More than half of KZN municipalities at risk

Report unpacks challenges including poor governance

- THAMI MAGUBANE

ONLY 19 of the 54 municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal are stable while 28 are deemed “at risk” and seven are “in distress”, according to a report looking into the state of municipalities in the province.

The report was tabled during a meeting between the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) and municipalities held in Durban on Monday.

Top government officials stated that if a municipality is unstable, it affects service delivery to communities, something that should be avoided. The provincial treasury has indicated that it has experts ready to be deployed to any struggling municipalities. The report, titled Back to Basics, examined the state of local government between last year and March this year and was finalised in May this year. It is part of Cogta's ongoing work to monitor the performance of municipalities by undertaking a comprehensive analysis of their state.

This includes identifying common and specific challenges impacting the stability and functionality of municipalities in delivering services to communities. The assessment outlined the process for this evaluation, stating that key performance indicators were allocated a weighting, and points were assigned according to the actual performance against these indicators.

The KZN assessment revealed the following findings in terms of categorising municipalities:

19 municipalities were found to be “stable” and require normal monitoring;

28 municipalities were categorised as “at risk” and require close monitoring and Section 154 support;

Seven municipalities were categorised as “in distress” and require high-priority, hands-on targeted intervention.