The National Treasury has withheld transfers to dozens of municipalities a month after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana notified his Cooperative Governance and Traditional counterpart Velenkosini Hlabisa of his intention to do so.
The National Treasury on Tuesday announced the withholding of the July 2026 equitable share transfers to 69 municipalities across the nine provinces due to their failure to comply with financial regulations.
The Treasury said the exercise was aimed at instilling fiscal discipline and ensuring that public money is properly managed, that unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure (UIFWE) is addressed and that municipal officials and office-bearers are held accountable where required by law.
“The decision follows persistent and serious non-compliance with the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) and its supporting regulations, despite support provided by the National Treasury through guidance, engagement, and formal or informal communication,” it said in a statement.
This comes a month after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana informed his Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs counterpart, Velenkosini Hlabisa, that he intended to withhold millions of rand in grants to several municipalities for their failure to settle billions in debt.
