The best and worst-run municipalities in South Africa
Good Governance Africa (GGA) has published its 2024 Governance Performance Index (GPI) to “provide the most accurate, publicly available portrait of the state of local governance in South Africa.”
The report looked at all of South Africa’s 257 municipalities, which is made up of:
- 8 metropolitans municipalities;
- 205 category B local municipalities;
- 44 category C district municipalities.
For the 2024 GPI, municipalities were evaluated from publicly available data under the following categories:
- Administration & Governance;
- Leadership & Management;
- Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation;
- Service Delivery (heaviest weighting).
The 8 metropolitan municipalities were evaluated with an additional category of Economic Development.
These were rated on standardised on a scale of 1 to 5 – with 5 being optimal performance.
It is important to note that the extensive list of data used by GGA predominantly comes from 2021-22 reports, with its most recent coming from 2023.
Background
This report comes at a time when “South Africa’s system of local government is presently undergoing its most widespread sequences of changes” since the dawn of democracy, said GGA.
The 2021 local government elections saw a record number of hung councils, where no single party achieved a majority. This has seen a rise in political instability in many councils, which has led to national departments wanting to amend legislation which governs them.
According to the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), “political instability impacting the effective functioning of administration” and service delivery have been some of the most commonly identified issues of local government by residents.
There are 32 municipalities across the country that are currently under administration, with 66 out of 257 being labelled as ‘dysfunctional.’
These shifts in the focus and functioning of many local governments “raise the question of how South Africa’s existing municipal system is currently performing when considering the role the Constitution envisages for local authorities,” said GGA.
Provincial results
Looking at the GPI scores, the countrywide average sits at a score of 3.24/5.
The provincial average scores (out of 5) given in the report are:
Province | Service Delivery | Admin & Governance | Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation | Leadership & Management | Overall 2024 GPI Score |
Eastern Cape | 3.46 | 3.01 | 3.17 | 3.22 | 3.23 |
Free State | 3.17 | 2.32 | 2.92 | 2.41 | 2.79 |
Gauteng | 3.97 | 2.92 | 3.12 | 2.53 | 3.36 |
KwaZulu-Natal | 3.57 | 3.44 | 3.42 | 3.60 | 3.50 |
Limpopo | 3.44 | 3.08 | 3.50 | 3.53 | 3.33 |
Mpumalanga | 3.31 | 2.67 | 2.82 | 3.05 | 2.97 |
Northern Cape | 3.20 | 2.44 | 2.67 | 2.28 | 2.78 |
North West | 3.09 | 2.11 | 2.60 | 2.02 | 2.59 |
Western Cape | 4.03 | 4.06 | 4.34 | 4.22 | 4.11 |
Citizen satisfaction levels with municipalities are notably low, with the countrywide average sitting at 30%.
The Western Cape had the highest level of satisfied respondents, at 43%. This is 9% higher than the joint second, Gauteng and Mpumalanga, at 34%.
The lowest score is in the North West, at a 19% satisfaction rate.
Metropolitans
The country’s eight metropolitan municipalities “govern areas inhabited by 40% of South Africa’s population, highlighting their importance” within the system of local government, said GGA.
Since the 2021 local government elections, many metropolitan municipalities, characterised by their hung councils, have garnered significant media attention due to political instability.
This instability in metropolitans, “especially… within the economically dominant Gauteng province where no single party commands a majority,” has been reflected in the GPI scores.
The report isolated Tshwane and Johannesburg as examples, saying that both metros “performed in a manner that belies their major city status.”
According to the GPI rankings, the metros’ performances are:
Ranking | Metro | Type | Top GPI | Bottom GPI |
1 | City of Cape Town | Majority party council | Service Delivery | Economic Development |
2 | Ekurhuleni | Hung council | Leadership & Management | Economic Development |
3 | eThekwini | Hung council | Economic Development | Administration & Governance |
4 | Nelson Mandela Bay | Hung council | Service Delivery | Leadership & Management |
5 | City of Johannesburg | Hung council | Service Delivery | Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation |
6 | Buffalo City | Majority party council | Service Delivery | Leadership & Management |
7 | City of Tshwane | Hung council | Service Delivery | Leadership & Management |
8 | Mangaung | Majority party council | Economic Development | Leadership & Management |
Mangaung, Tshwane, Buffalo City, Johannesburg and Nelson Mandela Bay all scored GPI rankings below the metropolitan average.
Tshwane received an alarming 1/5 for leadership.
