The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

ActionSA welcomes National Treasury's decision to temporarily withhold portions of the July 2026 Local Government Equitable Share from municipalities that have repeatedly failed to meet the financial management standards required by law.

This is not about punishing municipalities. It's about restoring accountability.

For too long, municipalities have received warnings, technical support and opportunities to correct serious financial failures. Yet many continue to struggle with unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, weak consequence management, unfunded budgets and growing debt to Eskom, water boards and other creditors.

National Treasury has now made it clear that those failures can no longer continue without consequences.

For Gauteng, this should serve as a serious wake-up call.

Six municipalities in our province have been affected: the City of Johannesburg, Emfuleni, Lesedi, Sedibeng District Municipality, Merafong City and Rand West City.

These municipalities must now move quickly to meet National Treasury's conditions so that the withheld funding can be released as soon as possible. Every day spent correcting financial failures is a day that should ultimately benefit residents through more stable and better-run municipalities.

ActionSA has consistently argued that identifying problems is not enough. Government already knows where many of the financial weaknesses are. The challenge has always been implementing corrective action and holding people accountable when the same mistakes are repeated.

In that respect, National Treasury's intervention marks an important shift from monitoring problems to enforcing compliance.

We support that approach.

At the same time, residents must not become collateral damage. People should not lose out on basic services because of failures by political leaders or municipal administrations. The priority now must be to restore compliance as quickly as possible while protecting service delivery.

This also places an important responsibility on Gauteng Provincial Treasury.

The newly appointed MEC for Finance and Economic Development, Nkululeko Dunga, has inherited these challenges. ActionSA believes this is an opportunity for him to work closely with the affected municipalities to help them meet National Treasury's conditions and put stronger financial controls in place.

That means improving consequence management, resolving outstanding UIFW matters, strengthening financial discipline and ensuring municipalities honour their obligations to bulk suppliers and other creditors.

The real goal should not simply be to secure the release of withheld funds.

The real goal is to build municipalities that pay their bills on time, manage public money responsibly and deliver reliable services to the people of Gauteng.

ActionSA will support practical reforms that strengthen municipal governance. At the same time, we will continue to exercise firm oversight to ensure these interventions lead to measurable improvements, not just another round of reports and commitments.

Residents deserve municipalities they can trust. That is the standard we will continue to hold government to.

Issued by ActionSA Gauteng Legislature Caucus leader Funzi Ngobeni MPL