The troubled Matlosana Local Municipality in North West is a central component of the 2026 State of the Province Address (SOPA), with Premier Lazarus Mokgosi acknowledging service delivery failures, municipal decay and infrastructure collapses. While emphasising the declaration of 2026 as a “Year of Decisive Action to Fix Local Government and Transform the Economy,” Mokgosi indicated the municipality crisis has led to increased intervention by both provincial and national governments to manage failing infrastructure, particularly in water and electricity, as local governments have failed to maintain systems.
In his address early on Thursday, Mokgosi acknowledged municipalities are the primary, grassroots sphere of government, bringing administration directly to communities, adding: “municipalities as often mentioned is the closest sphere of government within reach of ordinary people and affects their daily lives directly. It is also the practical location of enterprises, big or small, domestic or international.”
He said fixing local government to correct and restore its administrative functionality is essential both for meeting basic needs of the people and creating enabling conditions for businesses to operate and create jobs.
Mokgosi made a touching statement that resonates with many residents of Klerksdorp, Orkney, Stilfontein, and Hartbeesfontein, that it is government’s duty to restore the administrative functionality of municipalities by improving provision of basic services such as water, electricity, refuse removal, and road maintenance. “Section 106 investigations into alleged acts of maladministration at City of Matlosana, Madibeng and Tswaing have been completed with remedial action plans being implemented.
“In relation to Matlosana we are using other various legislative measures to stabilize the municipality. This is aimed at strengthening administrative stability and financial accounting,” said Mokgosi. Earlier this month, The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) has taken a decision to invoke Section 139(1)(b) of the South African Constitution to place the City of Matlosana Local Municipality under administration due to governance collapse, financial crises, and failure to deliver services.
The provincial Cogta department is expected to announce the decision following the investigations that they have completed. The relevant provincial departments are expected to take over particular executive powers, including service delivery, financial management, or administration to ensure essential standards are met. An administrator will be appointed to take over executive functions, aiming to stabilize governance, fix financial systems, and restore services.
He noted improvements in audit outcomes, with nine out of eleven provincial departments receiving unqualified or clean audits in the last audit cycle. A number of municipalities, including Moses Kotane, Taung and JB Marks, have improved from qualified to unqualified audit opinions.
“We will be dedicating our ongoing efforts in assisting the Bojanala Platinum and Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipalities as well as the Moretele Local Municipality to move from unqualified to clean audit outcomes,” Mokgosi said.
He noted the decrease in disclaimer audit outcomes from nine municipalities in 2020/21 to only one in 2024/25, which is Ditsobotla.
“However, we are satisfied with progress registered so far following the introduction of a National Cabinet Representative under Section 139 (7) of the Constitution.” Speaking about the introduction of Section 154 of the Constitution in identified municipalities to strengthen their capacity in areas such as waste management and road maintenance, Mokgosi mentioned that the Departments of Public Works and Roads as well Economic Development, Environment, Conservation, and Tourism will be seized with the responsibility to assist struggling municipalities.
He mentioned Ditsobotla and Matlosana Local Municipalities will be their starting point where their cooperation will include working with SANRAL and Farmer’s organisations. While acknowledging municipal failures, Mokgosi said the provincial government is following on the example set by National Government to improve governance by turning the tide of poor audit outcomes with nine out of eleven departments receiving unqualified and clean audit outcomes in the last audit cycle.
He confirmed that all senior managers in all provincial departments have complied with submissions on financial disclosures. “This is aimed at promoting good governance practices with emphasis on ethical leadership.” Mokgosi is also expected to hold all members of the Executive Council accountable after they have signed agreements with him to measure their performance.
“Moreover, several cases implicating government and municipal officials are being investigated by law enforcement agencies while others are before the courts. “Progress in relation to these matters will be announced by relevant units at an appropriate time.”
To strengthen oversight, Mokgosi announced the introduction of a province-wide SmartGov Monitoring and Evaluation Dashboard from the beginning of 2026/27 financial year.
“All our departments will be integrated into a single executive oversight platform, that allows real time tracking of performance, expenditure, and service delivery outcomes.”
