The City of Cape Town became the first metropolitan municipality in South Africa to pass its budget via a virtual platform yesterday, 27 May 2020. It also became the first to host a full council meeting on a virtual platform.
A limited number of city councillors made use of two venues at the Cape Town Civic Centre and the remainder logged in from home. One of the formal venues was chaired by Speaker Dirk Smit and the other managed by Rules Committee Chairperson, Cllr Dave Bryant. A third venue was provided at the civic centre for members of the media. where the meeting was streamed live.
The City of Cape Town has 231 councillors, the majority of whom were in attendance. The City of Cape Town chose to make use of the Skype platform.
‘The need for switching over to virtual meetings is due to the national regulations that were put in place as a response to the COVID-19 crisis. This compels local governments to change the way meetings are conducted for the foreseeable future and I am very pleased that the City of Cape Town could adapt so quickly,’ said Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Dan Plato.
The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Ms Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has amended section 6.7 of the regulations with the goal to reduce the risk of further exposure to the coronavirus. In terms of this amended section: “All meetings of Council, tribunals and entities must be done using media platforms such as teleconferencing and media conferencing.”
Over the past month, Speaker Dirk Smit and Rules Committee Chairperson Dave Bryant have been working with officials to draft a set of virtual rules to comply with the amended regulations. A draft of the virtual rules was presented to members of the multiparty Rules committee and agreed on. The virtual rules were also circulated to the leaders and whips of all other political parties to allow them an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the rules in the run up to the meeting.
‘The virtual rules that have now been agreed upon will apply to full council meetings and portfolio committee meetings. The City of Cape Town Council has cancelled its June recess so that members can catch up on meetings that were missed during the hard lockdown,’ said Mayor Plato.
‘I’m also very pleased that it was at this first virtual council meeting that we were able to approve a R3 billion social package to support the indigent, disabled and pensioners. As a result of the national coronavirus lockdown, many of our residents, as is happening across South Africa, have already lost their jobs or fallen on hard times. That’s why we are raising the indigent threshold in the City of Cape Town to R7000 income per month, and increasing the rates discount for many in this category,’ said Mayor Plato.
It is noted that some municipalities have had to postpone their full council meetings as they have not been able to get a virtual platform up and running. The City of Cape Town is happy to assist other municipalities with any advice in terms of hosting virtual meetings.