PRETORIA, Gauteng — As South Africa gears up for the upcoming polls, the ruling party has officially unpacked its ANC election manifesto, placing a primary focus on resolving the nation’s critical water and electricity challenges. During a comprehensive briefing on service delivery goals, senior government officials presented a candid assessment of the country’s infrastructure progress and the structural hurdles that still plague local municipalities.
Addressing concerns over water security, Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation David Mahlobo assured South Africans that the country is far from facing a severe water scarcity crisis. He highlighted significant strides made on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which is currently at 57% completion. Following recent site visits by President Cyril Ramaphosa and other senior leaders, Mahlobo noted that new infrastructure, including additional bridges, is being developed to facilitate the transfer of close to a billion cubic meters of water annually to Gauteng. According to Mahlobo, this massive influx will effectively neutralize water security problems in the province.
On the energy front, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa cautioned against premature optimism. He stated that the government cannot celebrate the end of national load shedding while marginalized communities continue to be subjected to localized load reduction.
Ramokgopa explained that the upcoming African National Congress ANC election manifesto will serve as a “frank account” and a balanced scorecard of basic service delivery since 2002. He outlined substantial historical gains, noting that household access to electricity has surged from 76.7% to approximately 92%, while access to sanitation has improved from 61% to roughly 84%. Furthermore, by 2024, 87.7% of households had access to piped water on site. However, he openly acknowledged the lived realities of many citizens, conceding that dry taps, poor drinking water quality, spilling sewers, and tragic historical incidents like the cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal remain persistent failures that must be addressed.
A significant portion of the briefing tackled the ongoing debate surrounding the collapse of local municipalities. Responding to assertions from South African Local Government Association (SALGA) President Bheke Stofile—who has previously highlighted that political interference has fundamentally broken local government—Ramokgopa rejected a blanket condemnation of the sector.
Instead, he offered a nuanced view, pointing to “pockets of excellence” where municipalities successfully pass funded budgets, secure clean audits from the Auditor-General, attract investment, and maintain robust community engagement. Conversely, he admitted that other municipalities are failing at the most basic constitutional duties, such as collecting refuse, repairing potholes, and paying creditors and staff on time.
Ramokgopa identified structural and political issues as the root causes of municipal decline. Many struggling municipalities are heavily grant-dependent and lack the economic base to generate sufficient revenue for infrastructure maintenance. More critically, he pointed to political interference in the appointment of municipal managers and chief financial officers (CFOs), where candidates are sometimes chosen for their political loyalty rather than their professional qualifications.
To rectify these systemic issues, the manifesto calls for the strict professionalization of the local government sector. Proposed interventions include mandating that heads of infrastructure and engineering services be professionally registered engineers, establishing minimum qualifications for CFOs, and enforcing rigorous consequence management. Furthermore, the party aims to draw a hard line between political administration and operational interfaces to ensure that accountability is not shielded by political alliances.
Ultimately, the government maintains that while the democratic dividend has not been fully realized at the municipal level, the narrative of total systemic collapse is inaccurate. By addressing the underlying political and structural deficits, officials believe they can rescue struggling municipalities and accelerate the delivery of essential services to all South Africans.