The worst-run municipalities in South Africa
Forty-one (41) of the country’s 257 municipalities (~16%) are currently under administration, up from the 32 reported at the beginning of 2024.
This was outlined by Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Velenkosini Hlabisa in response to recent question posed to him in Parliament by ANC’s Annah Gela.
The responsibilities of municipalities include effectively organising and executing their administration, budgeting, and planning to prioritise the community’s fundamental needs and support social and economic development.
They are also responsible for providing essential public services, including water, electricity, waste disposal, public health, and transportation.
However, when a municipality does not fulfil these obligations, the provincial and/or national executive is able to intervene under section 139 of the Constitution to ensure fulfilment of that obligation.
Section 139 (1), (4) and (5) allows the provincial executive to intervene in a municipality if:
- A municipality cannot or does not fulfil an obligation in terms of the Constitution or legislation to approve a budget or any revenue-raising measures necessary to give effect to the budget.
- A municipality, because of a crisis in its financial affairs, is in serious or persistent material breach of its obligations to provide basic services or to meet its financial commitments or admits that it is unable to meet its obligations or financial commitments.
Many of these municipalities are repeat offenders.
Municipalities under administration
According to the information given by the CoGTA minister, the municipalities currently under administration include:
Key:
- MM – Metropolitan Municipality;
- LM – Local Municipality;
- DM – District Municipality.
Eastern Cape (EC)
Municipality | Nature | Since | Times Under Administration |
---|---|---|---|
Enoch Mgijima LM | S139(7) (National intervention) | April 2022 | 2 |
Amathole DM | S139(5)(a) | January 2021 | 1 |
Makana LM | S139(5) | January 2019 | 3 |
OR Tambo DM | S139(5)(a) & (c) | December 2021 | 1 |
Walter Sisulu LM | S139(5)(a) | February 2022 | 2 |
Chris Hani DM | S139(5) | December 2023 | 1 |
Free State (FS)
Municipality | Nature | Since | Times Under Admin |
---|---|---|---|
Mangaung MM | S139(7) (National intervention) | April 2022 | 2 |
Mafube LM | S139(5)(a) & (c) | June 2022 | 2 |
Tokologo LM | S139(5)(a) & (c) | June 2022 | 1 |
Kopanong LM | S139(1)(b) with S63 of WSA | September 2023 | 1 |
Gauteng (GP)
Municipality | Nature | Since | Times Under Admin |
---|---|---|---|
Emfuleni LM | S139(5)(a) | June 2018 | 1 |
West Rand DM | S139(5) | February 2019 | 1 |
Merafong LM | S139(5)(a) | September 2022 | 2 |
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN)
Municipality | Nature | Since | Times Under Admin |
---|---|---|---|
Umzinyathi DM | S139(1)(b) | October 2016 | 3 |
Mpofana LM | S139(1)(b) | December 2017 | 3 |
Inkosi Langalibalele LM | S139(1)(b) | December 2017 | 1 |
Mtubatuba LM | S139(1)(b) | March 2019 | 4 |
Msunduzi LM | S139(1)(a) | April 2019 | 3 |
uThukela DM | S139(1)(b) | August 2018 | 2 |
Umkhanyakude DM | S139(1)(b) | January 2021 | 5 |
Umzumbe LM | S139(1)(b) | April 2024 | 1 |
uMhlathuze LM | S139(1)(a) | April 2024 | 1 |
Zululand DM | S139(1)(b) | May 2024 | 1 |
Limpopo (LP)
Municipality | Nature | Since | Times Under Admin |
---|---|---|---|
Thabazimbi LM | S139(1)(c) | September 2024 | 2 |
Mpumalanga (MP)
Municipality | Nature | Since | Times Under Admin |
---|---|---|---|
Emalahleni LM | S139(5) | October 2018 | 3 |
Govan Mbeki LM | S139(5) | October 2018 | 1 |
Msukaligwa LM | S139(5) | October 2018 | 1 |
Thaba Chweu LM | S139(5)(a) | October 2018 | 3 |
Lekwa LM | S139(7) (National intervention) | April 2021 | 3 |
Northern Cape (NC)
Municipality | Nature | Since | Times Under Admin |
---|---|---|---|
Phokwane LM | S139(5) | July 2020 | 3 |
Renosterberg LM | S139(5) | August 2020 | 1 |
North West (NW)
Municipality | Nature | Since | Times Under Admin |
---|---|---|---|
Madibeng LM | S139(5)(a) & (c) | January 2022 | 6 |
Tswaing LM | S139(5)(a) & (c) | January 2022 | 6 |
Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati DM | S139(5)(a) & (c) | January 2022 | 3 |
Kgetleng Rivier LM | S139(5)(a) & (c) | January 2022 | 1 |
Ramotshere LM | S139(5)(a) & (c) | January 2022 | 3 |
Naledi LM | S139(5)(a) & (c) | January 2022 | 3 |
Ditsobotla LM | S139(5)(c) | April 2023 | 8 |
Matlosana LM | S139(5)(a) & (c) | August 2024 | 3 |
Western Cape (WC)
Municipality | Nature | Since | Times Under Admin |
---|---|---|---|
Beaufort West LM | S139(5)(a) | August 2021 | 2 |
Kannaland LM | S139(5)(a) | December 2023 | 2 |
Dysfunctional municipalities
According to CoGTA’s State of Local Government report presented to parliament’s portfolio committee at the end of 2023, only 11.67% of the country’s municipalities are defined as being ‘stable’.
Just over a quarter are defined as being ‘dysfunctional’, which exacerbates their risks of being placed under administration.
In its recent presentation to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on CoGTA, the South African Local Government Association (Salga) said that the “local government is inadequately equipped to fulfil its developmental agenda.”
They further expressed concerns about the declining level of service delivery, instability, weakening capacity of municipalities, and the debt owed to municipalities that impinge on their performance.
According to Salga, there are four root causes for the “digression and decline” of the trajectory of the developmental impact of many local governments, being:
- Poor political leadership capacity and weak administrative management;
- Inefficient and non-integrated LG delivery mechanisms, systems and processes to enable service delivery;
- Ineffective utilisation of financial resources (poor financial administration) & inability to collect revenue, and insufficient fiscus allocation;
- Degenerating infrastructure and non-existent or poor services provided to local communities.
Interventions by Departments
The government may intervene in distressed municipalities through various measures, including financial assistance, administrative support, or even placing them under administration to restore functionality and service delivery – which has been the case for the 41 abovementioned municipalities.
At the start of his term as minister, Hlabisa announced that his department is not scared to dissolve dysfunctional municipalities and call for re-elections, citing issues like corruption, political instability, and poor service delivery as reasons for this focus.
He stressed that waiting idly by until 2026 for new leadership is not an option.
He called for “bold and radical action” against underperforming municipalities, stating that ineffective leadership serves no purpose and the government will intervene under Section 139 of the Constitution to support these municipalities.
Hlabisa emphasised that CoGTA will concentrate on “the pillars of sustainability” to assist distressed municipalities.
Broadly, these are to do with:
- Strengthening governance and institutional capacity;
- Improving financial viability;
- Accelerating service delivery and economic development.
More on government’s proposed interventions can be found here.
Read: What South Africa needs to learn from countries like India