While the GPI ranks some major metros highly for stable governance and leadership in 2021/22, it should be noted that many of these have proven to be less stable in subsequent years.
For example, while Ekurhuleni scored 5/5 for its leadership in the ranking, the metro’s governance structure fell apart in 2023 when the DA-led coalition was ousted. Currently, the metro faces more chaotic shifts, with the current mayor (AIC) and speaker (EFF) facing a motion of no confidence.
The local and district municipalities will be looked at in terms of their overall rankings rather than the GPI score.
Local municipalities
There are 205 local municipalities (LM), divided into:
- 19 Secondary City Local Municipalities;
- 26 Large Town Local Municipalities;
- 99 Small Town Local Municipalities;
- 61 Mostly Rural Local Municipalities.
Looking at the 19 Secondary City Local Municipalities, the rankings are:
Ranking | District Municipality | Province |
1 | Drakenstein LM | Western Cape |
2 | Stellenbosch LM | Western Cape |
3 | uMhlathuze LM | KwaZulu-Natal |
4 | Steve Tshwete LM | Mpumalanga |
5 | George LM | Western Cape |
| | |
15 | Govan Mbeki LM | Mpumalanga |
16 | Msunduzi LM | KwaZulu-Natal |
17 | Emfuleni LM | Gauteng |
18 | Matjhabeng LM | Free State |
19 | Madibeng LM | North West |
Looking at the 26 Large Town Local Municipalities, the rankings are:
Ranking | District Municipality | Province |
1 | Saldanha Bay LM | Western Cape |
2 | Breede Valley LM | Western Cape |
3 | Overstrand LM | Western Cape |
4 | Midvaal LM | Gauteng |
5 | Mossel Bay LM | Western Cape |
| | |
22 | Emakhazeni LM | Mpumalanga |
23 | Enoch Mgijima LM | Eastern Cape |
24 | Dihlabeng LM | Free State |
25 | Makana LM | Eastern Cape |
26 | Mahikeng LM | North West |
Looking at the 99 Small Town Local Municipalities, municipalities in the Western Cape took up a lion’s share of the top spots, while municipalities in the Northern Cape and North West made up much of the lower rankings.
The rankings are:
Ranking | District Municipality | Province |
1 | Swartland LM | Western Cape |
2 | Bergriver LM | Western Cape |
3 | Hessequa LM | Western Cape |
4 | Witzenberg LM | Western Cape |
5 | Cape Agulhas LM | Western Cape |
| | |
95 | Kamiesberg LM | Northern Cape |
96 | Naledi LM | North West |
97 | Maquassi Hills LM | North West |
98 | Siyathemba LM | Northern Cape |
99 | !Kheis LM | Northern Cape |
Of the 61 Mostly Rural Municipalities, the lowest performing ones were seen in the North West, Northern Cape and Mpumalanga while Limpopo, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal recorded some of the best.
The rankings show:
Ranking | District Municipality | Province |
1 | Blouberg LM | Limpopo |
2 | Winnie Madikizela-Mandela LM | Eastern Cape |
3 | Elundini LM | Eastern Cape |
4 | Okhahlamba LM | KwaZulu-Natal |
5 | Mnquma LM | Eastern Cape |
| | |
57 | Dr. JS Moroka LM | Mpumalanga |
58 | Kagisano-Molopo LM | North West |
59 | Moretele LM | North West |
60 | Ratlou LM | North West |
61 | Joe Morolong LM | Northern Cape |
District municipalities
Looking at the 44 district municipalities, these rankings are divided into 23 ‘Non-Water Services Authority (WSA) Districts’ as well as 21 ‘Water Services Authority Districts’.
Simply, the former do not have water supply and sanitation responsibilities, with their role largely limited “to planning, regulation and development facilitation, with questionable value for money,” said the report.
Non-WSA districts typically score higher (on average 0.91 GPI points) than municipalities with WSAs.
The 21 WSAs lie in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and the North West, “servicing approximately 20 million South Africans.”
Looking at the 23 non-WSAs, the rankings are:
Ranking | District Municipality | Province |
1 | Cape Winelands DM | Western Cape |
2 | West Coast DM | Western Cape |
3 | Garden Route DM | Western Cape |
4 | Overberg DM | Western Cape |
5 | Frances Baard DM | Northern Cape |
19 | Fezile Dabi DM | Free State |
20 | Thabo Mofutsanyana DM | Free State |
…
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