Know Your MP: Find Your Constituency Office and Make Your Voice Heard

Constituency work is an important but overlooked part of a Member of Parliament's (MPs) job. Every MP is meant to be linked to a constituency, a specific area or community they're meant to serve. MPs are your direct line to Parliament. Whether you need guidance on navigating government services, want to raise concerns affecting your community, or wish to engage with national policy issues, your MP should be available to listen, help direct you to the right channels, and ensure your voice is represented in Parliament.

Every MP is meant to be linked to a constituency, a specific area or community they're meant to serve.

They even have a specific budget allocated for this work! 

Take a moment to read PMG's research report on Constituency work.

For constituency work to truly serve the public, citizens need to engage with these offices. A major barrier to this engagement is the lack of public awareness about where political parties’ constituency offices are located and what roles they play, a gap that political parties must address. There is variation in parties' approach to constituency offices, with some establishing permanent physical offices in specific areas, while others allocate MPs to service constituencies through regular engagements across a designated spread of communities.

For constituency work to truly serve the public, citizens need to engage with these offices.

In an effort to increase transparency and promote constituency work, the Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG), the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) and OpenUp, with co-funding from the European Union’s Enhancing Accountability and Transparency Programme, have partnered to create a "Locate Your MP Map" of constituency offices that allows the public to search for constituency offices, access their contact details, and identify the relevant MPs or  Members of the Provincial Legislature’s (MPLs).

[We]...have partnered to create a locate your MP constituency map that allows the public to search for constituency offices...

How does the map work?

• Visit https://constituency-offices.pa.org.za/
• Use the map to find your location by either dragging and zooming, or by typing your address into the search bar
• The map shows the constituency offices near you. Political party logos on the map indicate which party each office belongs to 
• When you select an office on the map, its details will appear. The information available may vary by party (please see the heading below for more on the data available for each office), but typically includes the office location, the MPs and MPLs linked to the office, and the name and contact details of the office administrator.
• Alternatively, if your location service is on and you select ‘use my location,’ it will automatically find the nearest constituency offices.
• The map also lets you filter and search by party or province. On the left side of the screen, you can select a political party to display only that party’s offices on the map, along with their details. You can also filter by province to focus on a specific region.
• If you spot incorrect information (or have information you would like to add) or experience any problems with the map, please get in touch PMG at (admin@pmg.org.za).

About the data shown on the map

The information on the map was collected by PMG through direct communication with political parties. There is no official, regularly updated source for this information, and parties are not strictly required to supply the details of, or even allocate, individual MPs for each constituency area, mindful that SA does not have a constituency-based electoral system. That is why some parties reference their own general contact information for some offices. In an ideal world, Parliament would recognise the importance of making this information publically available and put in place provisions to do so and keep their contact information up-to-date. Until that time, we PMG will endeavor to continue working with parties to make sure this information is as accurate as possible. If you are a party member or citizen looking to provide information about a constituency office, please get in touch with PMG (admin@pmg.org.za).

Why constituency is important

Watch PMG's short explainer video below to learn more about constituency work in South Africa

What your MP can/should do

• Help you find the right government department and contact person
  
• Follow up on stalled applications (e.g., SASSA, Home Affairs, NSFAS, UIF)
  
• Support you in raising community issues
  
• Explain legislation, and public participation opportunities
  
• Report service delivery failures to relevant committees

Take action

Once you find the information on our constituency map, you can then:

• Visit the constituency office during office hours
  
• Telephone or WhatsApp your MP
  
• Email your MP
  
• Look out for information related to community meetings, public forums, or oversight visits
  
• Explore the People’s Assembly website to learn more about your MPs

Why does this matter?

Citizens can play a direct role in making sure constituency offices work in the public interest. These offices are meant to ensure that elected representatives remain visible, responsive, and accountable between elections, not only during campaign periods.  By engaging with your local constituency office, you can raise community concerns, push local issues onto the national agenda, and request feedback on the work your MPs are doing in Parliament. Your experience on the ground helps Parliament test whether government programmes are working as intended.

While the services offered by each political party’s offices may differ, all constituency offices are required to be accessible to the public and able to account for the work of their representatives. Your participation helps strengthen this accountability!

See our blog on understanding the role and services of constituency offices.