The South African Local Government Association (Salga) has expressed hopes that President Cyril Ramaphosa will address municipal debt recovery, local government funding and the energy crisis as part of his State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on February 9.   

This year's SoNA takes place as South Africa struggles to deal with a significant energy crisis and a rising cost of living.  

Salga said on February 8 that local government is confronted with a variety of complex issues, such as the growing debt owed to municipalities, which directly affects municipal revenue sources, and is made worse by the weak economy, which causes unemployment and rising poverty levels. 

According to the most recent data, businesses, government entities and households owe municipalities a total of R290-billion for the services they received from municipalities. 

Municipalities generate revenue in part from fees from municipal service charges, which are used to run and maintain services like reliable water supply, sanitation, energy and refuse services. 

In July last year, Salga launched its ‘Asisho! Let's Say It!’ national citizen responsibility campaign, which emphasises citizens, businesses and households contributing to the social and economic development of their communities by paying for municipal services rendered. 

Salga said municipalities were working to improve their municipal debt recovery mechanisms in accordance with the campaign. As such, Salga called on all spheres of government to join forces in the ongoing effort to build a financially viable local government system that will increase the quantity and quality of service delivery. 

“None of these challenges are insurmountable if all three spheres of government work together towards a common objective,” Salga said. 

ENERGY 

To relieve pressure on Eskom and ensure energy security, Salga said it was promoting the acceleration of the energy transition on behalf of its member municipalities, including legislative changes that would allow municipalities to produce their own electricity and buy electricity from independent power producers (IPPs). 

“Considering the imperatives of a just transition, the potential negative impact of the just energy transition on certain localities and communities should also be considered in our ambitious actions for an environmentally sustainable economy,” Salga said. 

The organisation called on Ramaphosa to provide a status update on the introduction of renewable energy IPPs in the country’s energy sector, as well as plans to end loadshedding, which has had a negative effect on municipalities, consumers and small businesses. 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING 

The White Paper on the local government funding model envisaged that local government, in addition to its own revenue, would have access to an equitable share of nationally raised revenue. However, municipalities currently receive 9.8% of nationally raised revenue under South Africa's local government funding and revenue framework, which Salga said could be significantly improved. 

“The revenue-sharing mechanism, specifically the Local Government Equitable Share Grant, is insufficient and hinders the sector's ability to carry out its constitutional obligations, including providing basic services to indigent households,” Salga said. 

In the context of declining property rates and tariffs revenues and increasing expenditure on bulk service costs, the organisation said that local government was operating in an unsteady environment and required more financial support if it was to address social and economic challenges. 

MUNICIPALITIES IN COOPERATIVE GOVERNMENT 

The placement of municipalities in the cooperative government system has emphasised the significance of cooperating to create coherent oversight in support of local government. 

In this regard, Section 154(1) of the Constitution says national government and provincial government, by legislative and other measures, must support and strengthen the capacity of municipalities to manage their own affairs, to exercise their powers and to perform their functions. 

Therefore, Salga has called for greater collaboration between the three spheres of government to enhance government planning, decision-making and service provision.  

COALITION GOVERNMENT TURMOIL 

Salga said it supported a regulatory framework for coalition governments that was sustainable and could inspire public confidence in the democratic system. Seeing that coalitions were becoming a permanent feature of local government democracy, in November 2021, Salga collaborated with members of executive councils and tertiary institutions to develop a framework for coalition governments. 

The purpose of the framework was to determine the parameters within which coalition partners could practice their coalition politics. Without a framework to guide political parties in structuring and managing coalitions, political parties and independent councillors are required to establish coalitions while being uncertain about the rules, which results in coalitions being unstable or short-lived.  

Salga said that this continues to be a common problem, which Ramaphosa should address. 

SAFETY AND SECURITY OF MUNICIPAL COUNCILLORS AND OFFICIALS 

Salga said it remained “gravely concerned” by the increasing number of incidents of intimidation and killing of councillors and municipal officials. The killing of municipal leaders and officials, including the destruction to their property, harms the functionality and stability of municipalities.  

“Any attack on local government representatives is a serious threat to democracy. Such incidents should never be allowed to become part of the regular hazards of working for local government,” Salga emphasised, calling the rise in violent threats to government officials a national crisis. 

Salga brought up this issue at a National Council of Provinces meeting in November last year and recommended that the South African Special Risk Association insurance be expanded to cover senior municipal officials. 

The organisation also called for improved synergies with the South African Police Service to ensure that there was a more direct and coordinated effort by the police to act on charges and complaints of violence and acts of intimidation.  

Salga said that it would like Ramaphosa to make this issue a national priority.  

DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT MODEL 

The District Development Model, which Salga expected Ramaphosa to address, calls for all three spheres of government to coordinate and integrate development plans and budgets, as well as to mobilise the capacity and resources of government and civil society, including business, labour and the community, to achieve inclusive growth and job creation. 

Salga said it hoped for a SoNA that would reflect the bold policy shifts needed to increase the capacity of local governments.