The duty of municipal councillors to realise South AfricaꞋs constitutional environmental right

Abstract

The world faces an environmental crisis threatening human existence and survival. Critical issues include resource depletion, ecosystem destruction, biodiversity decline, climate change, waste accumulation, and pollution of soil, water, and air. Environmental problems reach beyond national borders and require concerted efforts. Global actors have come together to respond to these environmental challenges; the participants include scientific communities, international and transnational institutions, non-governmental organisations, the private sector, as well as national and sub-national authorities. Cities contribute to environmental issues due to urbanisation, industrial production, and trade. Consequently, cities are assuming responsibility for addressing environmental concerns through self-initiative and, at times, in partnership with international organisations, city networks, or NGOs. South African cities are no exception. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (the Constitution) enables municipalities to help solve the global environmental crisis through local solutions. Section 24 of the Constitution guarantees everyone the right to a healthy environment safeguarded for the well-being of current and future generations. Municipalities can therefore use their legislative and executive authority to prevent pollution and ecological degradation, promote conservation, and secure ecologically sustainable development and the use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development. Local government and environmental law aid municipalities to help realise the constitutional environmental right. However, the country's law also determines the extent of power and responsibility of each structure in a municipality for environmental management. Nevertheless, as the highest authority in the local government design, municipal councils ultimately make decisions concerning the exercise and performance of all functions of municipalities, including those related to the environment. This makes a municipal council an indispensable structure in the clockwork of government's environmental protection project and councillors the highest decision-makers in their municipalities. The main research question addressed in this study is: what is the duty of municipal councillors to realise South Africa's constitutional environmental right? The study involved a desktop-based literature review and semi-structured interviews with municipal councillors and leaders of political parties. It concludes with a proposed framework that translates local councils' environmental law functions, duties, and mandates into a conceptual map of how municipal councillors and the political parties they represent can meaningfully contribute towards realising the right to a safe and healthy environment in South Africa.