Municipal Structures Amendment Bill [B19B-2018]

The purpose of this Bill is to amend the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998 in order to:

remove all references to district management areas
remove all references to plenary executive system as a type of municipality
provide for a minimum of 10 councillors per municipality; to amend the deviation threshold
provide for the prohibition of a councillor who was found guilty of a breach of the Code of Conduct for Councillors for a period of two years
clarify the date of assumption of office by a councillor
allow for extension on the declaration of the result of an election
require the municipal manager to inform the MEC for local government in the province in addition to the Electoral Commission of ward vacancies
provide that the MEC call and set the date for by-elections
clarify who can inform the municipal manager of a specific vacancy
allow the MEC to designate a person to call and chair a meeting of the municipal council when the speaker, acting speaker or municipal manager refuses to call the meeting
provide for additional functions of the speaker
provide for a whip of municipal council; to clarify the formula for the composition of an executive committee
provide for the establishment of a Municipal Public Accounts Committee
provide for the resolution of a situation where excessive seats may arise from the seat calculation in local municipalities
amend the timeframe for the municipal manager to inform the chief electoral officer of vacancies
allow for the MEC to inform the chief electoral officer of vacancies if the municipal manager fails to do so
clarify the supplementation of party lists for local municipalities
provide for the resolution of multiple seats which may arise where a candidate qualifies to be elected to more than one seat
clarify the supplementation of party lists for district municipalities
provide for a Code of Conduct for Councillors
provide for matters connected therewith.