By Bhekizenzo Zonele
Deputy Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Namane Dickson Masemola has called for stronger accountability, improved service delivery and good governance in municipalities ahead of the November 4 local government elections.
Masemola made the call on Monday while delivering a keynote address on behalf of Deputy President Paul Mashatile at the eighth Social Justice Summit hosted by Stellenbosch University in the Western Cape.
He said the elections presented an opportunity to strengthen local government and restore public confidence in municipalities, adding that newly elected councils must prioritise community needs.
“The true measure of success, however, will not be the election results themselves. It will be the ability of newly elected councils to govern effectively, deliver services and restore public trust,” Masemola said.
His remarks come amid persistent municipal challenges, including financial distress, corruption, weak governance and limited institutional capacity.
Masemola warned that these failures had serious consequences for residents, particularly vulnerable communities affected by unreliable water and electricity supplies, deteriorating infrastructure, delayed housing projects and limited economic opportunities.
He called for stronger cooperation between national, provincial and local government to ensure that development projects were adequately funded, implemented and monitored.
Through the District Development Model, government aims to coordinate planning and resources across the country’s 44 districts and eight metropolitan municipalities under the principle of One District, One Plan, One Budget.
Masemola said all district and metropolitan areas had developed integrated plans, but their success would depend on tangible improvements in people’s lives rather than the number of plans produced.
“As we prepare for a new local government term, these reforms must move from policy to implementation,” he said.
United Nations resident coordinator in South Africa Nelson Muffuh echoed the concerns, saying the country continued to struggle to translate policies into meaningful improvements for communities.
“Yet our analysis tells us something sobering and important: the persistent challenge is the gap between policy and implementation,” Muffuh said.
He said government performance should be measured by actual service delivery, including whether communities had reliable access to water and other basic services.
Stellenbosch University’s Centre for Social Justice director, Professor Thuli Madonsela, also highlighted the link between good governance and development, warning that poor administration undermined communities and municipal economic growth.
“Bad governance is not only bad for the people, it’s also bad for the development and economic advancement of a municipality or country,” Madonsela said.
Masemola urged government institutions to improve financial management, prioritise infrastructure maintenance and ensure that public resources translated into better living conditions.
He said restoring public trust in municipalities would require capable leadership, effective administration and measurable improvements in service delivery beyond the election period.
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