Statement by the City’s Executive Mayor, Patricia de Lille
Mayor calls for review of local government model following SONA
The City of Cape Town notes the comments on local government made by
President Zuma in last night’s State of the Nation Address. The President
correctly dealt with issues of capacity and governance that need to be
addressed in local government, as well as putting together an inter-ministerial
task team to address the bucket system. This is a much needed priority in
many areas across South Africa and one that was identified by former
President Mbeki for urgent national action more than a decade ago.
However, there have been numerous local government interventions at the
ministerial level before, also dealing with critical issues. For instance, we
submitted a range of legislative proposals to national government during
President Zuma’s last term of office with the promise that these would be
considered for legislative changes to unlock service delivery. These have yet
to materialise.
More importantly, while capacity and governance issues are critical, the
foundational issue is in fact a structural one: the model of how local
government is funded needs to be urgently reviewed. At present, local
governments rely on static or dwindling rates bases, some grants from
national government, and electricity mark-ups to sustain themselves.
What this means is that, especially in the case of smaller municipalities, costs
are being transferred onto the consumer by authorities that are battling to
make ends meet. At the level of larger metros, national government has
changed the division of revenue formula to favour rural municipalities in the
belief that metros can more easily make up for the loss of funding. This means
that metros also have to push costs onto the consumer.
The model is not sustainable. This means that, nationally, local governments
are moving year to year to try and meet immediate requirements without
thinking about their long-term needs, especially in the face of urbanisation.
Indeed, President Zuma acknowledged the pace of urbanisation and the
need to meet this challenge. This challenge cannot be met with the same
approach to old problems. If you plan the same way, you get the same
results. I for one would welcome a task-team, of ministers and mayors, which
considered the model of local government and what urgent changes are
required to be recommended to parliament.