Ramaphosa urges peaceful voting in South African local elections

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa urged voters to participate peacefully in Wednesday’s local government elections and outlined proposed reforms to municipalities in a weekly letter published ahead of the vote. Ramaphosa called on registered voters to go to polling stations on November 4 and said the election would affect the delivery of essential services. He also called for voting to take place without violence or intimidation. Special voting was scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. The president said a proposed White Paper on Local Government would seek to strengthen municipalities by improving administrative capacity, professionalising staffing and holding officials accountable for misuse of public resources. The document also proposes stronger financial management, better revenue collection and tighter spending on priorities, according to Ramaphosa. He said the proposed reforms would ringfence revenue from electricity and water sales for infrastructure maintenance and introduce compulsory licensing for water and electricity providers. The White Paper also proposes assigning responsibilities to another sphere of government or entity when a municipality cannot carry them...