Staff Reporter
The Johannesburg Community Action Network (CAN) has said that South Africa’s review of the White Paper on Local Government risks becoming another slow reform process unless government urgently opens up municipal decision-making and gives the proposed reform body real powers to enforce change.
The warning comes as failing municipal services, unstable coalitions, weak oversight and financial distress have become central political issues ahead of the 4 November local government elections.
JoburgCAN managing director Julia Fish welcomed the review, saying it offered an important and honest assessment of the governance failures, political instability, poor public participation and financial problems that have pushed many municipalities into crisis.
But she said the real test would be whether government was prepared to make council decisions, procurement, service delivery plans, budget implementation and performance reporting far more transparent and enforceable.
“Residents cannot be expected to trust a system they are locked out of,” Fish said.
“Public participation cannot be reduced to box-ticking meetings, ward committee politics or reports that communities only see after decisions have already been made. If local government is going to be rebuilt, then the work of government must be opened up.”
The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has gazetted the Reviewed Draft White Paper on Local Government, which proposes reforms aimed at improving governance, accountability, financial sustainability and service delivery.
Fish said many of the tools needed to stabilise municipalities already existed under the Municipal Systems Act and Municipal Finance Management Act, but were not being properly used.
“South Africa does not have a policy problem. It has an implementation problem. Many of the rules needed to stabilise municipalities already exist, but they are ignored, delayed or selectively enforced,” she said.
JoburgCAN said the proposed 65 changes in the White Paper should not become another drawn-out administrative exercise.
“The 2027 to 2031 timeline is already too slow for municipalities that are in crisis now. It is also a best-case scenario. In the current political environment, where reforms can be delayed through Parliament, provincial legislatures and municipal councils, there is no guarantee that this timeline will hold,” Fish said.
She said the proposed Transition Management Body, expected to oversee the process, must be given legislative powers, strict deadlines and authority to guide the overhaul through Parliament, provincial legislatures and municipal councils.
“This body cannot be a symbolic committee that merely tracks progress. It must be empowered to guide, unblock and enforce the reform process. Without real authority, the overhaul of local government will remain a policy ambition rather than a practical reality,” Fish said.
The warning follows repeated findings by the Auditor-General that many municipalities continue to struggle with poor financial controls, weak accountability and inadequate oversight. In the 2023/24 municipal audit outcomes, only 41 municipalities achieved clean audits.
JoburgCAN said the reform process should also recognise managed precincts, Central Improvement Districts, Special Rating Areas and other community-backed models that have emerged in response to urban decay and failing municipal systems.
“Managed precincts are among the most visible and practical responses to urban decay in Johannesburg and other metros. Where they work, the difference is clear. Streets are cleaner, public spaces are better managed, security is improved and local investment is protected,” Fish said.
“Government should not view these models as a threat. They should be embraced, encouraged and properly enabled through clear legislation, fair rules and transparent partnership frameworks. Communities willing to invest in improving their areas should be treated as partners in rebuilding local government.”
JoburgCAN said these models did not remove the constitutional duty of municipalities to deliver services, but could help communities and businesses support maintenance, cleanliness, safety and local economic activity where municipal systems had failed.
“The best model to increase revenue in any municipality is to grow the rates base. Nodes of economic activity and prosperity help deliver economic growth,” Fish said.
Fish also warned against policy approaches that penalise residents and businesses that have gone off grid because municipal services have become unreliable.
“If municipalities want to protect their revenue base, they must restore trust by providing reliable, affordable and accountable services,” she said.
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