Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Dvelopment Planning

The Department, through the years, has become aware that during each term of election, the local government sector’s instability levels increase as councillors prepare to participate in elections and want to ensure inclusion in the next term of office. During pre and post-elections, coalition governments and the appointment of Section 56 and Municipal Managers contribute to the instability.

There are some coalitions currently that contribute to instability which filters down to the administration and thus general support is consistently provided to municipalities, including those that have challenges with capacity – this includes Diagnostic Assessments, where required, Support Plans, hands-on support and grant funding.

To address the recurring instability of municipalities related to coalitions, the

Department has been extensively involved to inform further reforms to the:

• White Paper on Local Government; and
• National Framework on Coalitions.

The Department has the following mechanisms in place to consistently monitor municipalities and determine support needed across Province, to ensure stability in municipalities:

• Quarterly monitoring – these reports (Status of Local Government and Section 71) are compiled, in conjunction with Provincial Treasury and are submitted to Cabinet;
• Every two weeks a One Pager is developed to Provincial Top Management and the Minister; and
• In terms of the Coordinating Ministries – the Department, Provincial Treasury and Department of the Premier are working together to address the recommendations of the Auditor General South Africa.

Furthermore, in preparation towards the upcoming LG Elections and in order to sustain governance and ensure a smooth transition, during this transitional period, my Department intends publishing Circulars and/or Guidelines pertaining to inter alia, the Generic Agenda’s for the First Council meetings, Composition of MAYCO’s, Guidelines on the Recruitment and Selection procedures relating to the Appointment of Senior Managers and Distribution of the Establishment Notices of each Municipality and institute a Helpdesk.

In order to uphold governance and accountability required in enabling municipalities to fulfil their service delivery objectives, my Department, in collaboration with other stakeholders, will ensure continuous support to Municipalities by capacitating newly elected Councillors with inter alia:

• A review of the Systems of Delegations; and
• focused training interventions, in relation to -
  • Code of Conduct for Councillors;
  • Roles and Responsibilities of Councillors;
  • Roles and responsibilities of Municipal Public Accounts Committee MPAC;
  • Code for Ethical Leadership in Local Government and Consequence Management;
  • Local Government Anti-Corruption Strategy / Integrity Management Strategy;
  • Rules regulating the proceedings in relation to Council and/or both Special Council Meetings (Rules of Order);
  • An Unauthorised, Irregular, Fruitless and Wasteful expenditure prevention and reduction strategy; and
  • Recruitment, Selection and Appointment procedures of Municipal Managers and Managers directly accountable to Municipal Managers.

The following engagements are geared towards ensuring that improvements in financial oversight and governance produce real, tangible service delivery results for the people of the Western Cape:

• Technical Integrated Municipal Engagement;
• Strategic Integrated Municipal Engagement;
• Local Government MTEC; and
• MEC Finance Fora.

The consistent monitoring mechanisms that inform the support has aided Western Cape Government to enable sound governance and relatively strong financial performance of municipalities in the Province. This is reflected in the
20 clean audits – almost half of the total of 41 municipalities that achieved a clean audit status nationwide.

It is also reflected in the improvement in the funded budget status of our municipalities. In 2025/26, twenty seven of our municipalities adopted funded budgets, and three (3) municipalities had unfunded budgets, namely Beaufort West, Theewaterskloof and Kannaland. The Municipalities are all under formal interventions and have approved Financial Recovery Plans in place that are being implemented.

The honourable member is correct to ask about how improved financial stability and governance improvements translates into service delivery. Because service delivery for our people is ultimately what we care about.

Improved financial sustainability means improved reliability of services. This is because municipalities with strong finances can budget for maintenance and also have cash reserves available for repairs if problems arise. For example, through the Department of Local Government in collaboration with Provincial Treasury, we are developing a Municipal Asset Management Strategy, which provides focused support on operations and maintenance planning. This includes helping municipalities improve the reliability of critical infrastructure such as water treatment works, electricity networks and pump stations.

In addition, the Municipal Infrastructure Programme:

• Deploys engineers, in particular geohydrologists to support municipalities facing groundwater and borehole challenges;
• The implementation of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant programme where reprioritisation follows the conditions of the Division of Revenue Act (DORA); and
• Through the Joint District and Metro Approach (JDMA) Infrastructure Sub-Committee we work closely with municipalities on coordinated planning, early identification of bottlenecks and intergovernmental alignment, ensuring that operations, maintenance and infrastructure priorities are addressed collectively and systematically.