About ADAC

Association of Democratic Alliance Councillors

The Front Line of the Open Opportunity Society

The Association of Democratic Alliance Councillors (ADAC) is an independent organisation working for the promotion of an Open Opportunity Society in local government through the vision, core principles and ideals of the Democratic Alliance,

ADAC’s website provides residents convenient access to a database containing contact details of DA councillors’ throughout South Africa. Residents can read articles on municipal issues in other areas, which will enable them to compare how well their council is performing. It also gives the public a convenient source for DA local government policies.

Councillor Support

ADAC offers its members a dedicated support service focused on local government issues, so as to contribute to efficient and cost-effective governance, whether the DA is in government or in opposition. Support is provided in the following broad categories:

• Sharing of ideas and best practices between DA councillors
• Links to relevant legislation and resources
• Specialised councillor training
• Focused research of local government topics
• Local government policy development
• Advocacy on local government issues and councillor concerns
• Communication between councillors and other spheres of the DA
 

Information

ADAC provides information of importance to local government and members’ work as a councillor in the following ways:

• Contact details of elected ADAC Provincial Council and National Council members
• Contact details of the relevant DA spokespersons on Local Government, in Parliament, the NCOP and the provinces
• The ADAC Coordinator is also available to answer or direct queries relating to local government, via the ADAC help-line (011) 880 0081 or by e-mailing info@adac.co.za
• Fast Track, an ad hoc publication designed for councillor self-study.
• Our on-line library, including news clippings and local government articles.
• Our on-line legal resource, including relevant bills, court cases and findings.

Training

Training remains a major focus area, ADAC training relies on participatory techniques, developed in conjunction with our partner organisation the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. Courses are designed for experienced and new councillors and are based on councillor experiences and common problems. In 2010 the following training will be provided

• Communicating the Open Opportunity Society
• Aspirant Councillor training
• Election campaigning
• Coalition formation and management
• Contact details of elected ADAC Provincial Council and National Council members

Communication and Networking

Over 1000 DA councillors across the country are members of ADAC, all of whom experience the reality of local government and represents a vast pool of accumulated knowledge. It also has International partner organisations. Membership of ADAC enables them to share experiences, ideas and network solutions. Methods include

• Frequent updating of the ADAC website
• An online discussion forum, for councillors to ‘speak’ to one another across the country
• Media releases
• On-line links to related local government sites and ADAC partner organisations
 

Research

Often, there are councillors in different parts of the country who are working on the same problem . In some cases there are national and international organisations and people who specialise in that problem area. ADAC offers its members the opportunity to work smarter by networking issues and providing basic research capabilities on core local government issues.Members can conduct their own research by:

• Posting an issue for discussion on the on-line discussion forum
• Browsing the on-line library.
• Requesting research assistance from the ADAC National Coordinator.
 

Policy development

ADAC gives councillors the forum to develop local government policy that is relevant and practical. DA councillors are frequently confronted with policies and legislation that are imposed by national and provincial spheres of government. In many cases they may feel that policies and legislation do not conform to their views on the issue. Negotiating this environment can be assisted by understanding and sticking to the DA’s founding principles. The “Blue Book,” which contains these is now available on line.

Advocacy

ADAC represents a large number of councillors. It is a useful organisation through which members can advocate the DA’s position on local government issues and councillor attitudes towards aspects of their work. Submissions and constructive contributions are made on relevant issues to organisations such as the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) and various local government portfolio committee meetings.