Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa has revealed plans for his department to directly implement infrastructure projects on behalf of municipalities that consistently fail to spend their allocated grants, in a bid to prevent billions from being returned unspent to the National Treasury.
Speaking in a wide-ranging interview, Minister Hlabisa highlighted the severe governance and financial pressures facing South Africa’s eight metropolitan municipalities, which house 62% of the country’s population and contribute 23% to its GDP. He warned that persistent service delivery failures — including water shortages, deteriorating infrastructure, and sewage running in the streets — risk driving businesses away and damaging the national economy.
The minister emphasised the importance of stability in metros, noting that frequent leadership changes disrupt administration and harm both communities and economic activity. He specifically addressed the situation in the City of Johannesburg, where the current mayor is reported to be at least the seventh or eighth in just four years. Minister Hlabisa defended allowing the mayor to remain in office for the remaining six months of the current term, arguing that he inherited a collapsed system and has shown willingness to engage and accept support. He stressed that constant changes in leadership only exacerbate problems, and stability is needed to properly assess performance.
On the critical issue of unspent funds, Minister Hlabisa pointed to worrying figures: in the 2024 fiscal year, only R12.3 billion (29.1%) of R44 billion in direct conditional grants was spent by municipalities. He identified capacity constraints as a major problem, noting that municipalities often return Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) allocations because they lack the ability to plan and execute projects effectively.
To address this, the minister announced concrete measures:
- CoGTA will now implement projects directly on behalf of struggling municipalities using MISA (Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent), an entity under the department with sufficient engineering and technical manpower.
- Legislative changes have been made to remove the previous requirement for municipalities to voluntarily agree to such interventions, preventing last-minute requests when it is too late to act.
- Funds may be transferred to better-performing district municipalities or even efficiently run smaller local municipalities to deliver services in areas lacking capacity.
- The department will actively engage the private sector, with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) already on board, to help implement capital projects and ensure allocated money is spent rather than returned to Treasury.
Minister Hlabisa identified the recruitment of incompetent or improperly qualified employees — often due to politicisation rather than merit — as a core obstacle to effective municipal performance. He said his department is intensifying the professionalisation of local government staff, insisting that appointments must be based on competency.
He further called on political parties to deploy competent individuals as mayors, speakers, and members of key oversight structures such as finance committees and Mayoral Executive Committees (MPECs). Competent political office-bearers, he argued, would ensure tenders are issued on time, projects start promptly, and monthly expenditure reports are properly monitored to prevent funds from being lost.
The minister acknowledged deep-rooted challenges, including allegations of political interference in tender processes and corruption, as highlighted in the ongoing Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. He described the extent of corruption revealed in the commission as “explosive” and said it could extend to other municipalities. He called for strong consequence management, urging the President to implement the commission’s recommendations firmly to send a clear message.
Regarding the recent summons of National Police Commissioner Fannie Masimola to appear in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court, Minister Hlabisa said one must await full details of the matter, noting that the police spokesperson had indicated the commissioner had played a role in introducing consequence management.
Minister Hlabisa concluded by stressing that without urgent interventions in governance, capacity, and accountability, municipalities will continue to fail the communities they serve, with unspent funds ultimately robbing citizens of much-needed services.
