Concerns are mounting over the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Department’s recent report that has revealed that 298 out of 1944 councillors in KwaZulu-Natal are illiterate.
The mayor of the Umvoti Local Municipality, Philani Mavundla has since accused political parties of reducing local government to a sector of illiterate and unprofessional people.
He says it is the responsibility of political parties to ensure that their councillors are empowered.
“The literacy level when it comes to councillors serving our local government, it is the responsibility of the political parties to give classes for the councillors to understand what is the difference even in terms of an act and what is expected of them.”
“We cannot run away from that the public representatives in terms of councillors are elected by their own communities. When it comes to their illiteracy it doesn’t mean they will wake up the following morning being educated. But the political classes can do that and will go a long way. You have councillors who cannot really read the budget. In the end, you have a community that will complain about councillors not bringing in any service delivery that time the councillor cannot even read what is budgeted for [in] his ward.”
Reports that KZN councillors can neither read nor write: Mlungisi Ndlovu
