The Board

	Introduction
	Why demarcation?
	Preparatory work to implement the Municipal Demarcation Act
	Appointment of the Municipal Demarcation Board
	Members of the Municipal Demarcation Board
	What are the Board's function's
	How did the Board tackle its work?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Introduction

South Africa 's Constitution (1996) sets out a vision for local government that goes a long way to right the extensive list of wrongs done to the country's communities by decades of discriminatory apartheid policies. But many municipalities still face conditions that make it very difficult for them to implement that vision: to provide equitable and efficient services, build local democracy, promote social and economic development, collect revenue, ensure safe and healthy environments, and create a generally viable and sustainable system of local government.

The drawing of new municipal boundaries was one of the first steps in a local government transformation process that aimed to give substance to the Constitution's vision. Of course, new boundaries would not suddenly solve all the problems that municipalities face, but they set the structural conditions within which the other processes of transforming and developing local government can take place.

The first Several existing municipalities did not include in their areas of jurisdiction the users of the services these municipalities provide.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

preparatory work to implement the municipal demarcation act

The Municipal Demarcation Act was promulgated on 3 July 1998. The Act gave effect to section 155(3)(b) of the Constitution, which provides for the establishment of criteria and procedures for the determination of municipal boundaries by an independent authority, that is, the Municipal Demarcation Board. In anticipation of the establishment of the Board, a Demarcation Steering Committee was established on 23 January 1998 at a workshop on local government elections. The Steering Committee was chaired by an official of the Department of Constitutional Development (now called the Department of Provincial and Local Government), and comprised representatives of:

• The Department of Constitutional Development.
• The nine provincial administrations.
• The South African Local Government Association (Salga).
• Central Statistical Services (now called Statistics South Africa).
• The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
• The Department of Justice.
• The Department of Land Affairs.
• The Department of Health.
• The South African Police Services.
• The Office of the Surveyor-General.

From the outset the demarcation steering committee resolved not to pre-empt the work to be done by the to-be-appointed independent Municipal Demarcation Board. Its major role was to undertake basic technical preparatory work for the Board before its establishment.

The Demarcation Steering Committee on 5 May 1998 also convened a workshop on the alignment of constitutional boundaries with functional/service-delivery boundaries, and all national departments, government structures and provincial administrations were invited to attend.

Reports received and meetings held with all departments confirmed the need to align functional/service-delivery boundaries with constitutional boundaries, and the Demarcation Steering Committee sought political "blessing" from Cabinet to continue this process. On 24 June 1998, Cabinet approved that:

• All government departments endeavour to align their functional/service-delivery boundaries with constitutional boundaries.
• Functional/service-delivery boundaries should not be finalised without departments first consulting the to-be-established Board.
• Departments supply data for the establishment of an information technology system for demarcation purposes.
• All departments prepare to provide maps and information on their functional/service-delivery boundaries via the demarcation steering committee to the to-be-established Board.

The Demarcation Steering Committee engaged an information technology and information systems specialist to investigate and advise on information technology matters. The study included a data audit on geographical information systems and relational database management systems to determine which would best support the needs of the Board. A number of large national projects, undertaken by other government departments and institutions such as the departments of Welfare, Transport, Safety and Security, Water Affairs, Housing, Land Affairs, the Office of the Chief Surveyor-General, the IEC and Statistics SA were examined. The study indicated that it was possible to integrate the available data from the various departments and institutions, as well as to collect the necessary data on the various municipalities.

appointment of the municipal demarcation board

For the first term of office of the Municipal Demarcation Board, which commenced on 1 February 1999, the Minister of Provincial Affairs and Constitutional Development determined, in terms of section 6(2) of the Municipal Demarcation Act, that the Board should comprise 11 members and, in terms of section 11(2) of the Act, designated the chairperson as a full-time member and the other members as part-time members.

A selection panel to consider all applications for appointment to the Board was established on 17 August 1998, and comprised:

• Justice P.N. Langa (chairperson) (deputy president of the Constitutional Court).
• Justice R. Zulman (nominated by the Chief Justice).
• Mr M. Bhabha (chairperson of the select committee on constitutional affairs of the National Council of Provinces).
• Councillor C. Matjila (president of Salga).
• Ms P. Ntombela-Nzimande (deputy chairperson of the Commission on Gender Equality).
• Mr Z. Titus (Director-General of the Department of Constitutional Development).

From 14-19 July 1998 applications for appointment to the Board were invited by means of advertisements in 19 major national and regional newspapers - 360 applications were received.

Forty-two candidates were short-listed and invited to appear before the selection panel for interviews. Seven candidates declined this offer, and 35 candidates were eventually interviewed.

