SOUTH AFRICA’S 5 WORST MUNICIPALITIES

Municipalities around the country are in crisis. National government has declared that 136 out of 284 municipalities are unable to fulfil their basic functions.

A major problem facing many municipalities is the small revenue base in the poorer areas. This is largely a structural problem that cannot be blamed on councillors and municipal officials. However, all efforts to overcome this stumbling block are being undermined by three key factors that are wholly avoidable: corruption, financial mismanagement and the appointment of senior officials solely on the basis of political connectivity and/or employment equity considerations. Municipal Managers tend to be under qualified, overpaid and consequently do not perform.

This Democratic Alliance discussion document analyses the state of local government based on these criteria and uses five case studies to illustrate how corruption, nepotism and financial mismanagement are undermining ANC municipalities' capacity to deliver.

The information for this report was sourced from government reports, answers to parliamentary questions, discussions with local DA activists and councillors and numerous secondary sources. This list is not intended as a definitive catalogue of failed municipalities and we acknowledge that the approach is not 'scientific'.

Nevertheless, we hope that the document feeds into the public debate on the lack of service delivery and contributes to greater public awareness of the underlying factors that prevent municipalities from delivering services.

Download full document (South Africa’s 5 worst Municipalities.doc)