The key to fixing South Africa’s troubled municipalities is to appoint officials who are capable and know their job, says Cogta Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa, as public comment for the overhaul of local government gets into full swing.
It’s been almost a year since Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader Velenkosini Hlabisa became Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), and he says he is happy with pipelines being put in place to fix South Africa’s crumbling local government.
Hlabisa spoke to Daily Maverick about local government, audits and the importance of political parties appointing capable people to lead municipalities, especially as the country headed towards the 2026 local government elections.
Hlabisa was appointed to the Cabinet by President Cyril Ramaphosa after his party joined the Government of National Unity (GNU).
His mandate, as explained to Daily Maverick earlier this year, was to fix local government, an arena that has been fraught with frustrated residents battling with limited water supply, crumbling infrastructure and coalition politics which hamper service delivery.
