GCRO convenes strategic roundtable to support local government reform

The national Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) is currently leading a consultative process to review the 1998 Local Government White Paper. CoGTA has requested submissions from interested stakeholders on how the local government system, currently in crisis, can be improved through key policy reforms. To contribute to the national debate, GCRO hosted a strategic roundtable on 24 June in support of COGTA’s Local Government White Paper Review process.

The roundtable, held in Johannesburg, forms part of the GCRO’s Local Government Research and Policy project. The event brought together senior officials, policy experts, and researchers to engage with COGTA’s newly released discussion document. This document outlines proposals for a revised White Paper on Local Government, expected to be ratified in 2026.

The review marks the first major overhaul of the 1998 White Paper on Local Government, which laid the foundation for post-apartheid municipal governance. Over the past two decades, South Africa’s municipalities have faced mounting challenges, including service delivery failures, financial mismanagement, and declining public trust. The current review seeks to address these systemic issues by proposing structural reforms aimed at enhancing accountability, efficiency, and community participation.

COGTA’s discussion document, gazetted in April 2025, calls for public input and research-based contributions to inform the policy’s development. It emphasises the need to confront entrenched inefficiencies and provoke open debate on the future of local governance. The review is aligned with broader government priorities under the Government of National Unity (GNU), which include inclusive growth, poverty alleviation, and the establishment of a capable and ethical state. 

At the GCRO roundtable, Coordinators of the Local Government White Paper Review, Prof. Andrew Boraine and Mr Pascal Moloi, set out the process and raised key considerations for debate. They were followed by three respondents: Dr Sarah Meny-Gibert from the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI); Kiba Kekana from Gauteng COGTA; and Graeme Gotz from the GCRO. A range of key issues were discussed, including:

• Improved intergovernmental coordination in the Gauteng City-Region
• The future of the two tier local government system
• Mechanisms to address corruption in local government administrations and possible improvements to the political-administrative interface
• The difficulties presented by messy coalitions where no party has an outright majority
• Local government in fast growing former bantustan areas where dual governance arrangements – with both traditional leaders and municipalities having authority – present challenges.

The roundtable underscored the importance of inclusive dialogue in shaping policies on critical issues of the day. It also reaffirmed GCRO’s commitment to supporting transformative governance through rigorous research and strategic partnerships.