Minister of finance Enoch Godongwana has told parliament the National Treasury will dedicate resources towards supporting local government as councils work to improve service delivery and enhance revenue collections for services rendered.
Tabling his 2026 budget vote in parliament on Friday morning, the minister said a major priority for the National Treasury in the year ahead, with its allocation of R44.9bn, would be to improve service delivery and efficiency at the local government level.
“What we’re trying to do is to achieve efficiencies in municipalities, particularly in the utilities of water, electricity, waste, and so on,” he said.
Raphael Bahebwa from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is among about 500 people seeking refuge at the Diakonia centre in the Durban CBD after public order police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse them from Durban Central Police Station on Tuesday.
“Police dumped us here. Because we fear for our safety, we have nowhere to go. We are still in danger. We need help.”
He said the ongoing attacks by groups such as March and March targeting foreigners was becoming untenable.
The foreigners say they are facing increasing threats, attacks and intimidation where they live and work.
Two weeks ago thousands of anti-immigrant protesters ― from amabutho, representing the Zulu royal regiments, to members of March and March, Operation Dudula and the Amabhinca Nation ― shut down the Durban CBD.
Brandishing sjamboks, assegais and shields they then formed a human chain around a building on Mahatma Gandhi Road, claiming it was occupied by foreigners who used it as a drug den.
The groups have increased their focus on ridding the country of undocumented migrants who they say rob locals of jobs, threaten the economy and are responsible for criminal syndicates.
They have lambasted local and national government for allowing foreigners to continue living and working in the country illegally.
The protests have strained relations between South Africa and Ghana after the West African nation escalated concerns about xenophobia and attacks on foreigners to the AU.
International relations and co-operation minister Ronald Lamola said South Africa had been “surprised” by Ghana’s decision to take the matter to the AU after what he described as recent ongoing bilateral engagements between the two countries over growing anti-foreigner sentiment and incidents targeting African migrants in South Africa.
“We thought we were managing the matter at a bilateral level,” Lamola said during an interview with the Sunday Times. “But now that they have taken this step of going to the AU, we welcome it because it will allow the continent to engage on the push and pull factors that lead to migration.”
The diplomatic dispute follows mounting concerns in parts of the continent about videos and campaigns linked to anti-migrant groups in South Africa, including operations targeting undocumented immigrants at hospitals and public spaces.
On Wednesday March and March led an anti-immigration demonstration through Pinetown, west of Durban.
Protesters said they were not violent and merely wanted foreigners to go back to their own countries as they were straining South Africa’s resources.
But Bahebwa denies this.
“I laugh when they call us undocumented or illegal people. Do you think illegal people will go to the police station? We went to the police because we are not afraid of being exposed but because we are afraid for our lives.”
Bahebwa said on Tuesday after police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse them they were to two transit camps — one for men and another for women.
However, conditions were not suitable and they were taken to the Diakonia Centre.
On Wednesday, police and home affairs officials met with foreigners after coming under fire for using tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the group who protested outside the police station.
Police spokesperson Col Robert Netshiunda said acting provincial commissioner Maj-Gen Phumelele Makoba, home affairs provincial manager Cyril Mncwabe and head of refugee and asylum seeker management Naleen Balgobind met the leadership of the Congolese Solidarity Campaign at the department of home affairs offices in Umgeni, Durban.
“The meeting was aimed at ironing out issues which led to foreign nationals, mostly from the DRC, camping and protesting at the entrance of the Durban Central Police Station on Monday and Tuesday."
During the meeting foreigners pointed a finger at home affairs for rendering them undocumented due to discrepancies in the process of renewing permits.
Home affairs explained the process of renewal and committed to assist those whose permits have expired and have proof of application for renewal.
Another meeting is planned with the group on Thursday, to verify their status in the country and their permits to conduct business in South Africa, including addressing their safety concerns.
Bahebwa, who is a bishop and head of the Congolese Solidarity Campaign, said he was cautiously optimistic about the outcome of Wednesday’s meeting.
Following criticism by anti-immigrant groups, eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba met the leaders of March and March, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma and Xolani Zuma, last week to discuss illegal immigration, hijacked properties and the enforcement of business by-laws.
The mayor said together with March and March, the municipality will embark on a series of roadshows and awareness campaigns.
“These initiatives will include engagements with property owners who are subletting their businesses to undocumented immigrants, as well as raising awareness about the dangers of harbouring undocumented foreign nationals.”
The mayor also said the city is reviewing its by-laws and urged the movement to participate in this process.
“We are also engaging the minister of justice and constitutional development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, to create special courts to address the challenge of land invasion and hijacked properties in the city,” said Xaba.
The meeting was followed by a crackdown on illegal traders in the city a few days later.
A combined team of the municipal officials, police, department of economic development, tourism and environmental affairs conducted raids in eZimbokodweni and Athlone Park.
The operation resulted in the immediate closure of four businesses found to be operating in contravention of municipal regulations.
The municipality said establishments were shut down for failing to possess the required compliance certificates, business licences and health permits necessary for lawful operation.
Authorities further established that the operators of the affected businesses did not possess valid documentation permitting them to reside or work in South Africa and they were arrested.
“We also said at the beginning that when we came to the budget, we did not have the intention of increasing any taxes. What we will be focusing on is efficiency in the system.”
He said across the board, each metropolitan municipality has its own unique challenges, and that the degree of the challenges differs from one metropolitan municipality to another.
Godongwana said government and state-owned entities could not broach the conversation around declining levels of service delivery at a local government level and dismiss the billions owed to municipalities by state-owned entities, as well as national and provincial government departments.
