The Role of Whip of Council
Section 41A of the Local Government Municipal Structures Act 117 of 1998 (Municipal Structures Act) allows a municipal council to elect its Whip in its first sitting after its election, or when necessary to fill a vacancy. At its first meeting held on 19 November 2021 the Council elected Cllr Phetola Adolph Rapetswa as its Whip.
The Whip of Council has the following legislative functions in terms of section 41B of the Municipal Structures Act:
- liaises with the different political parties to ensure representation in council and council committees;
- maintains sound relations between the various political parties;
- informs the whips of all parties on important matters on the council agenda;
- assists the speaker to count votes in the council meeting;
- facilitates the interaction between the executive and legislative oversight structures in the municipality; and
- resolves disputes between the speaker, mayor or executive mayor.
The Whip of Council executes his statutory responsibilities through the Political Management Team (PMT) and the Multi-Party Forum. The PMT comprises of the Whip of Council (Chairperson); Executive Mayor and the Speaker, whilst the Multi-Party Forum comprises of the Whip of Council (Chairperson) and Whips/Party leaders of all political parties or interests represented in the Council, currently the African National Congress (ANC); Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF); Democratic Alliance (DA); Vryheid Front Plus (VF+); African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP); Congress of the People (COPE); Abantu Batho Congress (ABC); and Magoshi Swaranang Movement (MSM).