Service Issue 85

S
local governance
Municipal support and intervention:
insights into the current state of local
government in South Africa
Takeouts of address made by Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Thembisile Nkadimeng, at the
end of 2023.
I
In the past year, we have witnessed a truly commendable
transformation within our municipalities. The latest evaluation
of local governance, in the form of the State of Local Government
Report, reflects a substantial improvement in the overall condition of
municipalities nationwide.
Reflecting on the years before, 2021 painted a varied picture: 64
municipalities were categorised as dysfunctional, 111 at medium
risk, 66 at low risk, and 16 deemed stable. However, in the most
recent assessment for 2022, there’s reason for optimism. While
there has been a marginal increase in the number of dysfunctional
municipalities to 66, the truly remarkable aspect lies in the positive
transformation observed across the other categories.
The number of medium-risk municipalities has slightly
decreased to 107, reflecting focused efforts towards improvement.
Collaborative effort will strengthen our collective
ability to address the intricacies of
local governance.
20 | Service magazine