To ensure openness and transparency, the chairperson of the panel held a press conference on 15 October 1998 to inform the media of the short-listed candidates and of the dates and times for the holding of interviews. Advertisements were also placed in major newspapers, informing the public of the short-listed candidates and inviting them to be present at the interviews that were held from 26-28 October 1998 at the Constitutional Court.

Pursuant to the requirements of section 6(3) of the Municipal Demarcation Act, the panel sought, as far as possible, to ensure:

• The broad representation of South African society, including race and gender composition.
• That the selected candidates collectively represent a pool of knowledge concerning issues relevant to municipal demarcation.
• That the Board collectively has knowledge of demarcation issues in each of the nine provinces.

After the interviews the panel nominated 14 candidates for appointment to the Board. After considering the list of 14 names, the minister recommended 11 persons for appointment by the President to the Board, in terms of section 8(7) of the Municipal Demarcation Act.

Cabinet approved the composition of the Board on 20 January 1999, and, on 26 January 1999, the President appointed, with effect from 1 February 1999, the members of the Board. The Board held its inaugural meeting on 2 February 1999 in Cape Town.

The Board is independent and derives its functions from the 1996 Constitution, the Municipal Demarcation Act and the Municipal Structures Act.

A similar process for the appointment of members for the Board’s second term of office. The new term of office commenced on 1 February 2004.

members of the municipal demarcation board

The 11 individuals appointed on 1 February 1999, to the Board by President Nelson Mandela were:

• Dr Michael Sutcliffe (chairperson; KwaZulu-Natal).
• Ms Nkaro Mateta (deputy chairperson; Northern Province).
• Mr Vuyo Mlokoti ( Eastern Cape).
• Ms Renée Hartslief ( Free State), (resigned)
• Mr Prince Dludla ( Gauteng).
• Ms Rosemary Monyamane ( Mpumalanga).
• Mr Abraham Marais ( Northern Cape), (resigned)
• Mr Kaobitsa Maape ( North West).
• Ms Jacqueline Subban (KwaZulu-Natal).
• Khosi Ramovha ( Northern Province).
• Prof. Robert Cameron ( Western Cape).

Ms Renee Hartslief and Mr. Abraham Marais have subsequently resigned from the Board.

The following persons were appointed by President Mbeki on 1 February 2004 for the Board’s second term of office:

• Dr. Vuyo Mlokoti (Chairperson)
• Ms. Letsoalo Essy Morongoa (Deputy Chairperson),
• Dr. Michael Oliver Sutcliffe
• Khosi Tshillo Jeffrey Ramovha
• Ms. Nondumiso Gwayi
• Prof. Nicolaas Christiaan Steytler,
• Mr. Abraham Mpho Mogale,
• Ms. Modiehi Elisa Molebatsi, and
• Mr. Landiwe Jackie Mahlangu.

what are the board's functions?

In terms of the Municipal Demarcation Act, read with the Constitution and the Municipal Structures Act, the Board must, among others:

• Determine or re-determine the outer boundaries of the three categories of municipality identified in the Constitution : Category A (metropolitan), Category B (local) and Category C (district) municipalities, for the whole of the territory of the Republic, including the boundaries of cross-boundary Categories A, B or C municipalities.
• Delimit wards.
• Perform various advisory functions, such as the alignment of functional/service delivery boundaries with constitutional boundaries.

• Assess the capacity of municipalities to perform their functions, and perform an advisory role in the division and allocation of functions and powers to municipalities falling outside the metropolitan areas.

how did the board tackle its work?

After the appointment of Board members with effect from 1 February 1999 , the Board divided its considerable workload into several phases with the focus being demarcating new municipalities for the holding of the first democratic municipal elections on 5 December 2000 :

PHASE I: Ongoing work in developing policy statements on demarcation matters. This process continues.

PHASE II: The finalisation of metropolitan (Category A) and district (Category C) municipality boundaries (August 1999 - February 2000).  This work is ongoing as the Board reviews the categorisation of all municipalities.

PHASE III: The finalisation of local (Category B) boundaries (December 1999 - end-August 2000).  This work is ongoing in that the Board is continually involved with requests for boundary redetermination, and the technical correction of boundaries as a result of improved technology.

PHASE IV: The delimitation of ward boundaries (March - August 2000).  This work is to be undertaken before each municipal election.  It is likely that the next round of ward delimitation will occur in 2003/2004.

PHASE V: The determination of cross-boundary municipalities, including the boundaries of Category A, B and C municipalities (March-August 2000).  This work is ongoing in reviewing existing cross-boundary municipalities in relation to provincial boundaries.