South Africa: Treasury Again Cracks Transfers Whip Over Errant Municipalities

By Ed Stoddard

It is deeply worrying that the situation has reached this point. The Treasury has clearly hit the limits of its patience, forcing it to draw a line in the sand. Years of support and guidance have been flushed down a drain of negligence

Delinquent municipalities beware: the Treasury again stands ready to withhold equitable share transfers if they don't clean up their act.

That was the message from Director-General Duncan Pieterse on Tuesday in a speech delivered at the Absa Consumer Conference - effectively a reading of the riot act.

Last week, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana released transfers that had been withheld for July after affected municipalities scrambled to settle bills, with R4.2-billion paid to creditors by 31 July.

"Despite the release of the equitable share, municipalities must still correct the serious financial and governance weaknesses that have been identified. If they do not, the National Treasury will follow the necessary steps to withhold equitable share transfers again in the future," Pieterse said in his prepared remarks.

LOCAL GOVERNANCE Treasury turns off the tap for 69 SA municipalities over rotten money management July 7, 2026 Source of the trouble

The DG provided some background to these measures - and they stemmed from water woes.

In September 2024, Vaal Central Water and Magalies Water faced imminent bankruptcy. The two boards, which supply water to the Northern Cape, Free State and North West, had stopped paying for raw water due to non-payment...

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