ANC local government plan 'will collapse without GNU partners'

LOCAL government experts have warned that the ANC's plans to strengthen service delivery in municipalities faces an uphill battle without the involvement of other Government of National Unity (GNU) parties.

"It cannot be a single party effort; the other political parties that are part of the governmental machinery will have to be drawn in, as the challenges experienced in local government are being faced by the South African populace in general," said Professor Purshottama Sivanarain Reddy,  a local government specialist at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

His remarks come after the ANC, which controls only one metro out of the country’s eight, announced new plans to deal with service delivery at its National Executive Committee (NEC) Lekgotla gathering in Boksburg at the weekend.

Speaking on the opening day of the Lekgotla, President Cyril Ramaphosa, said the party was committed to local governance as they gear up for the 2026 local government elections.  

Ramaphosa echoed the same sentiments in his closing address on Sunday, saying the new emphasis on strengthening local government forms part of the Local Government Service Delivery Action Plan.

Reddy said that poor service delivery, especially at the local government level,  was due to the unresponsive and often arrogant public servants across this sphere of government.

"Much of this has to do with poor delivery of basic services, more specifically water, electricity, and housing, and municipal functionaries who are arrogant and non-responsive. Over the years, there have been many government interventions at the local level, but there has been limited success to date," Reddy said.

Miyelani Holeni, chief adviser at Ntiyiso Consulting Group, welcomed Ramaphosa's commitment, highlighting the continuity from the President's January 8 statement, which emphasised the urgent need to rectify local government issues.

“This is not new. He also said it last year. The repetition matters because it signals that the problem is no longer about intent but about execution.”

Reflecting on their extensive engagements with over 50 municipalities over the past two decades, Holeni pointed out a critical flaw in the system: the absence of a constructed capability to effectively manage and deliver services.

“South Africa keeps trying to recover a system that never built capability in the first place. There is no recovery without capability. The government often speaks about recovery and sustainability. Those are valid goals, but they sit at the top of a hierarchy, not the bottom," he noted.

Cape Times