LUCKY MATHEBULA | South Africa’s municipalities face ‘mother of all reforms’

Local government in South Africa stands at a pivotal moment in its democratic journey as the country heads towards municipal elections this year.

The government is undertaking a review of the 1998 white paper on local government, which was arguably the most significant reform process since the dawn of democracy. The key question is whether the assumptions that shaped the current system still hold.

Local government is the sphere closest to the people, the daily expression of the state’s successes and shortcomings. Yet, over nearly three decades, the terrain has shifted dramatically, while policy assumptions have remained largely static.

The 1998 white paper was conceived in a post-apartheid context that imagined the transformation of municipalities as both achievable and urgent. It sought to dismantle the segregationist municipal ordinances that had cemented spatial injustice for decades.

In 1994 the political landscape was infused with optimism, reconciliation and the belief that a bold redesign of government could address deep-rooted inequalities.

The 1998 white paper reflected this, grounding its vision in the newly adopted 1996 constitution and the hope that local government would be a vehicle for liberation, justice, and service delivery.

If done poorly or ignored altogether, the consequences will continue to be felt on every street, in every neighbourhood and in every business.

But no policy crafted in that context could have anticipated the full complexity of governing a modern, urbanising, economically strained and politically (and socially) fragmented society.

The drafters were designing a system for a country in transition, where policy ambition necessarily outpaced institutional capacity.

At the time of conceptualising the system, South Africa had 857 fragmented municipal jurisdictions, many of which were designed under apartheid’s spatial logic. Reducing these to 257 municipalities and establishing 4,488 wards constituted one of the most dramatic governance architecture restructurings in our history.

The creation of wall-to-wall municipal coverage meant every household, community and business, whether in dense cities or the vast landscapes of the Kruger National Park, fell under some form of municipal authority. This was an extraordinary achievement but also an enormously complex one.

The promise embedded in this system was that municipalities would operate as distinct yet interdependent spheres of government. They were to be capable, accountable and responsive institutions empowered to deliver water, electricity, sanitation, roads and other essential services. For a time, the system held. But over the years, the cracks have widened and today they are impossible to ignore.

Three decades of lived experience reveal that several foundational assumptions of the 1998 white paper did not anticipate the structural shifts that define today’s South Africa. The rise of coalition governments, now a recurring and arguably permanent feature of South African local government, was unthinkable to the drafters. The idea that a single municipality, Johannesburg, could cycle through multiple mayors from different political parties within one term would have been dismissed as an unlikely anomaly. Yet it is now our reality in governance.

South Africa deserves a local government system that matches the complexity of its people, its economy, and its aspirations

Similarly, the assumption that property rates would provide a stable municipal revenue base overlooked vast areas of land under traditional leadership and the rapid expansion of informal settlements. As urbanisation accelerated, municipalities assumed growing responsibilities without a corresponding increase in ratepayer income, resulting in a default illiquid institutional revenue. Service delivery obligations linked to the Bill of Rights expanded, while the state’s and taxpayers’ economic capacity did not keep pace.

The current review process therefore represents more than a policy update; it is the mother of all reform initiatives. It forces the nation to confront difficult but necessary questions:

• What must a functional, financially sustainable municipality look like?
• How do we depoliticise and professionalise the administration, modernise governance and rebuild trust in local government institutions?

Businesses, too, have a stake in this review. Firms operate within municipal boundaries; they experience the consequences of dysfunctional governance in real time. Water shortages, unreliable electricity, deteriorating roads and burdensome regulations directly impact investment decisions and economic growth. For the private sector, engaging in this review is not a favour to the state; it is a strategic imperative.

South Africa deserves a local government system that matches the complexity of its people, its economy, and its aspirations. The review of the white paper offers a rare opportunity to update outdated assumptions, learn from three decades of successes and failures, and chart a new path for municipalities.

If done well, it could revitalise communities, restore public confidence and unlock the country’s developmental potential. If done poorly or ignored altogether, the consequences will continue to be felt on every street, in every neighbourhood and in every business.

• Mathebula is founder of The Thinc Foundation, a think-tank based at the Da Vinci Institute