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The South African Municipal Workers’ Union said it was seriously concerned about the state of local councils with 89% facing “distress or dysfunction.”
SAMWU was commenting on a Parliamentary reply from Minister Maropene Ramokgopa, responsible for Monitoring, Planning, and Evaluation in the Presidency, to questions in the National Assembly.
Union spokesperson, Papike Mohale, said the Minister’s reply revealed that 229 local councils, or 89.1% of the 257 municipalities were currently facing distress or dysfunction.
“Among these, 163 (63%) are distressed, while another 66 (25.6%) are dysfunctional,” he said.
Mohale said this “revelation paints a bleak picture for municipalities, which are entrusted with delivering essential services to residents”.
He said SAMWU has previously called for increased intervention in municipalities to prevent their collapse, as many are already displaying signs of institutional breakdown.
“These signs include delayed salary payments to workers, tardy payments to third parties, and a failure to fulfill their constitutional duties towards residents.”
Mohale said for SAMWU, this revelation demands immediate action, saying they expect comprehensive solutions to this crisis.
“As observed, many municipal challenges are financial in nature, stemming from inadequate funding and financial mismanagement. SAMWU consistently calls for a re-evaluation of the municipal funding model as one method to address these financial challenges,” he said.
The municipal union said it was prepared to collaborate with COGTA and SALGA to develop enduring solutions that can salvage what remains of the country's municipalities,” Mohale said.
“As municipal workers, we have a vested interest in seeing municipalities capable of delivering high-quality services to residents we want to see municipal workers getting paid their salaries on time.”
