Parliament, Saturday, 18 July 2026 – A joint meeting of four oversight committees on Friday called on National Treasury and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) to protect service delivery, especially for the indigent, amid corrective efforts in poorly performing municipalities.
The Portfolio Committee on COGTA and the Standing Committees on Public Accounts, Finance and Appropriations received a briefing from the two departments, the Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC) and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) on the withholding of equitable shares from selected municipalities.
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on COGTA, Dr Zweli Mkhize, said that the committees’ immediate concern is the protection of communities. “The strong message from the committees is that we will act without reservation where the executive fails to act in accordance with the law to protect service delivery and takes steps that put the public in jeopardy,” he said.
The committee cautioned against a situation in which the residents of affected municipalities bear the consequences of failures committed by municipalities. Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Mr Mkhacani Maswanganyi, told the joint meeting that while it is necessary to act against persistent financial misconduct and non-compliance, national and provincial governments must fulfil their support and intervention responsibilities as provided for in section 154 of the Constitution.
“The stopping of transfers may create pressure for compliance, but it is not, in itself, a municipal recovery strategy,” he said. “It cannot replace the constitutional responsibility of national and provincial governments to support and strengthen the capacity of municipalities to manage their own affairs, exercise their powers and perform their functions.”
The committees further acknowledged that a uniform approach cannot be applied to all municipalities as some distressed municipalities face structural and systemic constraints beyond their control. Among these constraints are government departments owing municipalities for services rendered.
Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), Mr Songezo Zibi, asked for a list of all national and provincial government departments as well as public entities that have failed to meet their payment obligations to municipalities. Members heard that, by the end of March this year, the 69 affected municipalities were owed R217.8 billion by households, businesses and organs of state, among others. Just over 5% (R11.6 billion) is owed by government departments to municipalities.
“Parliament must hold those departments and entities accountable so that municipalities receive the money owed to them and can deliver services to South Africans,” said Mr Zibi. He also asked that MECs responsible for cooperative governance, the provincial portfolio committees on cooperative governance and the provincial public accounts committees provide the joint committees with their municipal oversight and accountability programmes. “We should not need to convene a meeting of this nature if those structures are performing their responsibilities properly,” he said.
The committees further emphasised that culpability must be apportioned to the officials and office-bearers who caused or permitted municipal financial failures. They noted that no responsible official should be protected at the expense of communities and that national and provincial leadership must act decisively when disciplinary, civil recovery or criminal action is appropriate.
Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Appropriations, Mr Mmusi Maimane, stressed that we cannot only rely on fiscal interventions, such as withholding funding, to improve governance in municipalities. “We need more capable local government administrations. We must confront governance failures in local government,” he said, adding that this includes addressing concerns of political deployment. “When there are poor players on a football field, we cannot suddenly conclude that the referee is the problem. We need more capable local government administrations,” he said.
The committees acknowledged that poor political and administrative leadership is a key driver of municipal dysfunction. They urged political parties to prioritise competence and integrity when selecting candidates for the next local government elections, as the calibre of councillors and municipal leadership would determine whether municipalities could reverse the dysfunction, corruption and maladministration.
The committees further reaffirmed that the constitutional powers of the National Treasury to intervene in cases of persistent breaches were not in question, but how that power is exercised must be lawful, transparent and not disadvantage communities. They directed that an urgent meeting be convened by the FFC, Treasury and COGTA to address the legal interpretation issues relating to the Section 216(2) intervention.
The parties must submit a report within seven days addressing the legal concerns raised before the committees. The report must also outline a proposed way forward that safeguards both parliamentary oversight and service delivery.
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