August 3, 2006
By Anish Abraham
BORN and brought up in Alexandra, Nkele Ntingane is one of the founder members of the civics movement, was an activist for the Federation of Transvaal Women and the United Democratic Front, and also held various positions within the African National Congress and the Alex Women's Congress.
The first woman to be detained at Johannesburg's infamous "Sun City" prison, between 1985 and 1986, Ntingane had to report to the Alexandra police station twice daily after her release, and was arrested often for other forms of activism during the many states of emergency.
Ntingane has been involved in local politics in Johannesburg since the formation of new local government systems in 1996, first as the chairperson of the executive committee for public safety in the former Metropolitan Local Council until 2000, then as member of the mayoral committee for municipal enterprises until 2006.
Following local government elections held in March, she was appointed as the city council's Speaker.
"I have always had an interest in working with people," she says, explaining her decision to get into local politics. This goes back to her original career as a radiographer at Baragwanath, Far East Rand, Edenvale and Tembisa hospitals.
Since those days, Ntingane says there have been a great many changes in improving the quality of lives of people and their environment, though there is much still left to be done.
"The tarring of streets in Soweto and the renewal programme in Alex are good examples of change. There is still a lot of work to be done, though," she said.
She is also a strong supporter of participatory democracy, saying there is a need for communities to be more involved in the municipality's decision-making processes.
The City has sought the views of its residents in compiling important guiding documents such as its five-year Integrated Development Plan and its long-term Growth and Development Strategy.
"The process is not all that perfect yet, but it is a starting point to bringing people into government," she added.
Increased role of Council
Another change that she currently has to adapt to in her role is the high-level executive restructuring of Johannesburg, ensuring that there is a separation of powers between the legislative (council) and the executive (the mayor and his committee).
"The executive and legislative have been separated through the delegation of powers. It is really exciting now that council will play a more important role in governing the City," she said.
The executive mayor will remain the head of the executive, with his mayoral committee members assisting him, while the Office of the Speaker will carry out oversight functions – with the Speaker being head of the legislative.
"Normally all powers are vested in the executive and being the Speaker was more of a ceremonial role within council. Now the executive is no longer both player and referee," said Ntingane.
The council has also created 10 portfolio committees to oversee the 10 City departments, with the legal power to demand any sort of information necessary.
Johannesburg is one of two municipalities in South Africa to have made these changes as part of a pilot project; the other is the Sedibeng District Municipality.
In terms of the pilot project, representatives from several municipalities around the country have paid a visit to the Office of the Speaker to get as much information as possible on the new system's implementation.
According to Ntingane, the City has to do its best in implementing the new council system, which could become the standard in municipal governance in South Africa.
To ensure councillors are best equipped to deal with their duties, the City has long taken part in various training programmes for them, ranging from computer and language skills to help them attain their degrees.
"The training of councillors is vital, as they come from both advantaged and disadvantaged backgrounds. The more educated they are, the better they are able to serve their communities," she said.
The City's goal is to ensure that councillors have improved and developed themselves over their terms of office.
Already, plans have been put into place to ensure that the soon-to-be elected ward committee members will be put through an induction programme by September, with actual ward committee meetings starting in October.
To better support the ward committees, the Office of the Speaker will in future make a recommendation in Council to take over responsibility for ward committee support from the regional offices, ensuring a more even distribution of resources for ward committees.
"The City has been an innovator of change in many areas and this is what makes Joburg 'vibey'. We are not afraid to sail into uncharted waters, so it is never boring or just business as usual every day," Ntingane said.
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