The South African Local Government Association (Salga) has urged the seventh administration, under the Government of National Unity, to prioritise the local government agenda and use its legislative and oversight powers to underscore the revitalisation of dysfunctional municipalities and the improvement of service delivery.

The call comes as President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to deliver his opening address at a Joint Sitting of the Houses of Parliament on Thursday.

Salga president Bheke Stofile said that recognising the “pivotal role of local government” in development was paramount for the nation's progress.

“Therefore, the agenda of the seventh Parliament should place particular emphasis on the vital role of cooperative governance as a cornerstone of our government structure. However, contributors to dysfunction should be considered holistically by looking at both structural and systematic challenges,” he said.

Local government was responsible for 46% of constitutional functions, he said, stating it had been given a distinctive status, noting the backlogs of infrastructure repair and maintenance.

He noted that many of the country’s municipalities faced significant challenges relating to the delivery of essential services to communities, acknowledged that these challenges were a big criterion for dysfunction.

“…this is often blamed solely on the lack of skills and mismanagement of municipalities,” he said.

Stofile suggested, however, that local government also needed capital and operational investment to meet the demand for service delivery, which was largely separate from the acknowledged inefficiencies within municipalities.

He noted that financial distress was also one of the criteria for dysfunction, highlighting that municipal consumers owed municipalities R348-billion.