CoGTA Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa Vows to Revitalize Troubled Municipalities

Newly appointed Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa has vowed an aggressive approach to amend the functioning of struggling municipalities across South Africa, emphasizing the need for robust interventions in areas hindered by financial and governance turmoil.

During his Parliamentary Budget Vote Speech, Min. Hlabisa declared the seventh administration's determination to rectify underperforming municipalities, specifically citing the eThekwini Metro, notorious for its troubling service delivery, governance, and institutional drawbacks. Hlabisa's commitment to this turnaround extends to five particular municipalities identified as severely impaired—Ditsobotla, Kopanong, Mafube, Emfuleni, and Thabazimbi—where residents have suffered from interrupted services, unpaid municipal staff, insurmountable debts, and expensive legal disputes.

This action falls within a broader Cooperative Governance strategy boasting a substantial R395.7 billion budget allocation, with a substantial majority earmarked for municipality and affiliation transfers. These transfers are designed to cover various critical areas, including local government equitable shares, disaster relief efforts, and municipal infrastructure grants, all imperative for sustaining and upgrading essential public services.

The Minister also emphasized the critical role of the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) to aid 22 struggling municipalities. He noted the challenges of funding infrastructure, exacerbated by limited borrowing capacity and reduced national government transfers amid fiscal constraints.

On the traditional leadership front, Hlabisa signaled his backing, particularly for the Khoi-San community, highlighting the importance of supporting these custodians of cultural heritage. The budget allocated to Traditional Affairs, although slightly reduced from the previous year, focuses on addressing the uneven support for traditional leaders and respects the recognized institutions.

As part of the ministry’s strategic priorities, Min. Hlabisa underlined the critical importance of collaboration across Parliament, government departments, municipalities, traditional leaders, and civil society to ensure responsible expenditure of taxpayer money and the actualization of beneficial public infrastructure.

Positioning this initiative quite firmly in the public's interest, he called for heightened government integration for meticulous planning, budgeting, implementation, and monitoring. By the end of the current administration’s tenure, Minister Hlabisa aspires to have considerably mitigated the fragmentation evident in these processes.

In the lead-up to the 2026 Local Government Elections, Minister Hlabisa's speech concluded with a reminder of the government's commitment to the electorate, stressing the urgency to deliver on the promises of effective and meaningful service delivery.