South Africa is preparing for its seventh local government elections. Local government remains the closest sphere to the people, directly shaping service delivery and community development. Yet, despite 30 years of democracy, many municipalities still face challenges due to the legacy of apartheid, such as constrained transformation, social injustice, and persistent inequality, all of which undermine the effectiveness and legitimacy of local governance.
The Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB), born of the new democratic dispensation, was tasked with reconfiguring apartheid’s fragmented spatial planning to create municipal boundaries that promote equitable service delivery. As attention turns to the MDB’s current process of ward delimitation ahead of the 2026 elections, according to the MDB, they have “received thousands of applications for the re-determination of municipal wards. Thirteen cases have since been deferred and are currently subjected to further research and public engagement and this process will only be finalised in February next year.” Against this backdrop, it is crucial to view the Board’s role in the broader context of local government processes in South Africa. Given the ongoing political and governance challenges, complicated by historical injustices, as well as government’s failure to tackle systemic issues such as maladministration, and wasteful expenditure, efforts to ensure equity and integration continue to be hindered.
Overview of key processes in the build-up to the local government elections
Before local government elections can be held in South Africa, constitutionally mandated bodies, in preparation for the elections, must undertake several processes. The process begins with cabinet appointing an Inter–Ministerial Committee (IMC) tasked with the coordination of the 2026 local government elections. Next, the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) publishes and gazettes the formula used to calculate the number of councillors per municipality. This formula is based on population size and municipal governance structure. This is followed by the provincial Members of the Executive Council (MECs) who then determine the number of councillors for all municipalities in their respective provinces.
Once gazetted, the MDB establishes the number of wards, corresponding to the number of councillors determined by the respective provinces for all municipalities and proposes draft ward boundaries. The process of public consultation and stakeholder engagements are conducted to invite feedback and objections raised during consultations on the proposed draft wards.
At all times the MDB strives to ensure that ward delimitations are a fair and equitable representation that reflects the population changes, such as increase or decrease in voter population
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According to CEO of the MDB, Manye Moraka, wards being roughly equal in size is the guiding principle:
“A ward is split if it above the norm, so if for example in the previous elections, that ward had about 10,000 people and suddenly in five years it increases to 20,000. The norm says we can only increase a ward by 15 percent that which should have been 11,500 or decrease it to 8,500. but if it’s at 20 000 we are obligated to split it. So, I then explained to people or that’s what the officials explain to people that as they make presentations or submissions to those meetings. They must then indicate what the implications of the splitting are, is it going to be in contravention with the constitution, are we segregating people or disintegrating communities? Such considerations must then be included in the supporting documentation submitted to the board.”
At all times the MDB strives to ensure that ward delimitations are a fair and equitable representation that reflects the population changes, such as an increase or decrease in voter population. This is necessary in order to avoid unequal representation of wards and municipal boundaries. It also allows municipalities to plan properly, to ensure better planning of service delivery and that local government is responsive to changing demographics, economic opportunities and management of wards. Once all processes have been concluded, the new boundaries will be gazetted, and submitted to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to facilitate the upcoming local government elections.
Once all processes have been concluded, the new boundaries will be gazetted, and submitted to the IEC to facilitate the upcoming local government elections
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Local government’s deepening challenges
Despite the institutional blueprints, such as the 1998 White Paper on Local Government post-1994, many municipalities are in a state of crisis brought about by financial mismanagement, and chronic maladministration, all driving the erosion of service delivery. The Auditor General’s consolidated general report on local government audit outcomes 2023/2024 creates a worrying picture: in her remarks, Ms. Tsakani Maluleke called for a need to “overhaul a local government characterised by insufficient accountability, failing service delivery, poor financial management and governance, weak institutional capability and widespread instability.” Only 41 of 257 municipalities received clean audits. The heavy reliance on consultants and lack of internal capacity reflect a persistent absence of professionalisation and weak accountability.
Municipalities are also financially distressed and heavily reliant on national grants for survival. Many cannot collect sufficient revenue, crippled further by a widespread culture of non-payment for services and deteriorating infrastructure. The cumulative effect is visible in the frequent, intense service delivery protests across the country, a tangible sign of communities’ frustrations.
Political instability compounds these challenges, with fragile coalition governments heightening uncertainty, especially within large metropolitan municipalities. In this highly contested backdrop, the MDB’s work, particularly ward delimitation and municipal boundary reform, becomes even more sensitive. The choices made will have significant consequences for service delivery, budget allocation, and electoral accountability. Community and political resistance is inevitable, as shown by the Mobeni Heights Civic Association’s opposition to proposed boundary changes, which they argue severs long standing social cohesion and was announced without adequate consultation by the MDB.
Reinforcing this concern, the Portfolio Committee on COGTA stated in a press release that the consultation with affected communities in the proposed wards considered for delimitation in some communities across South Africa has been insufficient and questioned the effectiveness of the demarcation process. The committee also highlighted concerns about the “non-viability of certain amalgamated municipalities, which, despite political assumptions, have failed to deliver expected benefits such as improved revenue generation for their communities.” Many municipalities remain non-viable even after amalgamation. Notably, even the MDB’s own research paper indicated that amalgamating municipalities did not result in improved service delivery, with the amalgamated municipalities studied remaining financially distressed.
The MDB and the 2026 Local Government Elections
The MDB has already initiated the ward delimitation process, but it operates amid other reforms, including the critical review of the 1998 White Paper on Local Government. This moment provides an opportunity to assess whether the original vision of developmental local government remains viable, given the current political and governance challenges. Debates over the professionalisation of local government and its insulation from political interference are particularly important, against the backdrop of cadre deployment, which has crippled the sector.
A notable legislative development is the 2022 Municipal Systems Amendment Act. It sought to prohibit all municipal employees from holding political office, a move challenged by the South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) and ultimately limited by the Constitutional Court. The court ruled that only municipal managers and their direct subordinates may be restricted, restoring political rights for municipal workers and affirming the constitutional right under Section 19(1) for all citizens to make political choices and participate in party activities.
Beyond de-politicisation and professionalisation, new questions arise:
- Should the funding model be restructured to reward good governance and penalise persistent dysfunctionality?
- How can spatial planning be more tightly aligned with infrastructure investment and economic development?
- What is the MDB’s role in confronting new forms of exclusion, such as the emergence of informal settlements that challenge the principle of inclusive, integrated local government?
These are critical questions for the MDB as it proceeds. Going forward, the work of the Board must be seen as transformational, not merely a bureaucratic or technical task, particularly as the 2026 elections approach. For its mandate to be genuinely transformative, the MDB requires:
- Possession of requisite skills and professional capacity to build a competent and effective local government workforce.
- A firm commitment from all stakeholders to ensure meaningful public participation.
- Strong intergovernmental collaboration, particularly through the District Development Model (DDM), to align spatial planning with developmental goals.
The MDB’s work will decisively shape the electoral and spatial landscape of future municipalities. Its efforts must be underpinned by political will, genuine institutional reform, and meaningful civic engagement to secure a just, developmental local government that truly serves the people.
Boikanyo Nkwatle is a programme officer at ACCORD.
