Cyril got the memo wrong

Municipalities get 10% of the national budget and must raise revenue from service users, most of whom are the working-class poor

- Siyabulela Mama

The ANC still hasn't got the memo about municipalities' failure.

Two years ago, my good friend Tony Martel and I coauthored an article headlined Follow the Money, published in Africa is a Country. That piece was written in response to an attack by the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber after we exposed the reality of “water racism” in an article published by the Daily Maverick. We argued that the problem in Nelson Mandela Bay — and indeed across South Africa — was not simply about mismanagement or corruption, but about the structural design of municipal finance itself.

Today, as the crisis of local government deepens, I am expanding on these arguments. They challenge Ramaphosa's shallow diagnosis of the municipal crisis.

The real debate we should be having is about the funding model of municipalities, the austerity policies imposed by the government and the commodification of basic services.

Here is the simple truth: municipalities receive only about 10% of the national budget. On top of this, they have to raise their own revenue by selling services — water, electricity, sanitation — to residents.

In a society like South Africa, where the majority are working class and unemployed, this setup is a recipe for disaster.

Wealthier suburban residents, who can afford to pay for municipal services, are prioritised.