The Attorney General’s report that many municipalities continue to ignore regulations, mismanage finance and projects, and disregard accountability has led to the risk of Treasury withholding equitable funding for 75 municipalities nationwide. What’s needed for a turnaround? Weskus Municipal Manager David Joubert suggests it starts with rediscovering true ‘purpose’. In September 2025, the National Treasury, the Department of Water and Sanitation, and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs met to discuss the ballooning debt owed by municipalities to the water boards, Eskom and SARS. An early indication of Treasury’s decisive action of withholding equitable share is that some success was achieved in improving the payment patterns of municipalities.
The ‘stick’ had some impact, but it will require extensive change management and will not happen overnight.
The first change relates to ‘purpose’, where public servants must remind themselves why they are, well, public servants. Their sole purpose is to deliver services in line with the needs of their communities. Full stop. You cannot leave the good intent of service delivery to chance and must resource it in a resolute way keeping the following disciplines in mind: Separation of Powers.
The administrative and political arms of a municipality must work together with a common purpose, but must not unduly interfere with each other’s mandates.
Accountability and Performance Management.
A municipality’s vision and strategy must be delivered, and regulations must be adhered to. A common cry is that the sector is over-regulated – there may be some truth in this, but the regulations are there to protect public money and ultimately, deliver effective services.
Stringent Internal Controls.
Unauthorised and wasteful expenditure is extraordinarily high, yet stringent internal controls and processes can prevent corruption and mismanagement. It falls upon the managers and officials running these portfolios to remember the halo purpose of their jobs, and protect funds intended for service delivery.
Project and Contract Management.
When projects and contracts are poorly managed, the ultimate loser is the municipality’s residents and local businesses. Projects don’t get off the ground, are halted or never fully materialise as planned. An unintended, yet predictable consequence includes unplanned and exorbitant legal costs as awarded tenders are challenged and supplier payment expectations are disputed.
All of this points to ‘purpose’ and ‘people’.
True Purpose.
At Weskus, our supplier partners are made very aware of ‘purpose’. For example, you don’t manage a strategic brand programme for any reason other than building positive sentiment so we can attract investors who, in turn, creates employment opportunities, a growth trajectory for businesses, and boosts the value of the region.
Like-minded People.
One can possibly point to a ‘skills deficit’ or the ‘grey tsunami’ as excuses for non-performance, but leadership’s task is attracting the right talent, building succession plans, and developing the youth. To do so, your municipality needs to have a performance culture which resonates with candidates, and you must stand for something which they can identify with.
Turning around non-performing municipalities does require ‘decisive’ action; one example being Treasury’s decision to withhold equitable funding. But overall, it requires a shift in thinking with ‘true purpose’ which will take some time to embed.
Rated as South Africa’s best run municipality and with 15 consecutive clean audits under its belt, Weskus Distrik has extended its hand to other municipalities, and has established a business advisory programme.
Mr David Joubert
Municipal Manager
Weskus Distrik
