Financial sustainability in Western Cape municipalities during the pandemic

I was part of a team from the School for Public Leadership at Stellenbosch University that – in partnership with the Hanns Seidel Foundation – conducted a research study on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on municipal fiscal sustainability in the Western Cape (WC) province. The study was completed in April 2021 and covered the first 9 months of the pandemic (3 financial quarters), from April 2020 to December 2020 . The local municipalities in the sample included Stellenbosch, Drakenstein (large municipalities), Bergrivier, Hessequa (medium sized municipalities) and Swellendam, Kannaland and Laingsburg (small municipalities). The district municipalities (DMs) in the sample included Central Karoo DM, West Coast DM and Cape Winelands.

The following short articles in the Local Government Bulletin special edition in October 2021 are based on that study:

A radical reconfiguration of the local government fiscal framework is required, not incremental tinkering

How adequate is the Local Government Equitable Share grant in the face of escalating costs of municipal service delivery?

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on local municipalities in the Western Cape

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on district municipalities in the Western Cape

Streamlining the administrative burden in Western Cape municipalities

Towards increased fiscal and operational sustainability in Western Cape local municipalities.

To read the full report, please click here.