By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
15 September 2025- The Chairperson of the Select Committee on Cooperative Governance and Public Administration (Traditional Affairs, Human Settlements and Water & Sanitation), Mxolisi Kaunda, has emphasised that the National Council of Provinces’ (NCOP) week-long Local Government Week programme presents an opportunity for greater collaboration to achieve the goals of quality human settlements for all South Africans. Kaunda said the NCOP flagship programme provides not only the City of Cape Town, but the entire country with an opportunity to ensure t hat all areas receive quality service delivery.
“The Local Government Week and its character of bringing together all spheres of government under one roof, presents an opportunity to enhance collaboration under the framework provided by the District Development Model. The current challenge of levels of government operating in silos prevents the attainment of greater services.
“In the City of Cape Town, where the programme will be held, areas like Nyanga, Phillipi, Delft, and Dunoon are faced with, among other things, overpopulation, inadequate housing, water and sanitation, and provision of basic amenities,” he said.
Kaunda further said the Greater collaboration between national, provincial and local governments, designed to find solutions, must be expedited for the greater common good. He added that all residents deserve efficient and qualitative service delivery.
“While the City of Cape Town has had numerous positive audit reports that reflect good administration and governance, the translation to quality service has often been lacking. It is important to have good governance, which translates into quality service delivery.
“On the national front, while a great deal of success has been attained, with over five million houses provided, a move towards integrated human settlements remains a challenge. Also, the provision of essential water, sanitation and electricity has been hampered by weaknesses within the local sphere of government, something that needs to be corrected with urgency,” said Kaunda.
He said local government, a sphere closest to the people, has encountered great administrative and governance challenges that directly impact negatively on delivering services. Kaunda said from Thabazimbi Local Municipality to now Ditsobotla Local Municipality in the North West, many municipalities have been placed under administration, either by provincial or national government.
“While this has been necessitated by various challenges, strengthening this sphere of government will improve service delivery. The culture of non-payment of services by municipalities, either to Eskom or water boards, presents a systematic impediment to a well-functioning system.
“Great effort should be directed at correcting the course of municipalities to ensure they deliver quality services. We laud municipalities that have maintained their focus on delivering quality services to the people. We also note the problem of the lack of adequate skills, which remains an embedded challenge within municipalities, especially in the rural municipalities that are unable to attract skilled employees,” he said.
Kaunda said the overarching challenge in South Africa remains the lack of fostering greater economic opportunities, including in the rural areas of the country, to stop the influx of especially the young people to the urban areas for employment opportunities. He said the unavailability of work opportunities in rural areas results in migration to urban areas for economic opportunities, which places undue pressure on those municipalities, especially due to crumbling infrastructure and inordinate demand for housing.
“Greater focus on rural development is imperative than ever before to alleviate migration to urban areas. As all spheres of government meet in Cape Town for the Local Government Week that creates an opportunity to correct course towards greater collaboration and enhanced service delivery.
“The South African voters have put us in these positions of responsibility as a sign of goodwill and expectation for quality service delivery. The Local Government Week should galvanise us to achieve a common goal of quality service delivery,” concluded Kaunda.
The Guardian 