Cyril Ramaphosa launches White Paper after admitting local government is broken: SA not impressed

President Cyril Ramaphosa launched a revised white paper on local government, calling it a “bold reset” of a failing system that has left millions without reliable services.

The white paper, drafted under Cogta Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa, replaces the 1998 framework and proposes legislative, institutional and financial reforms.

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday heralded the revised white paper on local government as a “bold reset” of a system that has left millions of South Africans without reliable services.

He noted that for too long, municipalities have focused on constructing new infrastructure while neglecting the assets on which communities depend. Ramaphosa said too many communities had grown accustomed to unreliable services, deteriorating infrastructure and unresponsive municipal administrations.

This cannot continue.

In his foreword, inscribed in the monograph, Hlabisa said his department approached the research on a new model with the necessary “candour” to rebuild public trust. The white paper sets a direction towards “renewing the whole local government system”, he added. It comes at a time when municipalities owe Eskom more than R120 billion, with many also in arrears to water boards by billions.