{"id":98065,"date":"2025-05-30T10:57:31","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T08:57:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=98065"},"modified":"2025-05-30T10:57:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T08:57:31","slug":"asri-report-municipal-meltdown-governance-failure-fiscal-injustice-coalition-cracks-threaten-stability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/asri-report-municipal-meltdown-governance-failure-fiscal-injustice-coalition-cracks-threaten-stability\/","title":{"rendered":"ASRI Report | Municipal Meltdown: Governance Failure, Fiscal Injustice & Coalition Cracks Threaten Stability"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em>
\n3-minute read
\n30 May 2025 | 10:47 CAT<\/p>\n

\"\"

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.<\/p><\/div>\n

Auditor-General\u2019s Red Flags Signal Deepening Collapse of Local Government<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Africa<\/strong> \u2013 The Auditor-General\u2019s 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\u2019s municipalities are in crisis.<\/p>\n

Angelo Fick, Director of Research at the Auwal Socio-Economic Research Institute (ASRI), joined Radio Islam<\/a> to unpack the unfolding disaster. Fick echoed the Auditor-General\u2019s own lament\u2014”a broken record”\u2014saying 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.<\/p>\n

From widespread financial mismanagement to ghost infrastructure projects and a shocking \u201cculture of no receipts,\u201d 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\u2014or unwilling to\u2014complete.<\/p>\n

Fick warned, “It\u2019s like paying for built-in cupboards and never checking if they\u2019ve even been installed.” Citizens, he urged, must leverage their constitutional rights to attend public oversight meetings\u2014particularly Section 79 committees in municipal legislatures\u2014to expose and rectify governance failures.<\/p>\n

Broken Promises and Empty Wallets: The R200 Electricity Surcharge Scandal<\/strong><\/p>\n

A particularly contentious issue is the City of Johannesburg\u2019s R200 surcharge on prepaid electricity\u2014a fee city officials claim is pro-poor, despite persistent power cuts and a crumbling grid. The surcharge, added to residents\u2019 electricity purchases, provides no added service but merely grants access to the grid, even when that grid fails to deliver power.<\/p>\n

Fick did not mince his words: \u201cThis is a state-owned illegal connection into poor people\u2019s purses.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

The City\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Fiscal Policy vs. Human Survival<\/strong><\/p>\n

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. \u201cWe\u2019re not certain that\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolitical parties in the coalition government need to think very carefully about what happens in winter with food security issues, with fuel insecurity\u2014people unable to heat their homes or cook the food they have,\u201d Fick said. \u201cThis isn’t just about meeting budget balances and looking good for international lenders. It\u2019s about keeping people alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eyes on 2026: Voter Accountability Crucial Amid Municipal Failure<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe municipality is the coalface of our existence,\u201d Fick said. \u201cIt\u2019s where we get water\u2014or don\u2019t. Where we walk\u2014or can\u2019t. Where we\u2019re safe\u2014or not. We must vote accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

National Drama: Starlink, Policy Loopholes & A Divided Legislature<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the national level, a fresh controversy is brewing. President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s visit to Washington D.C. sparked buzz about a potential partnership with Elon Musk\u2019s Starlink. This has since been clouded by Democratic Alliance (DA) Minister Solly Malatsi\u2019s proposal to ease transformation requirements in the ICT sector\u2014allegedly clearing a path for Starlink\u2019s entry.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Fick described the fiasco as a microcosm of broader systemic dysfunction. \u201cIt suggests these coalition partners are not even speaking to each other,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re watching smoke and mirrors\u2014political performance rather than accountable governance.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the ICT sector wrestles with legacy legislation and new-age demands, Fick warned against repeating past mistakes\u2014where policy stunts set back national goals, as seen during South Africa\u2019s delayed digital migration.<\/p>\n

A Warning from the Past<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a sobering reminder, Fick referenced the July 2021 unrest as a direct consequence of economic desperation. \u201cIf parties in the GNU think they can simply pass the burden on to poorer people, we’ve seen the consequences of that before\u2014great social and political instability.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2014or repeat the mistakes of the past\u2014remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t want to repeat the July 2021 events,\u201d Fick concluded.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the ASRI Report<\/a> on Sabahul Muslim with Moulana Ibrahim Daya and Angelo Fick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 30 May 2025 | 10:47 CAT Auditor-General\u2019s Red Flags Signal Deepening Collapse of Local Government South Africa \u2013 The Auditor-General\u2019s 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, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":98066,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,132,5451,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-opinion-and-analysis","category-political","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ASRI-Report-1.jpg?fit=348%2C382&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-pvH","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-24 13:39:48","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}