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INTRODUCING THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT REPORT CARD 2026

2026-08-17

The Local Government Report Card 2026 provides an independent assessment of 50 municipalities across all nine provinces, measuring performance against five pillars of constitutional local government. The findings reveal a sharply uneven picture, with strong institutional leadership and sound financial management consistently linked to better service delivery and public accountability. By presenting clear evidence of what works, what fails and where improvement is possible, the Report Card equips residents, councillors and policymakers to demand practical, measurable change.

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MUNICIPAL FAILURE IS NOT INEVITABLE AND THIS REPORT PROVES IT

2026-08-13

The FW de Klerk Foundation’s Local Government Report Card 2026 argues that municipal failure is not inevitable, but the result of identifiable institutional weaknesses that can be measured and addressed. Assessing 50 municipalities against 100 objective tests, the report highlights where local government is improving, where it is failing and what distinguishes high-performing municipalities from those in decline. It offers practical, evidence-based recommendations to strengthen constitutional governance, improve service delivery and make municipal recovery measurable.

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FW DE KLERK FOUNDATION RELEASES THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT REPORT CARD 2026

2026-08-04

The FW de Klerk Foundation’s Local Government Report Card 2026 provides an independent, non-partisan assessment of municipal performance and constitutional accountability across South Africa. Using 100 published tests across five key pillars, it evaluates 50 municipalities and highlights the institutional factors that drive success or failure in local government. The report offers evidence-based insights into the state of municipal governance and demonstrates that effective, constitutional local government is achievable.

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MODERN VOTING IS NOT ENOUGH IF MUNICIPALITIES REMAIN OPAQUE

2026-07-09

South Africa is modernising the voting process through online registration, mobile tools and accessible election information. But after voters elect municipal councils, many still struggle to access clear, reliable information about service delivery, budgets, complaints and audit findings. This article argues that the 2026 local government elections must be about more than voting: Municipalities must open up, report back and account.

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THE STATE CANNOT FIX MUNICIPALITIES WHILE REFUSING TO PAY THEM

2026-06-29

Provincial departments owed municipalities R14,9 billion by December 2025, placing further pressure on already fragile local government finances. This persistent non-payment undermines service delivery, violates the principles of cooperative government and forces municipalities to finance provincial operations through unpaid accounts. National Treasury should enforce accountability and establish a targeted mechanism to deduct verified municipal debts from provincial allocations.

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WHEN ANGER FINDS THE WRONG TARGET…XENOPHOBIC PROTESTS AND THE 2026 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

2026-06-01

South Africa’s local government elections are approaching at a time of real unemployment, service delivery and governance failures, but xenophobic mobilisation is directing public anger at the wrong target. The article argues that anti-immigrant protests undermine constitutional accountability by replacing demands for competent local government with scapegoating, fear and unlawful vigilantism. The FW de Klerk Foundation warns that South Africa’s genuine grievances must be resolved through the rule of law, democratic accountability and constitutional governance – not hostility toward vulnerable minorities.

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FW DE KLERK FOUNDATION: MUNICIPAL COLLAPSE IS A FAILURE TO HONOUR THE CONSTITUTION AHEAD OF THE 2026 LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS

2026-06-01

The FW de Klerk Foundation warns that municipal collapse is not merely a service-delivery failure, but a failure to honour the Constitution’s promise of democratic, accountable and development-oriented local government. With municipal debt to Eskom exceeding R130 billion and governance failures deepening across several municipalities, the Foundation argues that the 2026 Local Government Elections must become a genuine reckoning for elected officials and candidates. The Foundation calls for credible municipal recovery plans, ring-fenced service revenue, merit-based appointments and independent performance data to restore constitutional accountability at local level.

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