Cogta report shows extent of failures in municipal governance – AfriForum

AfriForum has considered the findings in the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta)’s Consolidated Annual Local Government Performance Report for the 2023/2024 financial year – which was gazette on 29 October 2025 – and the writing is on the wall. This report confirms what communities have experienced for years – that municipalities are bankrupt and incapable of maintaining even the most basic water and sanitation services.

According to the report, most municipalities entered the 2024/2025 financial year with unfunded budgets and ongoing deficits, while their debts to Eskom and water boards such as Rand Water continue to soar. Bulk-purchase costs for electricity and water exceed employee costs in several metros, while the amount owed to municipalities ballooned from R117 billion to R127 billion in a single year. The majority of municipalities suffer a severe cash-flow crisis, poor revenue collection and decaying infrastructure, leaving residents to bear the brunt of unreliable water supply, sewage spills and collapsing roads.

“The department’s report paints a worrying picture of total financial and administrative collapse at local level,” says Lambert de Klerk, AfriForum’s Head of Environmental Affairs. “Even though the municipal infrastructure grant spent almost 97% of its R17,6 billion allocation, the water losses and infrastructure failures keep escalating, proving that money is being spent, but not wisely.”

The report shows that the grant is mainly used for repairs to basic infrastructure in municipalities, but it’s being done without the necessary maintenance plans or expertise. AfriForum warns that the country’s water-security crisis cannot be solved through reactive grants while municipalities remain bankrupt, overstaffed and politically captured.

“South Africa currently loses nearly half of all treated water due to leaks and neglect,” De Klerk adds. “This report confirms that the problem isn’t rainfall patterns or a harsh climate, but rather the complete financial and managerial failure of municipalities.”

AfriForum continues to mobilise the private sector and community structures to help repair water leaks. At the same time, the civil rights organisation demands accountability and the enforcement of consequence management against municipal managers and CFOs who continue to approve unfunded budgets in violation of the Municipal Finance Management Act.

“Communities can’t continue to wait for failing municipalities to fix themselves. AfriForum will continue to equip and support local community structures to safeguard water security, because access to clean water is a constitutional right, not a political favour.” De Klerk concludes.