Municipalities struggling with MFMA compliance as vacancies, supply chain failures persist

By Thebe Mabanga

South Africa’s municipalities are struggling to comply with the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), with vacancies in senior positions and failures to implement supply chain management policies remaining key challenges, while the balance of frittered public funds continues to rise as municipalities opt for write-offs instead of recoveries.

These are among the findings contained in the MFMA compliance report for the 2024/25 financial year, released by the National Treasury on Wednesday.

Treasury, together with provincial treasuries, is responsible for enforcing the Act.

The compliance report is based on information submitted by municipalities through Treasury’s electronic platform, Muni eMonitor, and the Audit Action Plan, and covers the period from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.

Treasury said the submission rate from municipalities improved to a national average of 88%, although the quality and credibility of the data submitted remained a concern.

Treasury found that 127 municipalities, or