Merit-based appointments key to fixing failing municipalities, say Hlabisa

By Akani Nkuna

The Local Government Indaba (LGI) has called for merit-based appointments in municipalities to attract experienced professionals, strengthen administration, and ensure resources are used efficiently to deliver services to communities.

Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Velenkosi Hlabisa, told delegates at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand on Thursday that merit-driven appointments would “uproot complacency, increase accountability and inspire confidence within communities that municipalities have their interests at heart.”

Hlabisa said weak monitoring and enforcement mechanisms had created an environment where maladministration thrives unchecked.

He urged decisive action to confront the systemic challenges undermining municipalities.

“These themes converge around systemic and institutional roots of failure. The current system is not failing by accident; it produces these outcomes by design. Technocratic solutions alone are insufficient; we must address political, cultural, and operational factors,” he said.

The minister also called for stronger ethical values within local government to combat