GOVERNANCE

Pigg’s Peak Town Council embraces the principles of corporate governance and it is against this background that the operations of the organization are guided by the following practices and or structures; Council or Board, Finance Committee, Management and stakeholder engagement. It must be noted that the responsibilities of these are clearly defined in the Urban Government Act, 1969 in order to ensure balance of power.

Council or Board composition and responsibilities

In terms of Section 6 of the Urban Government Act (1969), the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, performs the following functions;

1. Prescribes the composition of the Council and the number of Councilors
2. Provides for the election or appointment of Councilors, for a period not exceeding five years
3. Divides a municipality into territorial wards
4. Prescribes the number of Councilors to be appointed or elected in respect of each ward

It must be noted that the Minister appoints two Councilors after local government elections have been conducted in order to ensure that there is diversity in terms of skills and experience amongst the Board members as well as to enable them to be better placed to determine the strategic direction of the municipality. Councilors also serve as policy makers and represent the town’s residents and stakeholders in the decision-making process, through voicing their concerns relating to services provided by the town. In order to executive these functions efficiently and effectively, the Board meets once a month to deliberate on issues brought to their attention by Management. However, when the need arises, ‘Special Council meetings’ are convened by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) / Town Clerk to discuss pressing issues.

Finance committee

Section 19 of the Urban Government Act, 1969 empowers Council to appoint a committee amongst its members for purposes of carrying out a specified purpose and it is for this reason Pigg’s Peak Town Council has a Finance Committee, whose function is to provide an oversight role when it comes to the allocation and use of Council’s finances. This committee meets once a month and tables its report to Council for deliberation.

Management

A level below Council, there is Management, headed by the CEO, who is responsible for implementing resolutions of the Board and ensuring that the strategic objectives of the organization are achieved. In order to achieve the abovementioned, the CEO works hand-in-hand with Management on a daily basis, when managing the operations of the organization.

Residents and stakeholder engagement

To ensure that there is participatory governance, Council convenes regular resident’s and stakeholder’s meetings, in the following manner;

1. Budget feedback meeting; this meeting is held after budget approval (usually between May and June of each financial year), to notify the town’s stakeholders, residents and public on approved budget programmes and projects, to be implemented in that particular year.
2. Annual general meeting; according to the organisation’s calendar, this meeting is held before end of September, in order to report on the municipality’s performance (financial performance and progress made in the implementation of projects and programmes)
3. Consultative budget meetings; normally convened between November and December of each year, in order to solicit budget input (s) from town’s stakeholders and residents sections in the page.