Why it will be difficult to satisfy ratepayers after the local elections – Jacques Moolman
9 November 2021
In a perfect world, when the local elections ‘election dust settles and newly-constituted local authorities get ready to govern their towns, villages and cities, all their councillors, regardless of their political parties, will need to face some awkward facts. That they have very little power is top of the list.
To achieve anything solid they are reliant on the local civil servants who are ensconced in what are essentially jobs for life so their motivation to do the job quickly is less than you would expect.
To do anything requires familiarity with the regulations and procedures that have built up over the years. These are the main source of public frustration and will be yours too. If you are not just as familiar with the rules, officials will dance around anything they don’t feel like doing, making sure it does not happen quickly in the hope it may be dropped entirely.
A hard lesson for the council newbies is to beware of empire builders. They are the officials who aim to expand the number of staff under them by either merging with other departments or hiring new staff who will be beholden to them – and not to an elected councillor.