In 1998, South Africa took a bold step toward building a democracy that worked from the ground up. The White Paper on Local Government (WPLG98) was a visionary attempt to realise the promise of a developmental state, where local municipalities would be the engines of service delivery, economic opportunity, and participatory democracy.
Fast forward 27 years, and the dream has somewhat dimmed. The streets are riddled with potholes, taps run dry or spew contaminated water, refuse piles up, and service delivery protests erupt with weary predictability. It is time for South Africa to admit what the evidence now loudly declares: our municipalities are in crisis.
Yet, the crisis is not rooted in the vision but in its implementation. The constitutional and policy framework still holds immense value. What has failed us are the behaviours, the political cultures, the warped incentives, and the unwillingness to confront deeply entrenched dysfunction.
The newly released Discussion Document on the Review of the White Paper on Local Government is, at its best, a call to honesty. It demands that we resist the temptation to issue another glossy report full of noble platitudes. Instead, it asks the hard questions: Why have we failed? What must we change, not just in legislation, but in mindset?
At the same time, the paper does state that “several local government reviews have been undertaken in the past two decades, providing recommendations for system change leading to multiple local government ‘turnaround’ interventions and campaigns, with little or no sustained system stabilisation or improvement”. So, will this latest process by COGTA lead to tangible changes or its recommendations will be swept under the carpet like the previous ones?
What Has Gone Wrong?
South Africa’s local government system has not failed because of bad ideas. It has failed because of poor leadership, corrupted accountability, lack of transparency and the hijacking of developmental ambitions by narrow political interests. This is evident in the Auditor-General’s 2022/23 report which paints a sobering picture of the state of municipalities with only 34 out of 257 municipalities achieving clean audits, down from 38 the previous financial year. Alarmingly, R3.4 billion of infrastructure grants went unspent, R7.4 billion was lost to fruitless and wasteful expenditure, and R24.1 billion was unauthorised spending. These figures reflect a broken social contract, citizens are no longer willing to pay for services they do not receive, and municipal administrations are no longer trusted to manage money with integrity.
Political overreach into administration has become endemic. Senior appointments have become about political loyalty rather than competence. Coalition politics, especially in hung councils as witnessed in Gauteng Metros, has become a game of power without purpose, leading to instability, stalled budgets, and policy paralysis. As per our previous opinion piece on the Local Government Revenue and Expenditure Report for the 2024/2025 financial published by National Treasury, we reflected on how local government is confronted with skyrocketing levels of underspending where conditional grants are underspent.
The consequences have been tragic: infrastructure that collapses for want of maintenance, communities that turn to protest in order to be heard, and an electorate that has become disillusioned with the ballot box as a tool of change.
For companies operating in South Africa, the health of local government is directly linked to economic efficiency, investor confidence, and growth. Municipalities are not just public service providers: they are also regulators, infrastructure managers, and enablers of commerce. Their performance shapes the conditions in which businesses invest, operate, and expand.
Fixing What Is Broken: A Blueprint for Real Reform
Rebuilding trust in municipalities is not about tweaking laws but about transformative action. Here is what can be done:
Professionalise Local Government
Political interference in appointments must end. All employees, including municipal managers, CFOs, and technical leads, should be appointed through independent panels and rigorous criteria. Competence must trump loyalty. Establishing ring-fenced, professionally managed utilities for water and electricity is a start, but only if recruitment and operations are insulated from political patronage.
However, beyond political interference, entrenched union influence in the public sector has also become an impediment to effective service delivery. In many cases, trade unions resist performance-based assessments, oppose necessary restructuring, and protect underperforming staff. For example, in several municipalities, efforts to discipline or dismiss incompetent technical staff have been blocked or delayed due to union intervention, often citing procedural grounds or collective agreements. This undermines the ability of managers to build capable teams and hold individuals accountable.
While labour rights are fundamental, a more balanced approach is needed — one that protects workers but also prioritises professional standards and service delivery outcomes, especially in essential services.
