A study by SA’s statutory policy-orientated research agency, which found there was a lack of planning, crisis management and accountability in municipalities, has called for “bold political leadership” to beef up local government to deliver on its constitutional mandate of providing basic services to communities.
The Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) study, conducted between 2019 and 2021 across eight municipalities, gives policymakers insights and a better understanding of municipal officials’ capacity constraints and the support they require to do their jobs efficiently. The municipalities were Nelson Mandela Bay, Mangaung, Fezile Dabi, Elias Motsoaledi, Ba-Phalaborwa, Bojanala, Ngaka Modiri Molema and Makana.
Though the report breaks little new ground and broadly confirms the shambolic state of local government in the provision of services and in their finances — as outlined year after year in the auditor-general’s reports — it underscores the deep structural problems facing new councillors after the local government elections.
Presenting the findings of the study on Thursday, Prof Modimowabarwa Kanyane, a researcher with the HSRC — which is known for large-scale surveys that inform policy direction in the country — said SA has experienced “unprecedented” municipal service delivery protests over the years due to the inadequate provision of basic services. He referenced a 2015 government report that stated that more than 78% of municipalities failed to perform their mandated functions.
“There is a need to reimagine a comprehensive skills development model for local government that is benchmarked locally and globally against clear talent management practices,” he said, adding that the tender system needs to be reformed to eliminate corruption in the supply chain.
Kanyane pointed out that municipalities in rural areas are the most inefficient in service delivery. The councils also carry the “heaviest backlog” in revenue collection and attracting competent officials. He said political killings undermine the functionality of municipalities.
Bold leadership
HSRC chief research specialist Joleen Steyn-Kotze said the study found workers in local government can easily get away with poor performance while the broader leadership fails to plan ahead as it continuously tries to manage crises.
Other councils are dogged by political interference, with lines between administrative and political spheres often blurred.
“We need a bold, political leadership ... and strong municipal managers to capacitate and stabilise [the] administration,” said Steyn-Kotze.
The government needs to enable and “insist” on strong control and regulatory environments and implement “swift consequence management for failures and accountability”.
Some of SA’s municipalities that have often raised the ire of the auditor-general have been run into the ground because of incompetence, maladministration, looting and corruption, while others are struggling to pay salaries and employment benefits or deliver basic services such as refuse collection, potable water and sanitation.
The failures at local government have spurred the ANC to implement strict criteria for mayoral candidates, who are interviewed by the party’s top leadership to ascertain whether they possess the qualifications and skills they need and whether they are equal to the task of running the councils.
Delivering his medium-term budget policy statement last week, finance minister Enoch Godongwana said the country’s 257 municipalities, which are at the coalface of service delivery, will receive an allocation of more than R450bn from the fiscus over the 2022 medium-term expenditure framework.
Audits
Godongwana, who disclosed that 43 municipalities are in a financial crisis, with another 100 at risk of similar crises, said the government’s immediate task is to build a capable local government that delivers services effectively and efficiently.
Auditor-general Tsakani Maluleke told parliament in June that during 2019/2020 the number of clean municipal audits dropped from 33 to 27, while fruitless and wasteful expenditure amounted to R3.47bn, a big part of which was the loss of billions of rand because of interest and penalties. Irregular expenditure amounted to R26bn, with supply chain management a big contributor.
Update: November 18 2021
This story has been updated with additional information.
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