Review launched into overhaul of local government: ‘Funding model must be changed’ - Minister Hlabisa
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa launches a review to fix failing municipalities and rebuild local governance.
- South African Local Government Association (SALGA)
- Municipal wages
- Good Morning Cape Town with Lester Kiewit
Minister of Cooperative Governance Velenkosini Hlabisa briefed the media on 18 December 2024. Picture: GCIS
CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit is joined by Velenkosini Hlabisa, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
Listen below:
Hlabisa has kicked off a major review of the 1998 White Paper on Local Government, calling on all South Africans to help reshape the future of local governance.
Under the theme 'Every Municipality Must Work – A Call to Collective Action', Hlabisa says the current system is outdated and failing to meet the needs of communities.
The review aims to create a more responsive, efficient, and accountable local government model to tackle problems like poor governance, financial mismanagement, and poor service delivery.
So, would streamlining municipalities be a better way forward, asks Kiewit, pondering whether the country needs 257 separate municipalities.
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"257 municipalities may not be too many as long as they are all fit for purpose."
- Velenkosini Hlabisa, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
Hlabisa says if South Africans want a municipality that can deliver services, the first question to ask is, 'Is our municipality fit for purpose?'
"If the answer is 'yes'... the funding model must be given consideration because the current ratio, in which municipalities collect 90% and the government comes with 10%, is not working."
- Velenkosini Hlabisa, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
"The funding model is one that must be changed, not necessarily reviewed."
- Velenkosini Hlabisa, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
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Why not simply amalgamate neighbouring municipalities if it makes geographical sense and assists with service delivery, asks Kiewit.
"In my statement, I said, amalgamation for the sake of amalgamation is not going to be the solution, but amalgamation in a case where municipalities are not able to serve the community... it is a way we must go, but this is left to the public."
- Velenkosini Hlabisa, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.