South Africa’s worsening municipal dysfunction may, at least in part, be mitigated through stronger professional accountability in local government, says the Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa (Imesa).
This would include requiring professionals responsible for key infrastructure and service delivery functions to be formally registered with recognised professional bodies, Imesa said.
It argues that professional registration could strengthen accountability in municipalities facing persistent infrastructure failures, water disruptions, collapsing roads and electricity challenges. It said professionals bound by statutory bodies are subject to ethical standards and disciplinary processes, which could improve responsibility and consequence management in local government.
The comments come as municipalities continue to struggle with deteriorating infrastructure, financial pressures and institutional weaknesses that have contributed to widespread service delivery failures across the country.
They also come as government moves through the final stages of reviewing the 1998 White Paper on Local Government, a policy framework intended to improve municipal governance and service delivery. The revised draft is expected to proceed through cabinet processes and further consultation ahead of implementation.
The review has placed renewed focus on how municipalities are structured and how decision-making authority is distributed between administrative and technical functions, particularly in relation to infrastructure delivery.
Imesa has raised concerns that limited technical input in the drafting process risks weakening the practical implementation of reforms aimed at addressing long-standing municipal performance challenges.
Imesa president Geoff Tooley said infrastructure delivery cannot be separated from institutional design and decision-making structures within municipalities.
“Infrastructure management is not only about building; it is also about maintenance, budgeting and long-term planning,” Tooley said in an interview with Business Day.
He said the organisation’s concern extends to whether senior municipal officials across disciplines are sufficiently accountable to professional bodies that enforce ethical and technical standards.
“If you have a person who is professionally registered, there is a professional body governing them,” he said. “There is a code of conduct that applies to them. If it is proved I acted unethically, I can lose my professional status.”
He said this creates an additional layer of accountability beyond internal municipal systems. “At the moment, we’ve got legislation applying to local government, but not the professional requirement.”
Imesa pointed to historical changes in municipal governance, noting that before the 1998 White Paper, people in senior municipal roles such as town clerks, city engineers and city treasurers were typically required to be professionally registered, aligning technical and financial competence with senior decision-making structures.
Under current legislation, including the Municipal Systems Act and Municipal Finance Management Act, professional registration is no longer required for many senior municipal leadership positions.
The organisation also raised broader concerns about skills shortages and staffing imbalances in municipalities, including limited technical capacity relative to administrative functions. It said this continues to affect service delivery, particularly in infrastructure-dependent systems.
Tooley said professional accountability would not resolve governance failures on its own, but would strengthen oversight. “I’m not saying it will solve everything completely, but you are accountable to two bodies: the municipality and your professional body.”
Despite its concerns, Imesa said it supports wider reform efforts aimed at improving municipal performance and basic service delivery.
“We need municipalities that ensure rivers are not polluted with sewage, roads are maintained, waste is properly managed, clean water comes from taps and electricity systems function properly,” Tooley said.
Business Day
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