The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Mr Velenkosini Hlabisa, led a groundbreaking two-day strategic planning session, from 29 – 30 November 2024. This important session marked a major step forward in the development discourse, bringing together provincial departments, public entities, and key stakeholders to recalibrate and solidify CoGTA’s mission of delivering impactful, people-centered governance that promotes transparency and accountability.

Held In Alignment With The Finalization Of The Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP), The Session Sharpened The Sector’s Focus On Three Critical Imperatives Under The Government Of National Unity (GNU)

• Driving inclusive growth and job creation
• Reducing poverty and addressing the high cost of living
• Building a capable, ethical, and developmental state

Participants, including the Deputy Ministers of CoGTA, SALGA leaders, and senior government officials, took a hard look at the pressing challenges facing South African municipalities. The sobering reality that only 13% of municipalities achieved clean audits in the Auditor-General’s 2022/23 report stressed the urgency for bold, decisive action to transform local governance.

Leading the session, Minister Hlabisa reiterated the theme “Every Municipality Must Work,” and laid the foundation for transformative improvements in local public services. He also emphasized the importance of stronger municipal economies.

The Minister further advocated for a more prominent co-existance between traditional leadership and the government in pursuit of stimulating sustainable local economic growth.

Central to this transformation is the District Development Model (DDM), a comprehensive approach designed to break down government silos and foster integrated, coordinated planning across all sectors – government, traditional leadership, the private sector, and civil society.

The session also identified key strategic priorities that will drive the sector forward:

• Strengthening governance, leadership, and management to ensure municipalities can deliver services effectively.
• Enhancing Section 154 support to municipalities to address underperformance and reduce the reliance on reactive Section 139 interventions.
• Deploying skilled officials to improve audit outcomes and streamline municipal operations.
• Unlocking new funding opportunities to support short, medium, and long-term municipal plans.

In addition, four focused commissions deliberated on critical MTDP priorities, including institutional mandates, role delineation, public participation, and oversight. These discussions established the groundwork for building greater public trust while ensuring emanability and efficiency in governance.

Minister Hlabisa praised the session as a game-changer for the CoGTA sector, stating that the success of the sector will be defined by a collective commitment to build a sector that is not only efficient and effective but one that truly responds to the needs of communities.