The National Treasury has confirmed it will release all outstanding equitable share payments to municipalities by the end of the week, reversing its earlier decision to withhold funding from non-compliant councils. At the same time, the government is tightening measures to recover billions of rand in municipal debt, placing departments under stricter obligations to settle their accounts. What does this policy shift mean for municipal finances, service delivery and accountability? Alex van den Heever from the Wits School of Governance spoke to Business Day TV about the implications and whether the latest intervention will strengthen or further strain South Africa’s struggling local government system.