Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za
3-minute read
30 May 2025 | 10:47 CAT

As local government collapses under corruption and mismanagement, experts warn of deepening inequality, rising unrest, and a coalition government out of step with the people it serves.

Auditor-General’s Red Flags Signal Deepening Collapse of Local Government

South Africa – The Auditor-General’s latest report has painted a damning picture of municipal management, reinforcing a decade-old chorus of dysfunction, mismanagement and corruption. With mounting concerns around the decay of local governance structures, the warning bells are deafening: South Africa’s municipalities are in crisis.

Angelo Fick, Director of Research at the Auwal Socio-Economic Research Institute (ASRI), joined Radio Islam to unpack the unfolding disaster. Fick echoed the Auditor-General’s own lament—”a broken record”—saying the issues raised in the report are far from new. What was once primarily a national governance problem in the 2010s has shifted, with the 2020s marked by the collapse of local governments, which now stand as the most immediate and dangerous sites of governance failure.

From widespread financial mismanagement to ghost infrastructure projects and a shocking “culture of no receipts,” the report reveals an entrenched rot. Municipal employees are reportedly failing to meet basic administrative duties, with rampant irregular expenditure, unqualified appointments, and a worrying reliance on costly consultants to do work that municipal staff are either incapable of—or unwilling to—complete.

Fick warned, “It’s like paying for built-in cupboards and never checking if they’ve even been installed.” Citizens, he urged, must leverage their constitutional rights to attend public oversight meetings—particularly Section 79 committees in municipal legislatures—to expose and rectify governance failures.

Broken Promises and Empty Wallets: The R200 Electricity Surcharge Scandal

A particularly contentious issue is the City of Johannesburg’s R200 surcharge on prepaid electricity—a fee city officials claim is pro-poor, despite persistent power cuts and a crumbling grid. The surcharge, added to residents’ electricity purchases, provides no added service but merely grants access to the grid, even when that grid fails to deliver power.

Fick did not mince his words: “This is a state-owned illegal connection into poor people’s purses.” He described the move as an Orwellian distortion, where the poorest are made to prepay for non-existent services under the guise of financial reform.

The City’s justification lies in revenue recovery, with the administration facing a staggering R9 billion debt to Eskom. Yet the burden of mismanagement, Fick argued, is being shifted unfairly onto residents, especially those already struggling with unemployment and inequality.

Fiscal Policy vs. Human Survival

The Reserve Bank’s decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points was touted as a potential relief measure. However, Fick cautioned against viewing this move as a panacea for broader economic challenges. “We’re not certain that’s necessarily going to have the kind of impact that is imagined, especially if fuel levies increase. What we will likely see is a general rise in the cost of living.”

For many citizens, this winter may bring more than cold nights. With increasing food and fuel insecurity, Fick warns that the failure to address these critical issues could erode social cohesion and political stability, lessons that South Africa has painfully learned in the past.

“Political parties in the coalition government need to think very carefully about what happens in winter with food security issues, with fuel insecurity—people unable to heat their homes or cook the food they have,” Fick said. “This isn’t just about meeting budget balances and looking good for international lenders. It’s about keeping people alive.”

Eyes on 2026: Voter Accountability Crucial Amid Municipal Failure

Looking to the future, Fick emphasised the power of civic engagement and the ballot. With local government elections set for 2026 or early 2027, he urged citizens to move beyond loyalty to political promises and to judge parties based on tangible service delivery records.

“The municipality is the coalface of our existence,” Fick said. “It’s where we get water—or don’t. Where we walk—or can’t. Where we’re safe—or not. We must vote accordingly.”

National Drama: Starlink, Policy Loopholes & A Divided Legislature

At the national level, a fresh controversy is brewing. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to Washington D.C. sparked buzz about a potential partnership with Elon Musk’s Starlink. This has since been clouded by Democratic Alliance (DA) Minister Solly Malatsi’s proposal to ease transformation requirements in the ICT sector—allegedly clearing a path for Starlink’s entry.

But ANC MPs, including a chairperson closely allied to the President, have slammed the policy as circumventing black economic empowerment laws. The incident has exposed glaring fractures within the governing coalition and raised questions about policy coherence.

Fick described the fiasco as a microcosm of broader systemic dysfunction. “It suggests these coalition partners are not even speaking to each other,” he said. “We’re watching smoke and mirrors—political performance rather than accountable governance.”

As the ICT sector wrestles with legacy legislation and new-age demands, Fick warned against repeating past mistakes—where policy stunts set back national goals, as seen during South Africa’s delayed digital migration.

A Warning from the Past

In a sobering reminder, Fick referenced the July 2021 unrest as a direct consequence of economic desperation. “If parties in the GNU think they can simply pass the burden on to poorer people, we’ve seen the consequences of that before—great social and political instability.”

As political leaders bask in their recent power-sharing victory, they now face the sobering task of governing a nation on edge. Whether they will meet the moment with empathy and structural reform—or repeat the mistakes of the past—remains to be seen.

“They don’t want to repeat the July 2021 events,” Fick concluded.

Listen to the ASRI Report on Sabahul Muslim with Moulana Ibrahim Daya and Angelo Fick.