The South African local government elections of 2016 resulted in fundamental changes to the South African political landscape. Given the major role played by municipalities in the delivery of basic services over the next five-year term, it is fundamental to engage with incoming municipal officers regarding several environmental concerns. The major areas of concern to municipalities insofar as climate change is involved are as follows: energy, water and sanitation, waste management, and climate resilient spatial planning.

The introduction of a Green Voter’s Guide aims to stimulate and contribute to public discourse on how local politics and governance responds (or should respond) to environmental justice issues. The guide looks at citizen engagement with local government regarding service provision; what those services are; and what role ordinary citizens can play in determining how these services will be provided. The guide is a tool aiming to get people to think and reflect about environmental matters in their everyday lives, and to equip them to grill municipal representatives throughout their term of service.

Paper by the Southern African Catholic Bishop's Conference Parliamentary Liaison Office