The FW de Klerk Foundation has released the Local Government Report Card 2026, an independent, non-partisan assessment of municipal performance and constitutional accountability across South Africa. It asks a simple but urgent question: Why do some municipalities perform well while others fall behind?

The report examines all eight metropolitan municipalities and a purposive, stratified sample of 42 local municipalities across all nine provinces. It is not a national census or a party-political league table. Rather, it assesses municipal institutions – including councils, administrations and oversight structures – against their constitutional duties to provide sustainable services, govern accountably, promote development and involve communities.

Anchored in the 2024/25 audited period, the assessment applies 100 published tests across five weighted pillars: services and infrastructure; financial management; governance, leadership and administrative coherence; integrity, accountability and transparency; and constitutional advancement and inclusion. Each municipality receives a score out of 100, an automatic grade and a separate trajectory finding showing whether it is improving, stable or deteriorating.

The findings reveal a sharply uneven constitutional landscape. The 50 municipalities recorded an average score of 57.4 and a median of 55.5. Within the sample, Swartland Local Municipality ranked first with 90.0, followed by George with 87.5, while Maluti-a-Phofung recorded the lowest score at 24.0. Eighteen municipalities are improving, 16 are stable and 16 are deteriorating.

The report finds that success is institutional, not cosmetic: Credible budgets, strong revenue collection, stable professional leadership, functioning oversight and maintained infrastructure reinforce one another. Failure is equally cumulative. Financial distress reaches the street through neglected maintenance and unreliable services, while repeated audit findings, leadership instability and weak consequence management obstruct recovery.

It also shows that size and economic importance do not guarantee competence. Some smaller and rural municipalities demonstrate discipline despite difficult conditions, while several major urban institutions face serious pressure. Even the strongest performers remain constitutionally unfinished where spatial inequality, environmental risk or uneven service access persists.

The report’s conclusion is both sobering and hopeful: South Africa already possesses evidence of what functional municipal government requires. The constitutional standard is attainable – but it is not being met consistently.

The full 261-page report provides detailed methodology, evidence trails and comprehensive municipal assessments. The 77-page media edition offers a concise national overview, rankings, key findings and accessible municipal briefs. Both are available free of charge.

Click here to view and download the media edition

Click here to view and download the full report  

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Issued by Ismail Joosub on behalf of the FW de Klerk Foundation
Johannesburg