National government has established a political oversight committee, jointly led by the deputy ministers of Finance and Cooperative Governance, to steer intervention efforts at Ditsobotla Local Municipality in the North West. Concurrently, eight municipalities in the Free State have been placed under administration invoking Section 139 of the Constitution.
Governance specialist Professor Sam Koma examined the constitutional provision and its real-world application. Professor Koma explained that Section 139 is generally triggered when provincial authorities identify severe governance breakdowns encompassing political, administrative, or financial failures. The provincial Member of the Executive Council responsible for local government then formally requests intervention.
Under this constitutional framework, provincial government may issue binding directives specifying corrective actions, or pursue the more severe option of dissolving the municipal council, which would necessitate by-elections. Professor Koma highlighted that from 2019 to 2020, roughly 14 of the North West province’s 24 municipalities were subjected to such provincial interventions.
Despite the constitutional authority granted, Professor Koma pointed to compelling empirical data—including Auditor-General reports and other official documentation—indicating that Section 139 interventions have largely failed to produce meaningful or sustainable improvements. “The evidence before us demonstrates that these interventions have not yielded tangible results,” Professor Koma noted, characterizing the provision as frequently operating as a “blunt instrument.”
Although Section 139 enables the appointment of an administrator with a defined mandate—typically a 12-month term, renewable under exceptional circumstances, backed by a structured turnaround plan—it does not automatically provide additional funding to municipalities facing insolvency. Professor Koma clarified that the National Treasury’s involvement centers on financial recovery protocols: strengthening revenue collection systems, enforcing sound financial management practices, and facilitating the placement of qualified personnel in critical municipal roles.
Illustrating the Treasury’s enforcement capacity, Professor Koma cited correspondence from Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero, which outlined urgent fiscal corrective measures and warned that non-compliance could lead to the suspension of equitable share grant allocations.
Administrators operating under Section 139 are required to submit regular progress reports to both provincial and national authorities while implementing recovery strategies. Their mandates are time-bound but may be extended if circumstances warrant.
Addressing longer-term solutions, Professor Koma referenced the draft White Paper on Local Government, recently published by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Velenkosini Hlabisa. Among its key proposals is the creation of a permanent, statutory Local Government Commission. This body would be tasked with strengthening institutional capacity across the local government sphere, promoting efficiency and responsiveness to community needs, and establishing an early-warning system to preempt crises—aiming to reduce reliance on reactive, ad-hoc interventions that have demonstrated limited effectiveness.