The White Paper must do more than fix municipalities. It must rethink them.

• What if South Africa’s local government crisis isn’t just about failing municipalities, but a system that was flawed from the start?

• This incisive analysis explores bold solutions, uncomfortable truths, and the difficult questions politicians have long avoided.

• Behind the paywall, discover what real local government reform could look like and why it matters to every South African.

By Jonathan Erasmus

South Africa has spent nearly three decades trying to make a local government system work that, in many respects, was never suited to the vastly different communities it was designed to serve.

Cabinet’s approval of the Revised White Paper on Local Government in September is therefore an important development, because it acknowledges what has become increasingly obvious: our municipalities are failing fast, and the system itself needs massive reform.

What we need here is radical thinking, not a paper fix. The question then becomes is the government capable and willing