The City of Johannesburg says ageing infrastructure, criminal attacks on water facilities and the rising cost of water tankers are placing huge pressure on the municipality’s ability to supply water to residents.
Managing director for Johannesburg Water, Ntshavheni Mukwevho, told the South African Human Rights Commission’s (SAHRC) hearings that criminal syndicates are targeting the city’s water infrastructure.
The commission is investigating whether the ongoing water supply challenges in Gauteng amount to a violation of human rights of residents.
Mukwevho said armed criminals had attacked the Olifantsvlei wastewater treatment plant and stripped parts of the infrastructure, forcing the water utility to increase security and deploy armoured vehicles at some of its facilities.
Mukwevho also told the inquiry, which is in its third day, that the entity spends close to R130m on water tankers, mainly to assist informal settlements and communities affected by unplanned outages.
According to Mukwevho, most tanker services are directed at informal settlements where residents still face unreliable access to running water.
My view is that it should take us another 12 to 18 months to fully remove water service providers
He said that relying on tankers could not continue forever and that Johannesburg Water was looking at other options, including drilling boreholes in informal settlements to reduce dependence on emergency water supply systems.
The inquiry heard that Johannesburg Water plans to fully take over its tanker operations instead of relying on private contractors.
Mukwevho said the utility had already bought 20 branded water tankers and ordered another 20 which are expected to arrive before the end of the financial year.
Mukwevho also admitted that the city would still need outside service providers for at least another year.
“My view is that it should take us another 12 to 18 months to fully remove water service providers,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rand Water CEO Sipho Mosai told the inquiry that municipalities are usually informed at least 21 days before planned maintenance work starts so they can prepare communities and put contingency measures in place.
Mosai explained that some high-lying areas often take longer to recover after maintenance.
Mosai said municipalities collectively owe Rand Water about R9bn, with Emfuleni municipality alone owing nearly R1.9bn.
The commission also heard complaints from residents in Orange Farm and Phumlamqashi in the south of Lenasia, who told the inquiry about their daily struggles pertaining to water supply issues. Residents who attended the inquiry claimed they had gone without water for several months.
Mukwevho, however, dismissed the claim and denied that residents had been completely without water. He said illegal connections in informal settlements often overload communal standpipe systems, leading to water outages.
“The challenge with communal standpipes is that communities end up installing illegal connections so that they can have water directly in their own yards, and that causes problems,” Mukwevho said.
Residents also accused some tanker operators of charging people for water that should be free.
Community members told the commission that residents who could pay allegedly received water first, while some tankers only arrived late at night, creating safety concerns for women and children.
Mukwevho said they have received reports of the alleged sale of water and investigations are under way.
“There were two incidents that we have registered, one in the eastern part of the city and another in the western part of the city, and those incidents are still under investigation,” he said.
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“Provincial governments owe municipalities about R14bn. National government owes about R8.2bn … It is our intention to make sure the money is transferred back to municipalities. We also want to deal with the infrastructure challenges in water.
“While we want to deal with the infrastructure challenges in water, what is the challenge as I see it? The challenge, as we see it, is twofold. First and foremost ... at the moment, the infrastructure is old and dilapidated across the board. The second thing is that we’ve got a ground system that is all over. It’s not integrated.”
The City of Ekurhuleni says it needs about R3bn to replace ageing asbestos and steel water pipes as the municipality battles ongoing water shortages, sewage spills and infrastructure failures across several communities.
Ekurhuleni acting municipal manager Tsholofelo Koopedi and HoD of water & sanitation Thokozani Maseko this week attended the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) inquiry into municipal water management in Gauteng.
Evidence leaders told the commission that while Ekurhuleni often acknowledged complaints submitted by the SAHRC, there was little evidence that long-term solutions were being implemented.
“The letters, whilst they respond and acknowledge the problem, we haven’t seen much,” the inquiry heard.
The commission said residents continued to complain about sewage spills, unreliable water supply and delays in resolving water-related problems.
Koopedi told the inquiry that 99% of households in Ekurhuleni had access to water services and that the city continued to provide water, sanitation and waste removal services to 31 informal settlements. Water tankers were deployed during supply interruptions.
Koopedi said Ekurhuleni has 35 reservoirs, with 26 operational, but delays linked to the Lesotho Highlands Water Project have affected supply stability in some areas.
“We have already built new reservoirs, towers and pump stations in some communities, but delays in large bulk water projects continue to affect supply,” Maseko said.
Areas, including Palm Ridge, Thokoza, Tsakane and Duduza, were identified as some of the communities hardest hit by unstable water supply.
The inquiry also heard that a new Palm Ridge reservoir and related infrastructure had already been completed and would help stabilise supply once major water projects were finalised.
Koopedi also told the commission the municipality was dealing with staffing shortages, with the city’s vacancy rate sitting at about 27.5%.
Ekurhuleni is also implementing an infrastructure investment plan to replace ageing pipes, while construction of the Duduza and Tsakane pipelines is expected to be completed by December this year.
The metro is among municipalities with the lowest levels of non-revenue water losses despite infrastructure challenges.
Koopedi also highlighted Ekurhuleni’s blue drop status and said the city’s water quality ranked among the best in the country.
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He said the Treasury will intensify its efforts to drive inner-city renewal in the eight metropolitan municipalities across the country, as well as in other large towns and cities.
“What we need is to bring people closer to work by improving the inner city development.”
The local government elections are scheduled to take place on November 4.
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