Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa: SALGA National Members Assembly

THEME: Empowering municipalities to drive South Africa’s growth agenda through economic resilience and sustainable service delivery

Programme Director,
His Excellency, the Deputy President of South Africa
Ministers and Deputy Ministers
President of SALGA, Cllr. Bheke Stofile
Members of the National Executive Committee
The Executive Mayor of eThekwini
Executive Mayors, Speakers, and Councillors
Senior managers from the provincial and national governments
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Good morning

It is an honour to address this Assembly at a defining moment for local government and our democracy. The SALGA National Members Assembly is not merely a statutory gathering; it is a strategic platform for shaping the future of municipalities, the sphere of government closest to our people. 

This Assembly convenes as South Africa prepares for the 2026 Local Government Elections and as SALGA approaches its 30-year milestone of organised local government. These are moments of reflection and renewal that demand honesty, courage, and decisive action.

Over the past three decades, local government has been the frontline of service delivery and development. We acknowledge the progress made: access to clean water has improved from 85% to 88.5%, sanitation from 68.9% to 80.7%, and electricity access now stands at 94.3% nationally. These gains are the result of dedicated councillors, municipal managers, engineers, planners, and frontline workers who serve under challenging conditions. 

We salute your commitment and professionalism. Yet, these numbers mask persistent challenges. Service quality remains uneven; infrastructure is ageing and under-maintained; skills shortages and financial distress undermine performance; and Auditor-General reports show that only 41 municipalities achieved clean audits in 2023/24, while over 100 operate with unfunded budgets. Youth unemployment exceeds 50%, and poverty remains widespread. These realities demand urgent reform to restore functionality and public trust.

The National Assembly’s commencement coincided with the launch of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children. We must also confront a new and urgent reality: Gender-Based Violence and Femicide have been classified as a national disaster. This was immediately following our classification of GBVF as a national disaster, a process that will enable all-in-government cooperation to fight this crisis, as directed by the President of our country. This is not only a social crisis; it is a governance imperative. 

Municipalities must integrate GBVF prevention and response into Integrated Development Plans and disaster risk strategies. This means creating safe public spaces, supporting shelters, partnering with NGOs, and driving community-based prevention programmes. Local government cannot be a bystander in this fight; it must be a proactive agent of protection and empowerment. We call upon SALGA to ensure that this initiative is realised and that our women and children feel safe in the areas where they live.

South Africa’s successful hosting of the historic G20 Leadership Summit was not only a diplomatic triumph; it was a strategic signal to the world that our nation is ready to lead on inclusive development, climate adaptation, and digital transformation. The Summit’s working groups on infrastructure investment, climate resilience, and digital economy provide a roadmap that municipalities can localise. Local government is not a spectator in globalisation; it is the launchpad for its solutions. By aligning Integrated Development Plans with G20 priorities, municipalities can attract green financing, leverage technology partnerships, and position themselves as hubs for innovation and investment. The District Development Model must serve as the bridge between global commitments and local implementation, ensuring that every community benefits from the opportunities unlocked by South Africa’s global leadership.

As the custodian of cooperative governance, CoGTA is driving a comprehensive renewal of local government anchored on policy and legislative reform, institutional modernisation, and professionalisation. The review of the White Paper on Local Government is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redesign the developmental local government model for the 21st century. This review is not a mere academic exercise; it is a practical blueprint to address structural weaknesses, including fragmented planning, weak financial controls, political instability, and inadequate technical capacity. 

We are driving the process to be concluded by March 2026. We are introducing the Coalitions Bill to stabilise governance in municipalities plagued by political volatility, because instability in councils directly translates into service delivery failures and erodes investor confidence. The Municipal Systems Amendment Act strengthens professionalisation by separating politics from administration and enforcing accountability. 

The General Laws Amendment Bill embeds climate resilience and governance coherence, while the Intergovernmental Monitoring and Support Bill enables early detection and intervention in distressed municipalities. These reforms collectively represent the most significant overhaul of local government since 1994.

Institutional modernisation is equally critical. Through the District Development Model, we are institutionalising integrated planning and implementation across all spheres of government. This “One Plan, One Budget, One Approach” framework eliminates duplication and fragmentation, ensuring coherence and efficiency. We are prioritising digital transformation because a modern municipality must be data-driven, transparent, and efficient. Digital platforms will enable real-time monitoring of service delivery, improve revenue collection, and enhance citizen engagement.

Municipalities are not mere service delivery machines; they are strategic economic hubs. Every zoning decision, infrastructure upgrade, and investment partnership influences job creation and economic resilience. To unlock this potential, municipalities must modernise regulatory environments and streamline business processes. 

Infrastructure-led growth must be prioritised; water, electricity, roads, and digital connectivity are the backbone of economic expansion. Maintenance of existing infrastructure must become non-negotiable. For too long, municipalities have focused on new projects while neglecting critical assets. This approach is unsustainable and must change.

The theme of this Assembly, “Empowering Municipalities to Drive South Africa’s Growth Agenda through Economic Resilience and Sustainable Service Delivery”, is not aspirational; it is urgent and achievable. The government cannot do this alone. SALGA must continue to be the unified voice of municipalities. The private sector must invest in innovation and infrastructure. Traditional leaders must be integrated into the planning process. 

Communities must hold us accountable. As CoGTA, we reaffirm our commitment to accelerate reforms, strengthen support for struggling municipalities, institutionalise the District Development Model, and build digitally enabled, climate-resilient, financially stable, and ethically governed municipalities. All government departments, from the National to the Provincial, must pay what they owe to municipalities. This is a joint process with the National Treasury. Treasury must apply a similar approach when withholding equitable shares to municipalities.

Professionalisation is being advanced through the review of the remuneration system for Senior Managers, in particular, the Municipal Managers and section 56 Managers. This system, approved by MinMEC on 21 November 2025, aligns with the South African Local Government Bargaining Council’s job evaluation and grading system and provides a single, vertically integrated pay scale. Importantly, competency assessments will now serve solely for development purposes, delinking them from remuneration determination. 

This reform addresses long-standing concerns about fairness and consistency in municipal management appointments and pay structures. The Department, working with SALGA, is presently investigating the grading and TASK levels for municipalities to mitigate unintended consequences arising from the introduction of the new system. Soon, the Government Gazette regarding this will be published.

Earlier this month, we submitted a detailed response to the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers regarding its draft annual recommendations for the 2025/26 financial year. We reaffirmed support for a 4.1% cost-of-living adjustment for members of municipal councils and for Traditional and Khoi-San leaders. Importantly, we stressed the need for the Commission to address outstanding issues raised by the President following representations from the Minister of Finance and the Chief Justice on its major review report. 

These matters include pension and medical aid benefits for councillors, as well as the formulation of a remuneration dispensation for members of local houses and traditional councils who are not traditional leaders, in line with section 219 of the Constitution and the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act 3 of 2019. 

We urged the Commission to expedite its work and publish the final recommendations in the Government Gazette without delay, enabling consultations with MECs and ensuring that upper limits for councillors are gazetted timeously. This is critical for stability, compliance, and effective planning across all spheres of governance.

In conclusion, the path to South Africa’s success is profoundly interconnected with the effectiveness of our local governments. When municipalities operate efficiently and with integrity, the entire nation stands to thrive. Now is the time to act decisively. Let us channel our energy and passion into developing municipalities that serve as dynamic hubs of opportunity, progress, and creativity.

I thank you.

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