Cogta minister Hlabisa determined to fight local government decay
' Numerous municipalities continue to grapple with systemic challenges such as service delivery failures, fiscal mismanagement and governance breakdowns.
'The harsh reality is that several municipalities are unable to repair potholes, ensure access to clean water, or provide reliable waste management. Others fail to use grants effectively. This is unacceptable, and the review of the white paper provides a blueprint for transformative change,' he said.
The minister believes the local government sphere will benefit from critically questioning the structure and existing systems of local government.
' We have 257 municipalities. Some are financially unsustainable, lacking any revenue base — an outcome of legacy design flaws in our system. As we reshape local government to be fit for purpose, we must seriously consider whether maintaining non-viable municipalities is justifiable.'
The eighth administration has identified local government as a key driver of its strategic priorities, and with the local polls coming up in 2026 Hlabisa described the timing of the review as urgent.
'The pillars are structural reforms to enhance operational efficiency and accountability, deepened community participation and inclusive governance, ethical leadership, anti-corruption initiatives and strengthened intergovernmental co-ordination.
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Mail & Guardian
8 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
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'The definition of who qualifies as an 'interested and affected party' needs to be broadened to ensure that it does not silence those whose voices matter most — particularly small-scale fishers and coastal residents. 'Moreover, expecting communities to pay a non-refundable fee to appeal administrative decisions, could create obstacles to justice that marginalised communities should not have to endure. People should not have to pay to ensure that their voices are heard.' The global climate crisis necessitates an urgent and decisive transition away from fossil fuels, Singh wrote in the letter. 'The draft regulations, however, appear to promote the continued and expanded exploitation of oil and gas resources, directly contravening the country's national and international climate change commitments.' The Green Connection shared the 'profound concern'expressed in the joint submission that the promotion of gas as a transitional fuel, particularly for 'Methane emissions could potentially have a greater impact than those of carbon dioxide and may be up to eighty-two times more impactful over a 20-year period. 'We strongly support the joint submission's call for the draft regulations to explicitly define and incorporate critical terms such as 'greenhouse gas (GHG)', 'Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions', and 'sectoral emission targets'.' This is essential for alignment with the 'The failure of the draft regulations to mandate comprehensive lifecycle assessments that include quantification of all greenhouse gas emissions (including methane leaks and Scope 3 emissions) as well as the unquantified social cost of carbon, as highlighted by the joint submission, is a critical omission that undermines any claim of environmentally responsible development,' Singh said. Expanding fossil fuel infrastructure without rigorous scrutiny of the possible environmental and social implications runs counter to the global imperative for decarbonisation and South Africa's own stated commitments to a just energy transition. 'The Green Connection believes that the concerns and detailed recommendations articulated in the joint submission … are fundamental to ensuring that the regulatory framework for upstream petroleum activities in South Africa upholds constitutional environmental rights, promotes genuine public participation, protects our invaluable marine ecosystems and the livelihoods they support, and aligns with our urgent climate change obligations,' said Singh. The country's marine and coastal ecosystems are invaluable national assets, ecologically sensitive and critical for biodiversity and livelihoods. 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'The inadequacy of consultation requirements for offshore developments, which may exclude those with a significant interest if not 'directly affected' or if the landowner/lawful occupier concept is inappropriately applied to marine spaces, is a critical flaw identified in the joint submission that we support rectifying.' Coastal communities, particularly small-scale fishers, depend intrinsically on healthy marine ecosystems for their livelihoods, food security and cultural heritage. Upstream petroleum activities may pose direct and significant threats to these communities through potential pollution, displacement from traditional fishing grounds and adverse impacts on marine resources. 'We particularly highlight the joint submission's critique of regulation 23(1)(g), which vaguely mentions 'provision for co-existence with fishermen, where applicable', within local content plans, deeming it so vague as to be almost meaningless. 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Mail & Guardian
11 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
South Africa must revive its industrial ambitions
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His developmental state model, combining strategic state investment, international partnerships and technocratic competence, transformed the country from a mining enclave into Africa's most sophisticated industrial economy. The foundations he laid endured for decades. The Electricity Supply Commission (later Eskom) provided cheap power that enabled large-scale manufacturing. The Iron and Steel Corporation (Iscor) supplied essential inputs for further industrialisation. His successors built on these foundations, establishing Sasol for synthetic fuels and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Today, these institutions are shadows of their former selves. More troubling, the country appears to have lost the capacity for the long-term thinking that created them. South Africa's economic performance tells a sobering story. Growth has averaged just 0.8% annually over the past five years, well below the rate needed to reduce unemployment or meaningfully tackle poverty. The Gini coefficient, measuring income The benefits of black economic empowerment (BEE) policies have accrued primarily to political and economic elites, while the rest remain excluded from meaningful economic participation. The debate over the benefits of BEE has resurfaced, particularly concerning its mechanisms for wealth distribution. This has been highlighted by the recent scepticism surrounding the potential introduction of Starlink to South Africa, with concerns about exceptions to BEE compliance. Nonetheless, it is undisputed that, as a result of transformative Moreover, the state capture scandal, where politically connected individuals systematically looted public resources, represents the nadir of this failure, which has been accounted for by the collapse of Transnet and Eskom, the consequences of which are signified by inefficiencies thereafter. 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Neglecting existing infrastructure generates higher long-term costs than building new capacity. Johannesburg's collapsing central business district exemplifies this short-sightedness. Years of deferred maintenance have created a crisis that will cost far more to resolve than it would have cost to prevent. The rot runs deeper than poor maintenance. It reflects a broader failure of vision and leadership. Where Smuts aligned South Africa with international partners to attract investment and expertise, contemporary leaders often prioritise political survival over economic transformation. South Africa does not need to resurrect Smuts's racial ideology; his vision of white supremacy was both morally bankrupt and economically counterproductive. But it needs his approach to state-led development, clear vision, international partnerships, infrastructure investment and, above all, competence in execution. The formation of a government of national unity after the 2024 elections suggests political leaders recognise the scale of the crisis. The question is whether they possess the vision and competence to address it. As Smuts understood, South Africa's prosperity depends on reliable electricity, efficient transport and industrial capacity. These foundations are crumbling. Without urgent action to rebuild them, the country risks becoming a case study in how great institutions can be destroyed by poor leadership. The blueprint for revival exists in South Africa's own history. The question is whether anyone has the courage to follow it. Ashley Nyiko Mabasa holds master's in economic and labour sociology focused on energy policies and master's in public policy and governance focused on data governance, and is co-chairperson of the Brics Youth Council.
The Herald
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R200m of taxpayers' money spent on GNU ministers' travel since taking office
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