Parliament, Thursday, 8 October 2026 – The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs on Thursday pressed the Department of Cooperative Governance (DCoG) on the impact of its support to struggling municipalities and whether its reported performance adequately measures improvements.
The committee was briefed by DCoG, the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) and the Department of Traditional Affairs on their annual reports for the 2025/26 financial year.
The committee noted that the department achieved 86% of its annual performance targets and received an unqualified audit opinion with findings. While Members welcomed pockets of improvement, they expressed concern about continued failures in water and sanitation services and poor municipal accountability, among other issues. They questioned how the department’s reported performance could be assessed against the conditions experienced by residents.
The Chairperson of the committee, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said the issue was whether the targets the department sets for itself address the problems its municipal support programmes were intended to solve. “How does the support translate to an improvement?” he asked. Dr Mkhize said the committee would return to the effectiveness of Programme 2, which covers local government operations and support, and examine when an intervention should be regarded as successful.
The committee was informed that the department supported 38 distressed municipalities during the period. However, it missed a target relating to the spending of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG). The target was for 80% of municipalities receiving the grant to spend at least 60% of their allocations by 31 March 2026. Only 70.9% of municipalities reached that threshold. Members heard that factors including delays in procurement, litigation about projects and poor contractor performance contributed to the department’s underperformance.
Members also wanted to know why the department missed its target to support six priority municipalities in implementing audit action plans. They were told that the identified municipalities did not sufficiently take up the support offered by the department. Members asked what steps had followed that refusal and how municipal officials would be held accountable for unresolved audit findings.
Water and sanitation challenges dominated the discussion, with Members describing prolonged water shortages, ageing infrastructure, sewage problems and inadequate facilities in informal settlements. Members also pressed DCoG on delays in revising the disaster management system and on the assistance available to households after fires or floods. The department said it had agreed on an institutional model with the Department of Defence, but still needed to resolve financing questions raised by National Treasury before submitting it to Cabinet.
Responding to the broader concern, the Director-General of the department, Mr Mbulelo Tshangana, acknowledged that national departments did not coordinate their support to municipalities well enough. Dr Mkhize said this raised a question of accountability across the spheres of government, including whether earlier support and intervention could prevent failures from reaching the point where National Treasury considers withholding transfers under section 216 of the Constitution.
Following a briefing by MISA, the committee further questioned whether MISA’s technical support to municipalities is improving their ability to spend infrastructure grants and complete projects that deliver basic services. MISA told Members it monitors MIG performance jointly with the Department of Cooperative Governance and National Treasury, and that challenges are addressed through these structures.
Members heard that MISA supported 55 MIG-receiving municipalities with basic service infrastructure during 2025/26. A Member cited MISA’s annual report in questioning the continued low MIG spending of 39 municipalities despite technical support. The Member asked MISA to identify the municipalities, indicate which had received repeated assistance, and show whether spending and project completion had improved. MISA undertook to provide those details.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON COOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL AFFAIRS, DR ZWELI MKHIZE.
For media enquiries, please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Alicestine October (Ms)
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E-mail: aoctober@parliament.gov.za
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