The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) is set to embark on a nationwide day of action on Thursday, with municipal workers expected to march to the National Treasury in Tshwane to highlight what it describes as a deepening crisis in local government and the water sector.

In a statement by the union’s secretariat, the march will begin at the Old Putco Depot in Marabastad, Tshwane, before proceeding to the National Treasury offices, with the recipients of its memorandum including the departments of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and Water and Sanitation, as well as the South African Local Government Association (SALGA).

“This march is a call to defend workers, defend collective bargaining, defend public services and rebuild local government and the water sector in the interests of communities. Workers have waited long enough and as resolved by our 13th National Congress, we will organise; we

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Municipalities that have had their equitable share withheld by National Treasury will need to address unfunded budgets, put in place a payment plan to key creditors and show how they will reduce wasteful expenditure.

This is according to the National Treasury, which briefed the media on Wednesday after announcing that 69 municipalities have had R13, 5 billion of equitable share for July suspended due to failure to comply with the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).

The withheld amount represents about 12% of R110 billion on total equitable share allocation.

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The municipalities include the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), which has had about R 3,5 billion withheld. The CoJ’s situation is particularly precarious as the city is said to have between five and 17 days cash flow cover.

Of particular concern for the city is

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Johannesburg is starting a new financial year with a multibillion-rand budget that’s not fully funded, potentially deepening a crisis that’s already left it unable to pay for power and fuel supplies.

South Africa’s biggest city is facing an unfunded budget gap of about R2.1 billion ($128 million) for the year starting July 1, according to a framework seen by Bloomberg News.

The National Treasury attributed the shortfall to city revenue projections that appear overstated relative to audited results, according to the document.

The metro forecasts an overall budget deficit of R7 billion for this fiscal year.

The Treasury advised city authorities to narrow the gap by improving revenue collection and rationalising the 6-kiloliter free water allowance for non-indigent households.

It also recommended resolving affordability concerns over the second phase of a personnel finance agreement, which requires a binding decision by the city council before the final budget

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The City of Johannesburg’s worsening financial crisis has reached a point where the national government must intervene to prevent further economic and service delivery collapse, civil society organisations have warned, arguing that the metro can no longer be relied upon to rescue or run itself.

The call comes after Johannesburg’s council spent much of its final sitting of the 2025/26 municipal financial year rushing through National Treasury-required documents in an effort to safeguard billions of rand in national funding, while continuing to grapple with a R2.1 billion unfunded budget gap, mounting debt, deteriorating infrastructure and a controversial R10.3 billion wage agreement.

The Joburg Crisis Alliance, WaterCAN and JoburgCAN said the administrative measures adopted by the council failed to address the city’s deeper structural failures.

“Without national intervention this city, which contributes 16% to the country’s nominal GDP, will continue to deteriorate and erode the value it creates

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Democratic Alliance Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille has said a DA-led administration would seek an urgent Treasury-backed rescue plan for the embattled city.

Addressing residents at a community meeting hosted by the Melville Residents Association on Tuesday night, Zille said South Africa’s economic hub could still be rebuilt, but added that restoring its finances, infrastructure and governance would require intervention from national institutions, the private sector, and international funders.

Eskom said last month that the city and City Power already owed it R5.255 billion in arrears, excluding a further R1.582 billion current account payment due on 5 June.

Zille said the city’s financial position was far worse than official figures suggested.

“Joburg’s debt is currently 65% of its revenue. And it should never be more than 45% of its revenue. That’s where we are now. And that tells you how shocking the state is,” she said.

She

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Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson has asked National Treasury to advise on an independent investigation into a roughly R70 million lease agreement concluded by the Property Management Trading Entity (PMTE) for a Pretoria building that was never occupied.

The Department of Public Works & Infrastructure said on Sunday that Macpherson had requested Treasury’s “directives, guidance and/or requirements” on instituting an independent probe into the procurement process and implementation of the lease for 146 Lunnon Road in Pretoria.

The lease was concluded in March 2023 by the PMTE for the then Department of Public Enterprises at a cost of R69,574,607.77 over five years, despite President Cyril Ramaphosa having already announced that the department would be reconfigured and closed.

The agreement was never enforced because occupation did not take place, the department said.

A preliminary report by the department’s Anti-Corruption and Fraud Awareness Unit found that

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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

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The Water Community Action Network (CAN) said on Wednesday that it was “alarmed” by a report that municipalities returned R1 billion in unspent Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant funding to National Treasury over the past five years.

According to a report in Business Day, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana confirmed in response to a parliamentary question that municipalities had returned the money.

The grant is meant to develop, refurbish, upgrade and replace ageing bulk water and sanitation infrastructure.

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 “South Africans are repeatedly told there is not enough money to fix water and sanitation infrastructure. Yet here we have R1 billion that could not be spent by municipalities while communities are living through a water and sanitation crisis. That is not just poor administration. It is a betrayal,” said WaterCAN Executive Manager, Dr Ferrial Adam.

“This money was meant to reach

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