Take Action: Let’s Build Better Municipalities Together

Government Is Reforming Municipalities. Play Your Part.

You know that we can just do it. Right? Like, we don’t have to accept that our municipalities are falling apart, things are bad, will always be bad, and that’s it forever. We can just wake up, as we have, and decide to be better residents, to play our part in creating the change we want to live in and just…do it.

That’s what we’re doing today. We are going to play our part in building better municipalities. By the time you’re done reading, I want you to give yourself 10 minutes to complete a survey. We will send this to the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (phew, what a name) as our contribution to the public participation process for the Review of the White Paper on Local Government. The process ends on 30 June 2025.

Let’s dig in and then do.

The Shocker!

This should not surprise you, as an engaged citizen, but our municipalities are in crisis. Here are a few nuggets taken straight from the Auditor General’s most recent report into the sector’s finances.

1. Metro Municipalities serve 8.9 million (46% of) all households, yet they have a culture of non-performance, lack accountability, institutional integrity and are not transparent. This is important because, if they were fully functional and high-performing, it would significantly improve most of our lives. Alas…

2. The City of Joburg handed contracts worth about R1 billion to companies owned by its staff and councillors for work at Rea Vaya - its Bus Rapid Transit system.

3. Last year, one hundred and thirteen municipalities operated with unfunded budgets. That’s 44% of the lot operating in a scenario where their budgeted expenditure exceeded their forecasted revenue. Ever see public infrastructure projects get started and take forever to get finished? Now you know.

4. In eighty-seven of the one hundred and thirteen infrastructure projects (77%) that the AG team visited for inspection, work on projects was delayed, it cost more than was planned and was of poor quality.

5. Municipalities spent almost R1 billion on consultants to prepare their financial statements. Yet, in almost half of the statements that the AG found had serious audit problems, the responsible municipality had outsourced this work to consultants.

Overkill? Alright, fine. I’ll stop. Also, maybe that was not the best turn of phrase, given that if there is a sector in society that will put your life at risk of fatal harm, it is local government.

I don’t use those nuggets to depress you. Rather, to shock you into action.

From even before the time I started writing my reflections on this platform, I have been suggesting to anyone who would listen that sitting on our laurels will not help us. No one is coming to save us. We must save ourselves, or we will be finished.

Last weekend, I wrote at length about how we can use our power, together, to drive the kind of change we want to see (and use the National Dialogue process to do so).

Compatriot, it is not only our civic duty to participate in the life of the country, but it is also directly in our interests for a very simple reason; you may not be interested in politics, but be assured – politics is very interested in you, whether you like it or not.

If you are not participating in discussions about the system, best believe that someone else is there talking about it and about you, and they are not advocating for your interests. Politicians and their parties are vehicles to fight for what you believe in, but your power doesn’t begin and end with them. Your power is continuous and goes where you direct it. I am suggesting that, right now, your power and your voice is needed in changing the local government system.

The White Paper on Local Government

I will make no assumption that you do or do not know what a “White Paper” is. If you do, bear with us. If you don’t, here it is: simply put, it is a government instrument that provides the overarching framework through which a sector or issue is to be addressed. Once it is developed, it is the document from which any legislation, policy or regulation the government will make or propose to make or change will flow.

As I said, government is reforming local government. I wrote about this process several months ago (you can find that edition here (insert link). To initiate this process, they are reviewing the White Paper, and the review process will influence any new changes that will come. Some of the changes will likely come before the next municipal elections. We, as abahlali, have our chance to influence that change. Today.

The deadline for our submissions is 30 June 2025, but why wait?

So, I’ve made it easy for you. Below is a very brief summary of the document (you can read the full 69-page document at the link below). When you’re done reading this edition, please go and complete the quick survey so we can submit these to the department for their incorporation into the process.

Summary of the Discussion Document:

The document asks us to think boldly, not just tweak the edges. First, it diagnoses that, despite dozens of reviews and reform initiatives over the past 20 years, the same issues persist:

• Service delivery failures are widespread.

• Municipal finances are in crisis, with households owing municipalities over R200 billion, and municipalities in turn owing billions to Eskom and water boards.

• Corruption, cadre deployment, and politicised administrations have undermined professionalism.

• Public trust has collapsed, leading to residents not paying their dues and sporadic protests.

• Oversight by the national and provincial governments is weak and fragmented.

• Traditional leadership is poorly integrated into municipal planning and governance.

• Climate change and digital transformation have changed the governance landscape, but municipalities are ill-equipped for them.

Then, we are asked to consider changes in the following nine interconnected priority areas;

· Municipal fiscal and financial reform (Financial Reform).

· Manipulative conduct, culture and behaviour, unethical practices and poor accountability (Political Culture and Depoliticisation).

· Overpoliticisation of municipalities (Political Culture and Depoliticisation).

· Poor relationships with citizens (Restore Public Trust and Community Relationships).

· Weak integration of traditional governance systems (Integrate Traditional Governance).

· Poor oversight over local government at national and provincial level (Strengthen Oversight and Supervision).

· Inability of spheres of government to meaningfully collaborate (Fix Intergovernmental Collaboration).

· Facing the climate governance revolution (Climate Governance and Resilience)

· Persistent spatial inequalities (Confront Spatial Inequality).

Our Required Action

We are required to send our inputs on what we think could be done to improve and reform municipalities. The Department asks you to write to them with your solutions (the details are in the discussion document) by the deadline. This is one way for you to participate, but there’s another, more convenient path.

Because I’ve realised that their approach causes friction, I’ve made it easier for you to play your part and created a survey.

1. The survey collates all the questions that we are asked to respond to and proposes solutions. It should take you about 5-10 minutes to complete.

2. You can select any or all of the solutions you agree with and even propose any that have not been covered.

3. Once done, input the biographical details that you are comfortable sharing (so the Department can tell you are a real person) and click submit.

4. Next, we will package these and send them to the department in time to meet the deadline.

5. Please share the survey with as many people as you know. Let’s work together to create the change we want to live in.

To complete our survey and contribute to the inputs, click here. Alternatively, copy and paste the following link in your web browser: https://forms.gle/9FMyqgJWjXKB23Xw5

If we do this well, our names could be counted amongst those who fought for and created better municipalities by our defiant commitment to a better future. There are one hundred and thirty-three of us in the Fighting For Better community. Imagine what we can achieve if we all participate and get others in our extended communities to do the same? We can make a big change. Let’s make magic.

Ready? Set? Go!

Alright, that’s it for today. Be back soon and, if no one else has told you, I love you.

SC

If you want to read the Discussion Document, you can find it by clicking here.

If you’re enjoying this content, you’re likely finding it valuable, and it meets your desires. If you’re already subscribed, thank you so much. If not, please subscribe and share in your community. Let’s build the country of our best dreams, together. And if you’ve ever shared with a loved one, bless you.

If you care about public leadership, good governance and enforcing accountability, and you have relevant insights, expertise, or just something to say, then write with us. Send submissions to: fightingforbetterza@gmail.com with subject: “Guest Edition” and your headline.

All voices will be considered, but final editorial discretion applies.