The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Dr Zweli Mkhize, welcomed the launch of the Revised White Paper on Local Government on Thursday as an important opportunity to address the structural weaknesses that are undermining municipalities and improve service delivery.
The revised policy framework seeks to build accountable, financially sustainable municipalities that respond to the needs of communities and fulfil their constitutional responsibilities. The aim is to change how municipalities are structured, financed, governed and supported so that they can deliver reliable services and become institutionally and financially sustainable.
Through its oversight work, the committee had been vocal about the disconnect between local government’s developmental vision and residents’ real experiences of municipal services where they live. Dr Mkhize described the launch of the Revised White Paper as a significant development. “It makes us reconsider how municipalities are structured and funded and how best to support and hold them accountable. This is a step towards ensuring that the system allows municipalities to fulfil their responsibilities and that communities benefit from reliable services,” he said.
The Chairperson also noted that the Revised White Paper acknowledges that municipalities are different in terms of their revenue bases, capacities and development needs. He welcomed the differentiated approach and said it is important to tailor support to these realities, which will help address dysfunction.
Dr Mkhize also noted the policy framework’s emphasis on separating political leadership from professional administration, which the committee has also been vocal about. Much of the instability and weak performance in municipalities stems from the blurring of the political-administrative interface. “Professionalising local government and capacitating it with the required skills while reducing political interference in administrative appointments will help address this instability.”
The Revised White Paper also acknowledges the role of provincial and national government in municipal failures and provides for shared accountability and better coordination between the three spheres of government. It also allows for timely identification of municipalities in distress and to intervene early.
This is another issue the committee has been pushing for in its oversight engagements with municipalities across the Free State, North West, Gauteng, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. It required MECs for local government, as well as the department and National Treasury, to all play their roles in monitoring and supporting local government.
In its more recent meetings with the Department of COGTA and its entities, the committee questioned whether targets for national support programmes produce measurable improvements in struggling municipalities. The Chairperson emphasised that effective implementation of the revised policy framework will require clearer accountability across all three spheres of government.
He also welcomed that, with local government elections scheduled for 4 November 2026, the transition process will account for the new municipal term. It will be integrated into the induction of newly elected councillors and aligning municipal planning and budgeting with the objectives of the revised policy framework.
The Chairperson noted that the legislative and institutional reforms will require implementation over time and stressed that the transition arrangements must establish clear responsibilities, timelines and measures of progress. “The committee will scrutinise whether these reforms improve municipal performance,” he said. “The measure of success must be functioning infrastructure, reliable basic services and councils that answer to the people they serve.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.