A total of 775 meetings of statutory, scheduled and special meetings were held via virtual media platforms for the 2020 year, despite the challenges faced by the COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown.
Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges brought on by the national lockdown, the City of Cape Town has led the charge towards governance excellence by undertaking the majority of its statutory meetings via virtual media platforms, to ensure that service delivery continues.
As such, the City successfully entered the digital world with its first virtual Council meeting in May this year, followed by virtual Portfolio Committee and Subcouncil meetings thereafter; all complying with the rules, processes and procedures of Council as well as the prescriptive COVID-19 regulations.
During this calendar year, the following scheduled and special meetings were held:
- 10 Council meetings;
- 101 Portfolio Committee meetings;
- 245 Subcouncil meetings;
- 394 Ward committee meetings; and
- 25 Mayoral Committee meetings.
This excludes the numerous other special COVID-19-related meetings held by the Executive Mayor and the Mayoral Committee on a weekly basis.
The City’s committee structures therefore held a total of 775 meetings for the 2020 year, with an average meeting attendance of 86%.
‘Virtual meetings have become an efficient way of conducting meetings of Council. Online meetings are also more cost-effective when compared to the physical, in-person meetings previously held. Other advantages include orderliness and efficient expression of views via the chat and participation options.
‘I would like to commend the City’s administration and its officials for ensuring that the necessary processes and procedures were in place, for the important work done by Council and its committees to continue unabated, so that services could be rolled-out. I further wish to congratulate our councillors, the majority of whom have gone above and beyond the call of duty in service to the City and its residents, during this unprecedented time.
‘While there is much more work to do, I believe that the solid foundations put in place during Council’s transition to virtual platforms, will be built on and improved come 2021, through the determination and commitment of the City’s administration, its councillors and its staff,’ said City Speaker, Alderman Dirk Smit.