Repairs to a burst water pipe on Prospecton Road, south of Durban. South Africa’s municipalities do not need more plans alone. Faiez Jacobs argues that local government reform must connect budgets, skills, infrastructure, accountability and coalition governance to deliver reliable services and measurable public value.
South Africa does not lack ambition for local government.
For almost three decades, we know municipalities are meant to be: democratic, developmental, inclusive, redistributive and transformative institutions capable of overcoming the spatial and social legacy of apartheid.
The mandate remains to: advance redress, reshape unjust Apartheid spatial patterns; bring poor communities closer to economic opportunity; provide basic services, support local development, deepen participation and build more integrated, safer,liveable communities.
That developmental mission remains and after almost 30 years of democratic local government, we now need to confront a more difficult question:
