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A tap with running water.
The government plans to streamline the grant system to reduce duplication and administrative burdens in municipalities. The proposed measures include merging water reticulation grants into a unified water infrastructure fund and consolidating energy grants, among other measures.
This comes as Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is set to deliver the 2025 national budget on Wednesday next week.
Local government experts have hailed proposed plans by the National Treasury to look at streamlining and consolidating some of the grants.
Local government expert and Group Chief Advisor at Ntiyiso Consulting Group, Miyelani Holeni, says municipalities with particular needs around water, electricity and infrastructure should be able to benefit.
“Those municipalities that have particular needs, especially with, you know, water, especially on the electricity side and infrastructure, in general, should be able to benefit by having a consolidated fund as opposed to tapping into one fund which they have to then show as a budget input.”
During his State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa committed to establishing a modern and fit-for-purpose local government system.
Holeni agrees with proposals to consolidate water funds.
“Water is one of the bodies that does not have a regulatory agency, just like electricity, which has Nersa. So, in that case, water is being treated differently and in the way that, you know, there was a piecemeal approach to some of those aspects of water because there’s obviously the drinking water, there’s obviously the sewer or sanitation side. There are pump stations and there are many different, you know, aspects of water that would need to be taken into account.”
VIDEO| In his 2025 State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced government’s plans to assist municipalities:
On electricity, Holeni suggests there needs to be better management of funds.
“Perhaps some of that funding could also assist them to undertake cost of supply studies, which would help them with tariffs as well as, you know, the Section 78 studies which helps them with the service. So, that consolidation, if it goes forward to achieving the other side of the electrical requirements, which may not be into structure based, it helps a lot. But more importantly the infrastructure side helps a lot because it should speed up electrification. It should speed up the upgrade of substations.”
Financial mismanagement and poor governance have been attributed to major municipal challenges. They result in a lack of service delivery, including water outages, failing wastewater treatment systems, power cuts, and a lack of infrastructure investment.
