Fix local government chaos before voters head to polls

2026-03-19 - 05:20

You have to have some sympathy for Velenkosini Hlabisa, who is minister of one of our most misnamed departments, that of cooperative governance and traditional affairs. He is, effectively, the man overseeing local government and the fractious nature of that tier of government makes the term “cooperative governance” deeply ironic. Our metros and towns across the country are, with few notable exceptions, imploding in slow-motion before our eyes as politicians fight tooth and nail to get some advantage, or get closer to the troughs of ratepayer and government money so they can eat. We are, therefore, hopeful that the Municipal Structures Amendment Bill which Hlabisa and his department are working on will be finalised soon and, hopefully, passed before the local government elections. These are scheduled for some time later this year and it is imperative that the amended legislation is passed not only by parliament, but also approved by civil society before then. This is because the new law will set in place sensible rules which will cut down on the chaos we have seen in municipal government over the past few years. Its main change will require that political parties must obtain a minimum of 1% of the votes to be entitled to representation on a municipal council. This is intended to remove the situation where parties with minimal support end up with influence out of all proportion to their size, especially when it comes to being “kingmakers” in hung councils. In addition, the Bill seeks to tighten up on the current free-for-all when it comes to motions of no confidence, which are used willy-nilly to get rid of people, and which greatly contribute to instability in councils... which is, in turn, a major cause of service delivery failures and corruption. Local government cannot go on in the same chaotic way. Order must be restored.