Where were the councillors? This was the question asked by Councillor Samson Baloyi during the Makhado Municipality´s first Integrated Development Plan Representative Forum meeting on September 29 in the show hall in Louis Trichardt.

Cllr Baloyi, chairperson of the meeting, said that although he was happy that the municipal manager and the acting mayor had arrived, he was not happy that the ward councillors were not all there. Although the hall was packed, an estimated 15 of the 37 ward councillors were absent.

“We expect the councillors as public representatives to be there, especially the ward councillors, as they represent the wards. It is their process, the process of the councillors and the beneficiaries, of all stakeholders,” Cllr Baloyi said on Tuesday this week.

The IDP is a municipal 5-year strategic development plan which supersedes all other plans.

“The IDP is the principal strategic planning instrument which guides and informs all planning and development, and all decisions regarding management and development in the municipality,” reads a document presented by Mr Reginald Matloga, IDP officer of the Vhembe District Municipality.

The purpose of the meeting was to consider the IDP Process Plan.

“The Integrated Development Plan, as a key tool for the Makhado Municpality to tackle its developmental role, is at the commencement phase; however, the IDP for 2010/11 has been adopted and is under implementation. It will serve as a benchmarking tool for the 2011/12 financial year,” one of the documents states. The Process Plan provides a continuous cycle of development planning, implementation and review. “The Process Plan will also entail the entire ward-based planning approach,” states the document, hence the importance of ward councillors being present.

Members of the community and stakeholders are involved in the September IDP Representative Forum meeting. It is called the Analysis Phase, where there should be consideration of the submissions of backlogs at ward level and discussions and inputs by stakeholders and review of the IDP and compilation of IDP priorities. The councillors are required to participate in the identification of gaps.

It is important that input be given from community and stakeholders and for these inputs to be analysed by the steering committee.

Therefore, it was a shame that some stakeholders were excluded on the basis of language. Those without an understanding of the Venda language did not know what was being said. Cllr Baloyi did his best to set an example by saying that speakers should try to speak in a language that all could understand. “The chairperson said that if a person cannot express himself in English, he could use Venda and those who don’t understand Venda, should then try to sit next to somebody who can interpret for them,” said one of the delegates who does not speak Venda. It did not work out that way because the meeting was conducted mostly in Venda and the delegate had no choice but to leave the meeting.

Because of the language issue at the IDP meeting, the Soutpansberg Ratepayers Association afterwards termed the meeting as invalid and unacceptable.

Mr Frans Prinsloo, Chairperson of the SRPA, said that it was a pity that the municipality made the same mistakes year after year and found it impossible to learn the simple lesson of the Constitution of South Africa (act 108 of 1996) that guarantees the language rights of all citizens.