STATUTES REQUIRING CONSTITUTIONAL ALIGNMENT __________________________________________________________________________________ • Councils should have power to appoint and dismiss their own staff, subject to the ordinary labour laws. Provisions in the Act requiring councils to get approval of the Local Government Board, or to appoint staff through the Board, are unconstitutional in that they derogate from the autonomy conferred on councils by the Constitution. • Under section 198 of the Act the Minister can authorise councils to do things additional to those that are specifically authorised by the Act. Under section 276 of the Constitution, councils have all powers necessary to govern local affairs within their areas – in other words, they do not need the Minister’s authority to do so. • Section 206 of the Act gives the Minister power to direct councils to establish townships, and to establish such townships if councils refuse or fail to do so. This clearly derogates from councils’ independence under section 276 of the Constitution. • Under sections 221 and 222 of the Act councils may engage in incomegenerating projects and establish co-operatives, but only if the Minister allows them to do so and only if they comply with any conditions imposed by the Minister. These sections, too, are inconsistent with councils’ independence guaranteed by section 276 of the Constitution. • Under section 223 of the Act, councils must co-operate with the State or other persons if the Minister orders them to do so, while under section 225 the Minister can compel councils to combine into joint committees and joint boards. The Minister’s powers are inconsistent with councils’ constitutional independence. • The Minister has a veto power over councils’ by-laws – i.e they have to be approved by him before they can be promulgated – and under sections 232 and 233 of the Act he can adopt and make by-laws on behalf of councils. Clearly these powers infringe councils’ independence. • Under sections 272 and 273 of the Act councils must get the Minister’s permission to levy minimum or special rates. Again, this is inconsistent with councils’ constitutional independence. • There is no provision in the Act requiring the State to ensure that councils are properly funded, as required by section 325 of the Constitution. • Section 313 of the Act empowers the Minister to give councils policy directives “in the national interest”. This clearly infringes councils’ independence. • Under section 314 of the Act the Minister has power to direct councils to reverse, suspend or rescind resolutions and other action taken by them. It would be difficult to think of a provision that more clearly infringes councils’ constitutional independence. 69. Vagrancy Act [Chapter 10:25] This Act empowers the police to arrest vagrants and bring them before a magistrate, who may commit them to “re-establishment centres”. The term “vagrant” is widely defined to cover not only homeless wanderers but also people who maintain themselves by begging “or in some other disreputable manner”. The Act clearly infringes vagrants’ right to liberty and human dignity. The powers of the police and magistrates need to be curtailed. 23