ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has hailed his party’s improvements on the local government front, saying an action plan to claw back municipal support is in motion.
Established in September last year, Mbalula said the local government intervention plan means that government has undertaken a fundamental reorientation from reactive administration to targeted evidence-based intervention at local municipality level.
He explained that this was informed by the ANC’s 10-point action plan of local government. “This shift reflects a deeper understanding that the crisis in local government cannot be resolved through fragmented responses but requires co-ordinated multi-sphere intervention supported by political oversight and technical capacity.”
The 10-point action plan is said to have identified eight cabinet-prioritised municipalities that have been placed under structured turnaround programmes.
Each is reported to be supported by municipal service improvement plans with clear targets, timelines and monitoring systems.
“These interventions have already stabilised governance in six of the municipalities, restoring administrative functionality and refocusing operations on core services such as water, electricity, roads and sanitation.
“This work has been reinforced through the establishment of service delivery war rooms across all nine provinces that have resolved more than 320 high-priority service delivery incidents. These interventions have enabled the state to respond with urgency and co-ordination, ensuring that crises are addressed in real time and service delivery is stabilised where it is most at risk.”
He referenced Knysna as an example of the results of their co-ordinated action, saying that their intervention efforts averted a potential “day zero” through the deployment of 122 emergency water collection points.
“This stands as a clear demonstration of what co-ordinated state action can achieve,” he said.
Regarding core service delivery, Mbalula promised that every ANC-led municipality was implementing ward-level turnaround plans with defined minimum response standards, ensuring that the delivery of water, sanitation, electricity, roads, refuse removal and housing was structured, measurable and accountable.
“In municipalities such as Enoch Mgijima, all ward committees are now fully operational, supported by structured oversight systems, while the installation of 15,000 smart meters has generated a R35m revenue improvement in a single month and enabled full utilisation of infrastructure grants.
“In electricity provision, the implementation of the load-reduction elimination programme represents one of the most significant interventions in recent years, with load reduction already eliminated in the Northern and Western Cape and progressively reduced across all remaining provinces.”
Mbalula reported that more than 140 feeders had been restored, supported by the installation of more than 380,000 smart meters, including 190,000 in load-reduction areas, enabling targeted enforcement and protection of compliant households from blanket interruptions.
“Micro-grid solutions have been introduced, in areas such as Everton and Madimbo, while structured engagement with communities across multiple provinces have resulted in the halting of load reduction in affected areas, demonstrating the effectiveness of combining technical solutions with direct community engagement.”
On transportation and infrastructure, Mbalula said there was implementation across all spheres of government through co-ordinated investment. “Sanral has rehabilitated approximately 3,200km of national roads, provinces have upgrade 5,800km of provincial roads and municipalities have improved more than 12,000km of local roads.”
The secretary-general said these upgrades would restore connectivity and enable economic activity.
“On water and sanitation, interventions have been intensified through direct operational support by the department of water and sanitation which has deployed technical teams to municipalities experiencing severe service delivery challenges.”
He named Johannesburg as one of the ailing municipalities troubled by the dry tap scourge.
“These interventions are focused on restoring functionality in wastewater treatment works, repairing pump stations, reducing leakages and strengthening bulk supply systems while improving operational capacity within municipalities.”
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