SALGA calls for complete overhaul of local government funding model

The South African Local Government Authority (SALGA) has called for a complete restructuring of municipal funding models, highlighting that municipalities deliver nearly half of all public services but receive only 10% of national fiscal resources.

This bold call for transformation comes on the heels of the ANC establishing a "war room" at its recent National Executive Committee (NEC) Lekgotla in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, to prioritise local governance and address the persistent challenges that plague municipalities nationwide.

With local government elections looming, this strategic initiative underscores the ANC's commitment to improving service delivery and tackling the systemic issues that have long hampered sustainable progress in communities.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, speaking at the NEC gathering, emphasised the importance of enabling residents to report service delivery failures and corruption.

According to Ramaphosa, this mechanism facilitates accountability and swift action by the relevant authorities. The war room, expected to operate under the Office of Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, aims to hold public representatives accountable for meeting local governance standards.

The party further indicated that this "war room" will also tackle the current water challenges that dominated news headlines and service delivery protests in parts of the country, such as KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

Reacting to these bold plans from the ANC, SALGA spokesperson Motalatale Modiba called on all political parties represented in local government to prioritise improving services at the local level of service delivery.

Modiba noted that struggling communities want nothing less than reliable, affordable, effective, and efficient delivery in their localities.

"Unfunded mandates and duplicated reporting burdens must be eliminated so that municipalities can focus on service delivery rather than red tape. In SALGA’s view, fixing local government requires bold policy changes – including updating laws, strengthening municipal capacity, and securing adequate funding – all grounded in the principle that local government is a distinct, co-equal sphere of government closest to the people," Modiba stated. 

Modiba further revealed that the lack of funding is central to the challenges faced by communities across the board, adding that to fix this anomaly, there has to be an overhaul of the funding model currently used.

"Firstly, the funding model for local government must be overhauled. Currently, municipalities deliver nearly half of all public services but receive only about 10% of national fiscal resources – an imbalance that leaves a massive funding gap," he added.

Modiba said that chronic and unreliable funding prevalent in the current structure affects the delivery of quality services, adding that the current one-size-fits-all approach does not address systemic challenges in communities.

"This chronic underfunding undermines service delivery, forcing municipalities to rely on local revenue sources that many communities simply cannot afford. SALGA calls for a significant increase in the equitable share to local government so that municipalities have the resources to provide water, electricity, sanitation, and other basics effectively.

"Secondly, SALGA advocates a differentiated approach in addressing local government challenges. One-size-fits-all solutions have failed; instead, oversight and support should be tailored to each municipality’s capacity and context," he stated.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za