Political oversight of municipal projects: an empirical investigation

Abstract

One of the key tenets of a democracy is legislative oversight over executive authorities. The aims of such oversight are to foster accountable, efficient, responsible, ethical, and transparent governance. However, recent official and media reports in South Africa record a rising trend in the number of unethical, and mismanagement cases in especially the local sphere of government. The media regularly report on often violent service delivery protests across the country. Municipalities are responsible for the design and execution of service delivery projects that have a direct bearing on citizen’s lives. Robust oversight of these projects is critical to effect more legitimate local governance. The purpose of this article is to empirically investigate the functioning and utilisation of political oversight structures and mechanisms by reflecting on the opinions and perceptions of senior officials and political representatives (i.e. councillors) in eight local and four district municipalities in Gauteng, North West, Free State, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape provinces.