President says poor revenue management and rising debt are weakening local services across the country.

Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa, has warned that nearly two-thirds of the country’s municipalities are facing financial distress. In his weekly newsletter, he said many local governments are struggling with rising debt, weak revenue collection, and poor management of public funds.

According to Ramaphosa, money collected from services such as water, electricity, sanitation, and waste management should be reinvested into maintaining and improving infrastructure. However, in many cases these funds are redirected to cover other costs, which weakens service delivery for communities.

To tackle the problem, the government plans to allocate about 27.7 billion rand (around $1.5 billion) over the next three years. The funds will support reforms in major metropolitan municipalities to improve essential services such as water supply, sanitation, waste management, and electricity.

The government is also reforming the municipal infrastructure grant to address issues like underspending, misuse of funds, and limited administrative capacity. Ramaphosa stressed that strong and effective local governments are crucial for economic growth and the wellbeing of communities and businesses.

Source:Newstimehub