Madibeng Municipality has been classified as a “distressed”, or dysfunctional, municipality according to a recent parliamentary response by Velenkosini Hlabisa, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA).
The minister responded to a question posed to him by the DA’s Anna Maria Van Zyl. Van Zyl asked for a list of municipalities classified as distressed, the level of distress and what measures will be taken by the department to assist these municipalities. Madibeng Municipality was listed under the 66 municipalities in distress.
“These municipalities were classified as distressed municipalities. The focus of the assessment was based on key areas of performance, namely: Political and Governance, Institutional Capability, Financial Management and Service Delivery. The SoLG Report was approved by Cabinet in 2021/22 financial year. “However another municipal performance assessment was conducted and finalised in 2023. The State of Local Government Report will be presented to Cabinet during October 2024,” the minister said.
“Generally, municipalities that are classified as distressed fail all the pillars of sustainability as aforesaid namely political instability and infighting, unfunded budgets, lack or inadequate allocation of repairs and maintenance budgets, usage of grants for operational expenses, increasing indigency leading to lack of payment of services resulting in low revenue collection, poor planning and maladministration.”