SAHRC recommends review of minimum education qualifications for mayors and councillors

Minimum education qualifications for public office holders such as mayors and councillors should be reviewed to ensure capable and qualified people are in these positions.

This is one of the recommendations made by the  South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) in its report on improving local government. 

“Inevitably, such an approach may have implications for democratic participation as some people may be barred from contesting certain offices,” the report said. 

“However, the lack of minimum qualifications for public officials means critical officials in decision-making positions cannot meaningfully perform their duties. The introduction of minimum educational requirements would not be unique to South Africa as other jurisdictions have similar requirements for public officials.”

Other recommendations tabled by the commission include a review of the local government model to address service delivery and poor governance challenges.  

The report also called for budget increments to focus on the proper functioning of a municipality rather than an automatic increment based on the assumption that more resources are needed at local government level.  

“However, three issues arose in the context of financial resources. One was to avoid a one-size fits all approach, the second was integrated planning and budgeting and the third was a review of opportunities to unlock funding through loan agreements and performance-linked increases in grants.” 

The commission also advised government to foster community participation, use community media in the empowerment of communities and ensure national and provincial government plays its oversight and support role in local government.  

The release of the report follows a national conference on local government accountability, service delivery and human rights in August and September last year. 

The conference was held in the wake of negative reports of poor governance, poor financial management, corruption and political instability in municipalities.  

These challenges often led to protests about service delivery. 

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