/ 25 October 2021

‘Terribly scary’: Dysfunctional municipalities are a threat to South Africa’s economy

More than two-thirds of this amount relates to a 2016 investigation into irregular expenditure and maladministration at the ​Msunduzi local municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
The MTBPS tabled by the finance minister in the National Assembly on 26 October confirms that the treasury’s fiscal framework only works if municipalities deliberately entrench poverty. (Paul Botes/M&G)

The country’s local governments are a drag on investment, a strain on the fiscus and pose a critical sovereign risk

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