This review, undertaken by the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), differs significantly from previous assessments conducted by COGTA and the Presidency. Rather than a routine performance review evaluating municipalities against isolated indicators, this initiative examines the local governance system as a whole. It invites the public and sector stakeholders to voice their concerns and co-create meaningful solutions.

COGTA has proposed a mix of policy, legislative and structural reforms designed to enhance local governance, service delivery, and intergovernmental relations, covered across its 11 chapters. These chapters do not only identify the problem but also make proposals on what needs to be done, by who and when. At a time when public trust in municipalities is at an all-time low and service delivery is failing to meet the expectations of communities, the Dullah Omar Institute warmly welcomes this reform agenda.

A legacy of evidence-based advocacy

Since 1990, the Dullah Omar Institute has consistently tracked legislative and policy developments within the local government sector. Our research on municipal governance, service delivery, good governance and intergovernmental relations has actively shaped policy and practice for nearly three decades.

Our extensive body of academic papers and reports includes publications such as:

• Status quo report on intergovernmental relations regarding local government (2006)
• Water delivery: public or private? (2006)
• Enforcing the Code of Conduct for Councillors (2006)
• The strangulation of local government (2008)
• Are ward committees working? Insights from six case studies (2009)
• The quality of local democracies: A Study into the functionality of municipal governance arrangements (2009)
• Operation Clean Audit 2014: Why it failed and what can be learned (2014)
• Civic Protests Barometer 2007-2014 (2015)
• Civic Protests and Local Government in South Africa  Working Paper Series No. 2 (2016)
• Municipal Audit Consistency Barometer: Audit consistency as measure of resilience in local government (2014)
• The Capable Cities Index,  Working Paper Series Two, Measuring the Capacity of Cities (2017)
• Combating corruption in local government in the Western Cape (2020)
• How transparent are municipal websites about the goods and services that municipalities procure? (2020)
• A Framework for Coalitions in Local Government (2021)
• The legal framework for combating corruption in Local Government in the Western Cape (2021)
• Report on hung councils in South Africa: Law and practice (2021)
• Transparency, oversight and participation in municipal budget processes (2021)
• Registers of councillors' interests: A missed opportunity to enhance accountability and transparency in local government (2024)

Additionally, the Dullah Omar Institute has hosted numerous doctoral projects exploring critical systemic issues in local government. These include the municipal professionalisation, overregulation of local government, differentiation in powers and functions, food security and local government, the intersection of spatial planning and traditional leadership, coalition governance and the role of the judiciary in shaping municipal service delivery.

Our response to the Draft White Paper

Through the Local Government Bulletin, we have kept stakeholders informed of legislative and policy shifts since our inaugural issue in 1999, published on the eve of South Africa's first democratic local elections. Nearly three decades later, this Special Issue presents our formal response, commentary, and recommendations on the Draft White Paper.

Culminating from years of rigorous research and policy engagement, our proposals in this issue target some of the critical areas of reform, including:

• The two-tier local government system
• Binding intergovernmental protocols
• Parliamentary oversight of local government
• Provincial and national interventions in municipalities
• Enforcement of Codes of Conduct
• Consequence management
• Differentiation 
• Municipal financial sustainability
• Transparency in local government
• The relationship between traditional leaders and municipalities in rural areas

Have your say

To our Local Government Bulletin readers: Do not miss this critical window to shape the future of local governance and service delivery in South Africa.

Submission deadline: 28 May 2026

Submit your comments to: WPLG26@cogta.gov.za, RichardP@cogta.gov.za, or MaphutiL@cogta.gov.za

By Tinashe C Chigwata, Jaap de Visser & Nico Steytler