Opinion| Local Government reforms depend on good governance to succeed – how that can be achieved

By Modjadji Seabi and Paul Smith

There are three very important developments that are reshaping local government over the short, medium, and long term. The first is the implementation of Operation Vulindlela II, the economic reforms programme led by National Treasury and the Presidency, which has the reform of local government as one of its key pillars.

This is referred to as Priority 5 in the Operation Vulindlela II: Strengthen local government and improve the delivery of basic services.  

The second development is the legislative reform with the review of the Local Government White Paper, which is aimed at resetting the local government systems to enhance governance, service delivery, infrastructure management, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and financial standings of municipalities.

The third event is the local government elections, now set to take place on November 4 this year.

Taken together these three developments offer South Africa an opportunity to