedback from some sectors of the community about councillors’ conduct. “I have observed that there are councillors who don’t take the code of conduct seriously. Councillors took individual oaths promising to abide by the code of conduct,” he said. The Speaker also reminded councillors of the importance of holding regular meetings with their communities to ensure speed and efficiency when responding to residents’ issues. “As per the regulations, councillors are supposed to hold at least one meeting every three months. If this doesn’t happen, the rules allow Council to charge councillors as my office is supposed to receive reports every three months about the state of wards.” 

The Workshop Facilitator was Malusi Mhlongo who is the Head of Legal and Compliance. He said one of the regulations that councillors need to remember is that if a councillor is suspected to have orchestrated a member of the public or Municipal staff to engage in violent protests or labour unrest against the Municipality, that councillor must be disciplined by Council for breach of the code. 

Mhlongo said in the event that a councillor’s behaviour is unruly towards an official or another councillor or any other
person present at a meeting, the Speaker must order the councillor to immediately leave the meeting. If the councillor fails to obey the order, a law enforcement official employed by the Municipality can be requested to remove the councillor from the meeting, he said. Councillors had the opportunity to seek clarity about the councillors code of conduct.