Article
Development of new White Paper on Local Government
Published: 13/05/2025
The White Paper on Local
Government, which hails from 1998, is currently being revised. A three-year consultation and revision period
is being envisaged. A discussion
document was published by the Department of Co-operative Governance in March
2025.
A NEDLAC process is
currently underway to provide input for the development of a new White
Paper. Agbiz is represented on the
Business task team in NEDLAC. Two
constructive engagements have already taken place in NEDLAC. The intention is
to publish a revised Local Government White Paper in March 2026, following an
extensive and inclusive process of consultation based on the published
discussion document.
Background
The White Paper on Local
Government, which hails from 1998, is currently being revised. A three-year consultation and revision period
is being envisaged. A discussion
document was published by the Department of Co-operative Governance in March
2025.
A NEDLAC process is
currently underway to provide input for the development of a new White
Paper. Agbiz is represented on the
Business task team in NEDLAC. Two
constructive engagements have already taken place in NEDLAC. The intention is
to publish a revised Local Government White Paper in March 2026, following an
extensive and inclusive process of consultation based on the published
discussion document.
Contents of the discussion document
The discussion document
provides a very honest analysis of the state of local government in the country
There is an admission that over the past three decades local government
performance has generally regressed due to a variety of administrative, governance,
service delivery, infrastructure, financial, structural, and systemic
challenges. These challenges have persisted despite multiple previous attempts
at reform.
The discussion document
poses some very valid questions such as:
- Are any of the constitutional provisions for local government within a system of cooperative governance unworkable or unrealistic?
- What needs to be delivered in the short term to stabilise municipalities and to prevent further deterioration to the local government system?
- What needs to be put in place, through legislative and other changes, before the local government elections anticipated for late 2026?
- What reforms are to be implemented during the next local government five-year term of office and beyond?
- Were we overoptimistic at the time about designing a ‘wall to wall’ system of democratic and developmental local governance?
- As a government and as citizens, did we do everything within our power and capabilities to achieve the aims and ideals of the WPLG98?
- What have we learnt about the different elements of the local government system: citizen participation, accountability, transparency, ethics, trust, corruption and state capture, service delivery, urban integration, rural development, public and private finance, institutions, capacity-building, partnerships, and collaborative governance?
- How do the changes in the material conditions over the past thirty years— demographic, political, social, cultural, economic, financial, global, technical, digital, regulatory, state capacity and capabilities, and environmental and climate shifts—inform how we should upgrade the local government system to make it fit for purpose.
The discussion document
accurately identifies the main problems with the local government system. These include issues of governance,
accountability, lack of capacity and skills and financing. All of the challenges are depicted in the
graph below:
There is also an analysis
in the Discussion document of the main challenges per province:
Source:
Discussion document on the review of the White Paper on Local Government
Way forward
There is an opportunity
to submit written comments on the discussion document until 30 June 2025. Agbiz
will invite members to share their proposed solutions regarding local
government with Agbiz to be included in the Agbiz comments and carried into the
NEDLAC process. Members can also
directly submit comments to the Department of Co-operative Government on the
Discussion document, which can be accessed here: https://pmg.org.za/call-for-comment/1573/
By Head: Legal
Intelligence Annelize Crosby