Cyril Ramaphosa Launches White Paper After Admitting Local Government Is Broken, SA Not Impressed

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday launched the Revised White Paper on Local Government at the Birchwood Hotel in Ekurhuleni, offering what his office described as a comprehensive overhaul of a system he openly conceded is broken.

Speaking at the event on 22 October, Ramaphosa did not mince words about the scale of the problem.

We must therefore acknowledge, without qualification, that too many of our municipalities are failing to meet the needs and expectations of the people they are meant to serve.

The White Paper also moves away from a one-size-fits-all governance structure. Instead, responsibilities will be calibrated to what each municipality can realistically handle, with functions reassigned to other authorities where local capacity falls short.

Ramaphosa says political disputes