President Cyril Ramaphosa has called time on politically motivated appointments and factional battles that cripple municipalities, warning that South Africans will no longer tolerate failing services because of political interference and unstable local administrations.

Speaking at the launch of the Revised White Paper on Local Government in Ekurhuleni on Thursday, Ramaphosa said municipalities need competent administrators, ethical political leadership and effective oversight to restore public confidence in the local government system.

The revised policy proposes major changes to how municipalities operate, with professionalisation, stronger financial controls and improved community participation among its key priorities.

“We need councils that lead with integrity, provide effective oversight and put residents ahead of factional or personal interests. We need administrations led and staffed by people appointed for their competence and commitment to public service,” Ramaphosa said.

The president said the reforms have become necessary because too many municipalities fail to meet the needs and expectations of the communities they serve.

Politicised appointments fuel corruption

Ramaphosa acknowledged that some problems confronting municipalities stem from weaknesses in the original design of the democratic local government system, including insufficient attention to institutional capacity and the risks of politicised appointments.

When the democratic government established the new local government system, it sought to integrate communities that apartheid spatial planning and unequal access to resources had deliberately divided.

However, the president said government underestimated the importance of developing a new generation of engineers, town planners and municipal managers to support the system.

“We underestimated how politicised appointments would open the door to corruption, malfeasance and a lack of accountability,” he said.

The revised policy seeks to address these weaknesses by strengthening municipal administrations and clarifying the respective responsibilities of political leaders and professional officials.

Ramaphosa said political leaders need to respect the lawful responsibilities of administrators, while municipal officials must face accountability for their performance and conduct.

Public resources must receive responsible management, procurement processes must have protection from manipulation and officials must face consequences when they neglect their duties.

“There must be consequences when public resources are stolen, procurement is manipulated or public duties are neglected,” he said.

The president stressed that accountability needs fair and consistent application, regardless of an individual’s political standing or personal connections.

The proposed reforms aim to strengthen the administrative foundations of municipalities while ensuring elected representatives fulfil their oversight responsibilities.

Service delivery failures affect dignity

Ramaphosa said the relationship between municipalities and residents ultimately depends on the quality of services people receive in their daily lives.

For many South Africans, the performance of government is measured by whether water flows from their taps, streetlights work, roads are safe and refuse gets collected.

“When these services work, people experience the promise of democracy. When they fail, it is not merely an inconvenience. It affects people’s health, their livelihoods, their safety and their dignity,” the president said.

He said persistent service delivery failures also undermine confidence in government and weaken public faith in democratic institutions.

Too many communities have grown accustomed to unreliable services, deteriorating infrastructure and unresponsive municipal administrations, Ramaphosa said.

The revised policy seeks to make municipal administrations more responsive to residents and ensure that complaints result in action.

“Participation cannot be reduced to meetings where people speak but nothing changes. Trust will not be restored by speeches. It will be restored when a reported fault is fixed promptly, when a resident receives an honest response to a complaint, and when municipal leaders account openly for their decisions,” he said.

Municipalities owe Eskom more than R120 billion

The president raised concerns about the financial position of municipalities, saying unsustainable finances and poor infrastructure maintenance undermine their ability to deliver essential services.

Municipalities owe Eskom more than R120 billion, while many also have arrears to water boards.

The revised policy proposes stronger financial management, improved revenue collection, reduced losses and spending that delivers value to communities.

Ramaphosa said municipalities need to use revenue from essential services responsibly, particularly as ageing infrastructure continues to deteriorate.

“Revenues from the sale of electricity and water will be ring-fenced and used to maintain infrastructure before anything else,” he said.

The proposed measure aims to ensure that money generated through water and electricity services gets prioritised for maintaining the infrastructure required to sustain those services.

The president warned that municipalities cannot continue neglecting existing infrastructure while investing in new projects.

“We cannot build our way out of failure if we do not maintain what we have already built,” he said.

He said residents who can afford to pay for municipal services should contribute, but municipalities have a responsibility to demonstrate that public money receives proper use.

The approach seeks to strengthen the link between financial accountability and service delivery, ensuring municipal resources go towards the needs of communities.

Implementation starts immediately

Cabinet has endorsed a phased implementation approach supported by a time-bound Local Government Transition Management Body, with coordinated leadership from the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Presidency and National Treasury.

A single Local Government Transition Plan will identify the changes required, the institutions responsible for implementing them, the sequence of actions and how progress will be measured.

Some proposals will require legislative changes, new financing arrangements, additional institutional capabilities and potentially constitutional amendments.

The president said the reforms will require consultation and disciplined implementation, but government needs to begin the work without delay.

The Revised White Paper proposes a differentiated approach to municipal powers and functions, recognising that municipalities have different levels of institutional capacity, financial resources and ability to deliver services.

Under the proposed model, responsibilities would align with municipal capability, with some functions potentially delivered at regional level or assigned elsewhere where a municipality cannot perform them effectively.

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The president’s call for greater accountability comes less than two weeks before the Local Government Elections scheduled for 4 November.

He urged registered voters to participate in the elections, while reminding political parties and candidates that their responsibility to communities must take precedence over political competition once they assume office.

Ramaphosa thanked Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa and the institutions, researchers, practitioners and citizens who contributed to the policy review.

“A capable state must deliver where people live, work and raise their children. A developmental state must improve their quality of life. A democratic state must earn and keep the trust of its people,” he said.

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