President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared the “days of patronage and factional politics” in local government over, unveiling a massive R1-trillion infrastructure plan and a fundamental restructuring of how South Africa’s municipalities operate.
Addressing the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) “Taking Parliament to the People” event in the North West on Friday, the president used the platform to pivot from grief over recent disasters to a hardline stance on municipal corruption.
He warned that the government would no longer tolerate the deliberate “ruining” of infrastructure by officials looking to steer contracts to preferred private companies.
“The days of those with political ambition colluding with corrupt businesspeople to loot municipalities are over. We can no longer allow municipal infrastructure to be deliberately ruined so that preferred private companies can take over critical functions like providing water,” Ramaphosa stated.
The R1-trillion ‘engine room’
Ramaphosa framed local government as the “axis on which our entire economy turns”, announcing that municipalities will be the primary enablers of a three-year, R1-trillion investment drive.
This capital is earmarked for energy, water, logistics and IT infrastructure to attract investment and create jobs.
However, Ramaphosa admitted that merely increasing budgets would be akin to “papering over the cracks”.
To support this investment, he introduced a revised draft White Paper on Local Government, which proposes four radical shifts, including the removal of overlapping powers that allow municipalities to blame each other for failures.
He added a goal to make it a legal requirement for different spheres of government to work together rather than operate in silos.
The draft also proposes tightening municipal billing and enforcing a “stricter account” for infrastructure maintenance spending.
“Municipalities will be held to stricter account on how and where they spend public money, particularly on maintaining essential infrastructure,” he said.
Lastly, the draft prioritises the digitalisation of municipal services to better monitor service delivery.
A tribute to flood victims
Before diving into policy, the president paid tribute to those killed in the recent storms and flooding across several provinces. He noted that the tragedy serves as a stark reminder of the need for climate-resilient infrastructure, which is a core pillar of his new municipal strategy.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost their loved ones… This natural disaster is a stark reminder of how vulnerable we are as a country and as a continent to the forces of nature and to the growing impacts of climate change,” Ramaphosa said.
Professionalising the front line
A key takeaway from the president’s address was the move to professionalise municipal appointments.
Ramaphosa insisted that citizens are “tired of being passed over for opportunities in favour of those with political connections”.
“The people of South Africa want to see councils fixing potholes and delivering water, not fighting over who gets one or another tender,” he said.
“This is the people’s government. Our task is to make it work for the people. Not for politicians…connected businesspeople…[and] vested interests.”
The president urged all South Africans to participate in the ongoing consultation on the White Paper, describing the upcoming reforms as the only way to restore confidence and trust in the state’s ability to deliver basic services such as water, electricity, and safe roads.