Perhaps, the proposed Public Service Commission Bill, now before the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) after it was passed in the National Assembly on 18 March, could be an answer to professionalising Local Government. This Bill aims to strengthen the Public Service Commission and make it more impartial and independent. It also extends the Commission’s powers to local government and public entities and will provide more legislative teeth to government efforts to professionalise the public service.
Crucially, the Bill aligns with the National Framework Towards the Professionalisation of the Public Service, which calls for merit-based recruitment, capacity building, and ethical governance across all spheres of government. It is however concerning that this Framework has been long in the making. Its draft was first approved by Cabinet in November 2020 and comments thereon were invited in December of the same year. Yet, translating the noble ideas contained in the Framework into animated practicality remains to be seen.
Invest in Capacity Building at Scale
Local government performance is only as strong as the skills behind it. South Africa must invest in targeted training for municipal officials especially in finance, engineering, planning, and leadership if it is to realise the ambitions of a capable developmental state. A developmental state requires not only a strategic orientation towards inclusive growth and service delivery, but also strong organisational and technical capacity to implement policy effectively. Partnerships with universities, Sectoral Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), and businesses can help build this capacity by creating a pipeline of skilled, professional administrators committed to ethical and competent public service.
Forge Partnerships with Business
The private sector must not only be consulted; it must be actively involved. Municipalities and local business forums should work together on local economic development plans, infrastructure projects, and public-private partnerships. Thus, collaboration can unlock financing, improve skills development, and help municipalities deliver on key priorities.
Rebuild Accountability from the Outside In
Citizens must be brought back into the governance loop, not as box-ticking participants in Integrated Development Plan (IDP) meetings, but as active co-creators of development. This means creating real-time accountability tools, open budgeting processes, and feedback mechanisms that give communities visibility into what their municipalities are doing and failing to do. In addition, there ought to be a citizen compact: a two-way accountability contract where citizens also have responsibilities (e.g., paying for services and participating constructively).
Reimagine Municipal Structures
The ‘wall-to-wall’ model of universal municipalities must be reconsidered. Some areas lack the population, economy, or capacity to function as standalone municipalities. While some municipalities such as parts of the Western Cape, Gauteng, and KwaZulu-Natal have performed better, the system as a whole remains uneven.
The District Development Model (DDM), introduced by the government as a response to these challenges, offers a pathway toward more coordinated and differentiated governance. By promoting integrated planning and resource allocation across national, provincial, and local spheres, the DDM seeks to streamline service delivery through a district-based approach. This allows municipalities to share capacity, infrastructure, and development strategies, particularly where smaller local municipalities are unable to meet service demands on their own.
Going forward, asymmetry must become formal policy. Well-capacitated metros should be granted expanded powers and responsibilities in line with their capabilities, while weaker municipalities should either be consolidated or supported through shared service arrangements under the DDM framework. This differentiated approach would move the country closer to a local government system that is not only more efficient, but also more equitable and developmentally focused.
Declare War on Corruption and Patronage
If local government is to function optimally, it is imperative that accountability is not confined to systems alone but is extended to the individuals entrusted with public resources. While financial management systems: encompassing accounting, reporting, and oversight must be continuously enhanced and recalibrated to minimise the risk of manipulation, this must be complemented by robust enforcement of individual accountability. Officials who contravene established regulations, i.e., the Municipal Finance Management Act and supply chain management procedures, must be subject to firm and consistent consequence management. In the absence of such accountability, corruption will persist as a fundamental enabler of institutional dysfunction.
Beyond Paper: The Call for Leadership
Ultimately, fixing municipalities is not just about government reforms but rather about decisive leadership. Businesses, communities, traditional leaders, and civil society all have a stake in local government success.
Thus, the Draft Review on the White Paper on Local Government (WPLG26) must become more than just a new policy. It must form a new social and economic compact – one where municipalities operate transparently and efficiently, and where business helps drive innovation and development.
The cost of inaction is too high. Municipal dysfunction undermines job creation, raises the cost of doing business, and weakens the very foundation of our economy. But if we seize this moment to act, municipalities can become engines of renewal: delivering services, enabling investment, and unlocking inclusive growth. With the right leadership, the right reforms, and the right partnerships, South Africa’s municipalities can be rebuilt to serve both citizens and the economy.
