About Us

South Africa has one of the most unequal societies in the world and there is a pressing need to create a balanced growth. There are nuances and peculiarities prevalent in the South African municipal environment that inform both policy and action.

Expressed through its Integrated Development Plan, Bitou Municipality strives to combine the will of the people and the passion of its technocrats to achieve its noble vision with the commitment and will of its political leadership. It is this spirit of working together will allow the municipality to do more for its community.

Together with its partners, Bitou Municipality, from its leadership to all its staff members, aim to:

• Create a safe environment for its citizens;
• Ensure access for all to economic opportunities;
• Maintain a clean and healthy environment;
• Ensure access to quality services;
• Facilitate skills development initiatives; and
• Allow equal access to education, especially early childhood development.

Working for you:

• The Mayor
• Elected Ward Councillors: 2016 – 2021
• Elected PR Councillors: 2016 – 2021
• Inauguration of the 2016 - 2021 Council Meeting

Strategic Goals

Council has approved the following strategic goals:

a) To ensure efficient and affordable basic services to all residents of Bitou.

b) To strengthen the economy of Bitou for sustainable growth and job creation.

c) To develop a municipal governance system that complies with international best practise.

d) Create an institution that can align planning with implementation for effective and efficient service delivery.

e) To be a financially viable institution geared to provide affordable and sustainable services to the clientele of Bitou Municipality.

These strategic goals are unpacked in section 5.5 of the Revised IDP 2016/17.

The political office bearers and staff of the Bitou Local Municipality commit to:

• Effecting participative and accountable development local government and governance.
• Fostering effective intergovernmental relations.
• Facilitating sustainable people-centred development and ensuring environmental integrity.
• Proactively identifying and securing suitable land for settlement.
• Providing effective basic services in a sustainable manner.
• Facilitating local economic development with a particular focus on reducing poverty,
• creating jobs and developing the tourism and eco-tourism sectors.
• Facilitating social upliftment and community integration.
• Adhering to the Batho Pele principles for its community.

The macro administrative structure of the Bitou Local Municipality sees the Office of the Municipal Manager at its head. Five departments or directorates report to the Municipal Manager:

• Corporate Services, which is chiefly responsible for secretariat and customer care, property and amenity services, legal services and human resource management.
• Financial Services, which is responsible for expenditure, income, budget and ICT functions of the municipality.
• Community Services, which is responsible for protectection services, fire and disaster management, intergrated human settlement, parks and recreation and library services.
• Engineering Services, which is responsible for roads, refuse sites and cleaning, civil works, electrical engineering, water quality and control, building control and infrastructure maintenance.
• Strategic Services, which is responsible for Integrated Development Planning and Local Economic Development, performance management, and development planning and integration.

See these special focus pages for more information on:

• Local Economic Development and Integrated Development Planning (LED and IDP)
• Internal Audit