LOCAL GOVERNMENT: REVISED WHITE PAPER LAUNCHED BUT STILL NOT AVAILABLE

LOCAL GOVERNMENT: REVISED WHITE PAPER LAUNCHED BUT STILL NOT AVAILABLE

• 23 October 2026
• Local & Provincial Government
• SA Legal Academy

Despite having been officially launched on 22 October 2026 by President Cyril Ramaphosa, the long awaited revised White Paper on Local Government was still not available 24 hours later. A link to the document will be added to this report as soon as possible.

Released in draft form in May 2026 for public comment, a final revised version of the 1998 White Paper was approved by Cabinet on 23 September 2026. According to a media statement issued at the time, it was developed following a review of the 1998 iteration – ‘undertaken in response to persistent governance, institutional, financial and service delivery challenges’ at municipal level.

In a speech delivered at the document’s official launch, the President said the revised White Paper:

• ‘lays the foundation for far-reaching legislative, institutional and financial reform … (across) the entire local government system’, and
• ‘represents a fundamental reassessment of how local government is structured, financed, managed and held accountable’.

To that end, the document ‘outlines a clear path towards a differentiated model’ that:

• ‘link(s) powers and functions to a municipality’s size, capability and performance’, and
• in the case of struggling municipalities, opens the door to alternative service delivery mechanisms with responsibilities ‘assigned elsewhere’, either:
  • ‘at a regional scale’, or
  • ‘through partnerships and concession arrangements’.

To accommodate this, constitutional and legislative amendments may be necessary.

The President also referred to complementary measures already under way to:

• create a single, integrated local government system, with government and its partners working together around ‘shared priorities’ at district and metro level (as envisaged by the district development model)
• in the context of water and electricity services, to separate the roles of service authority and service provider (as envisaged by the Water Services Amendment Bill now before Parliament), introducing compulsory licensing
• place municipalities on a sustainable financial footing (through ‘stronger financial management, better revenue collection, reduced losses and spending that produces value’)
• ‘protect the foundations of service delivery’ (by ring-fencing revenue from the sale of electricity and water for infrastructure maintenance), and to
• ‘professionalise municipalities and build their administrative capacity’.

According to the President, a ‘time-bound local government transition management body’ will be established to ‘ensure that reform does not fall between institutions, that difficult decisions are taken and that commitments are followed through’. In that regard the September 2026 Cabinet media statement refers to a joint leadership structure involving the Department of Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs, the Presidency and National Treasury.

A ‘phased’, ‘sequenced’ approach to implementation is envisaged for what is clearly a ‘long-term reform agenda’.

• President’s speech
• 23 September 2026 Cabinet media statement
• related documents

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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