Hlabisa laments lack of solutions to local govt crisis
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velinkosini Hlabisa has framed the review of the White Paper on local government as an opportunity to create functional municipalities that are fit for purpose.
Hlabisa spoke in Midrand on Monday, where he led deliberations with political parties on the review.
He urged political parties to participate in the review, as they have a critical role to play in shaping local government.
"I look forward to hearing your thoughts on how we can improve the White Paper on local government. Local government is where policies become service delivery, where promises become infrastructure, and governance becomes tangible,” Hlabisa said.
Last month, the Auditor General told Parliament that the state of local government remained dire and required political intervention.
The audit outcomes for local government for the 2023/24 financial year saw 41 of the country’s 257 municipalities obtain clean audits.
Among the metros, the City of Cape Town is the only municipality that received a clean audit again, while the City of Ekurhuleni, the City of Johannesburg, and eThekwini Metro received unqualified findings.
"The public is under the opinion that the majority of municipalities are not doing well, and it is true,” Hlabisa said.
“The municipalities that are doing well are overshadowed by the municipalities that are not doing well. Year after year, the audit outcomes show that few municipalities get a clean bill.
“There is heavy reliance on consultancy for the compilation of the annual financial statements, yet many municipalities end up with bad results in audit outcomes to the extent of disclaimers,” Hlabisa said, adding that he believes the ongoing crisis in local government is historical, systematic, and infrastructural.
Political parties have until the end of June to submit their suggestions.
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