Municipality’s paper-based admin processes expose gaps in sustainability and efficiency

As governments race to digitise public administration, reduce their carbon footprint and improve efficiency and transparency, Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality remains mired in paper-based processes.

In a metro where officials routinely speak of sustainability and modernising governance systems, the continued mass printing of council and committee agendas has exposed an operation that, despite its green ambitions, remains stubbornly tied to outdated paper-based practices.

Thousands upon thousands of pages are still being churned out for meetings every month — even as councillors complain that the documents often arrive late, contain outdated information or need to be reprinted altogether.

The persistent delays in receiving agendas remain a thorn in councillors’ sides, with the issue frequently raised at council meetings.

Some pointers

While Nelson Mandela Bay’s leadership appears reluctant to learn new tricks and move with the times, it may be worth them quietly consulting their counterparts in the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality for a few pointers on how it is actually done.

Spokesperson for that municipality, Sonwabo Mampoza, said their municipality electronically distributed agendas for council meetings and standing committee meetings to councillors, senior management and everyone else eligible.

“The municipality does not produce any hard copies as every member of council has an electronic device meant for all council-related business.

“So far, KSD municipality has progressed positively in terms of advancement in the use of technological items [and] gadgets, and that is saving a lot of time and other delivery expenses,” Mampoza said.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality did not respond to questions on how much it spent on printing and distribution costs, or about its digital approach.

Meanwhile, Nelson Mandela Bay speaker Eugene Johnson acknowledged at a council meeting earlier this month the now-familiar frustration among councillors. She confirmed that the municipality had raised the late delivery of agendas with the service providers.

“I want to report to councillors and to announce we met with the service provider. We have cautioned them that should they not perform, they will lose the contract,” Johnson told the council.

She said corrective measures had now been introduced to improve the timely delivery of agendas ahead of council and standing committee meetings.

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Environmentalists argue that the real issue stretches far beyond late deliveries.

They say the municipality’s continued dependence on printed documents reflects an outdated governance culture that is increasingly difficult to justify in an era of digital administration and climate-conscious policymaking.

Environmental scientist Dr Gary Koekemoer said the sheer volume of paper consumed by the municipality sent the wrong message to residents and businesses who are being urged to adopt greener practices.

“With about 120 councillors, they are printing anything between 3,000 and 5,000 [pages] at a time. That’s a fair amount of paper that they are going through,” Koekemoer said.

“My concern would be that it doesn't demonstrate a low-carbon approach.”

Rhetoric vs reality

His criticism strikes at a growing tension facing municipalities across South Africa: the gap between environmental rhetoric and operational reality.

While local governments increasingly champion sustainability initiatives, recycling campaigns and climate adaptation strategies, many still rely heavily on outdated paper-based administrative systems.

In Nelson Mandela Bay, the problem is compounded by inefficiencies in the circulation of agendas. Councillors have repeatedly raised concerns about receiving bulky documents late — sometimes only shortly before meetings begin.

In some cases, agenda items were reportedly already redundant or outdated by the time councillors sat down in chambers, forcing sections to be amended and documents to be reprinted.

Taking the lead

For Koekemoer, the answer is obvious. Municipalities, he said, should be leading society’s transition toward low-carbon governance rather than lagging behind it.

“One would expect a municipality to lead the city in adopting a low-carbon approach,” he said.

He believes the City should move decisively toward a paperless governance system by equipping councillors with tablets (most already have access to laptops or city-issued cellphones) connected to a centralised digital platform where agendas, reports and supporting documents can be securely accessed.

“The practical solution would be to use tablets. Instead of reprinting every document and creating huge stacks of paper, councillors could access documents electronically from a collective platform,” he said.

Long-term benefits

Koekemoer acknowledged that the transition to a fully digital system could initially present logistical and administrative challenges, but argued that the long-term benefits would far outweigh the short-term inconvenience.

Beyond reducing paper waste, he said, electronic systems would improve efficiency, strengthen document security and reduce the costly cycle of printing and reprinting meeting packs.

His comments also revived memories of a green procurement initiative introduced by the municipality more than a decade ago — a policy he described as “ahead of its time”.

The municipality’s 2011 Green Procurement Implementation Strategy had explicitly committed to applying environmental criteria across its procurement activities.

“It’s a real pity that it didn’t filter through the organisation and wasn’t fully implemented,” Koekemoer said.

The failure of the initiative, he argued, reflected a broader institutional reluctance to fully embed sustainability into the municipality’s day-to-day operations.

As one of the metro’s biggest employers and consumers of goods and services, Koekemoer said the municipality had a responsibility to model environmentally responsible behaviour.

Instead, the continued sight of towering paper agendas arriving at council meetings has become symbolic of a municipality struggling to reconcile its green ambitions with entrenched bureaucratic habits. DM