Deputy President, Mr Paul Mashatile,
Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr Velenkosini Hlabisa,
Minister of Water and Sanitation, Ms Pemmy Majodina,
Minister of Finance, Mr Enoch Godongwana,
Deputy Ministers,
Premiers and MECs,
Mayors and Municipal Managers,
SALGA representatives,
Directors-General and Officials,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for your attendance at this Extended President’s Coordinating Council.
This is the first time that the PCC holds an extended meeting that brings together all the mayors and municipal managers of our local government tier of Government.
So you are all participating in a historic get-together.
The President’s Coordinating Council, which is composed of national ministers, Premier and local government representatives, was established to strengthen coordination across South Africa’s three spheres of Government – national, provincial and local.
South Africa’s system of government is based on cooperative governance.
In essence the architecture of our Government is set up in a well-structured way where national government sets national policy while provincial governments coordinate the implementation of policy and local government delivers the execution of policy.
The PCC was created to ensure that all these spheres of Government work together and not in silos.
The PCC ensures national priorities are aligned with provincial and municipal plans.
In other words the PCC connects policy, implementation and delivery.
This PCC enables oversight and engagement with Premiers and Mayors. This ensures that our country is governed as one coordinated state, not three disconnected spheres of Government.
When the architects of our democracy drafted our constitution, they understood a fundamental truth that no single centre of power can fully serve a nation with as diverse, complex and divided history as South Africa.
They wisely created a system that is distinct in function, interdependent in purpose and interrelated in execution.
Today’s historic and unique meeting is aimed at enhancing our cooperative governance process so that we can work together as all three spheres of Government on a clear action plan to address the challenges facing many of our municipalities.
We all know what these challenges are.
Many municipalities do not have the revenue base to provide the infrastructure and services that people need. Many do not have a deep skills base from which they can draw.
The current system is too complex and fragmented, with even small and under-resourced municipalities expected to take on many responsibilities.
As a consequence of these systemic problems, together with governance instability, many municipalities have weak financial management and institutional capability, poor revenue collection and insufficient accountability.
This results in poor service delivery. Water and electricity disruptions are common. Roads and other infrastructure are not maintained.
It is ordinary South Africans who bear the costs of this.
Our task in this meeting is not to repeat the catalogue of shortcomings and weaknesses in local government, but to focus on the solutions.
The finalisation of the new White Paper on Local Government will be pivotal.
It will reimagine the way local government works, addressing the systemic challenges in the structure and functioning of local government.
Among the tasks we need to focus on is to unblock infrastructure.
Energy, water, roads and public transport form the foundation on which economic growth and social development are built.
The progress we have made nationally in tackling load shedding and improving logistics must now be translated into local reality.
Municipalities must be at the frontline of delivery, ensuring that industrial parks have power, that township streets are lit, that businesses can operate with confidence.
We must therefore cut red tape.
Bureaucratic delays are driving investment away and shutting out the very entrepreneurs we need to grow our local economies.
We must take steps to professionalise the Public Service at a local level.
Appointments must be made on merit. There must be accountability and transparency. We must build up the skills and capabilities of everyone who works in local government.
These efforts are being supported by Operation Vulindlela and are being coordinated through the District Development Model.
There is no reason why, working together, we cannot overcome these challenges and ensure that municipalities are effective drivers of growth and development.
One of the most immediate challenges that affects almost every municipality is the crisis in the provision of water and sanitation.
That is why we have dedicated a significant portion of the agenda of this meeting to address this challenge.
There is no doubt that over the three decades of democracy we have made great progress in extending access to water.
According to the last Census, in 2022 over 82 percent of households in the country had access to piped water inside their house or yard, up from 61 percent in 1996.
However, as the General Household Survey of 2024 showed, many communities experience problems with the reliability and quality of these services.
The percentage of households that experienced water interruptions lasting more than two days at a time increased from 24 percent in 2012 to 34 percent in 2024.
We are familiar with the main reasons for the growing frequency and extent of water disruptions.
These include ageing infrastructure, illegal connections, inadequate metering, weak monitoring, poor maintenance and institutional instability.
Our eight metropolitan municipalities are collectively losing an average of 34 percent of all water purchased before it can be billed. Some metros are approaching 50 percent.
Municipal debt to water boards has tripled between 2018 and 2025.
This crisis did not emerge overnight and it will not be resolved by any single intervention. We need a range of actions addressing critical areas of failure.
Major reforms in the water sector are already well underway, having been part of the work of Operation Vulindlela since 2020.
Among the water sector reforms completed are the passing of the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency Act and the establishment of the remaining Catchment Management Agencies.
We have cleared the backlog of water-use license applications, with the turnaround time for processing new water-use license applications improved markedly.
The Blue, Green and No Drop Reports have been reinstated to provide accurate information on the state of municipal water and sanitation services.
In addition, National Treasury is implementing the Metro Trading Services Reform programme to overhaul electricity, water and waste services in the eight metropolitan municipalities.
The programme aims to reverse long-term service decline, improve financial sustainability, and unlock R108 billion in investment by enforcing clear performance targets.
We need to build on the work that has already been done.
We are clear that resolving this crisis requires a collaborative and coordinated response across all three spheres of government, working together with all social partners and communities.
It was for this reason that I announced in the State of the Nation Address in February that we would establish the National Water Crisis Committee to coordinate a government-wide response.
As we did to great effect in overcoming load shedding, the Water Crisis Committee will oversee the implementation of a National Water Action Plan.
As we deliberate today, there are five key principles that must guide our common effort.
First, accountability must be restored.
Every institution represented here must be clear about its role, obligations and timelines.
The people of South Africa are entitled to know who is responsible if commitments are not met.
Second, the financial integrity of water services must be protected.
Revenue generated from water services must be ring-fenced to support the operation, maintenance, upgrading and long-term sustainability of those services.
If infrastructure is allowed to deteriorate while revenues are diverted to other functions, the water crisis will only deepen.
Third, technical and professional capability must be strengthened.
Municipal water and sanitation systems require qualified engineers, plant operators, project managers, technicians and financial experts.
Without the right people in the right posts, even the best plans will remain unimplemented.
Fourth, there must be consequence management.
Where there is underperformance, it must be corrected, and where there is persistent failure, there must be swift intervention.
There must be no space for corruption, criminality or sabotage.
Fifth, cooperative governance must be made practical.
We are three spheres of Government, but we are one state serving one people.
We need to be aligned around a shared purpose and disciplined execution.
The President’s Coordinating Council exists precisely to align all spheres of Government on shared priorities and to hold one another accountable.
The water crisis puts that mandate to the test.
The National Water Crisis Committee provides the means of coordination.
The National Water Action Plan provides the roadmap.
What this meeting must provide is the political commitment across all three spheres to make both of them work.
We should leave here today with firm commitments, responsibilities and timelines.
The country is looking to us to secure an uninterrupted supply of water to all citizens, businesses and institutions, now and into the future.
We have the means to do this. Let us demonstrate that we have the will.
I thank you.
.png)
.png)
.png)
