By Lerato Mutlanyane

North West Premier Lazarus Mokgosi has declared 2026 the “Year of Decisive Action to Fix Local Government and Transform the Economy,” unveiling an aggressive turnaround strategy aimed at restoring collapsing municipalities and improving service delivery across the province. Opening the provincial legislative year on 26 February 2026, Mokgosi committed to ensuring stable, functional municipalities ahead of the upcoming Local Government Elections, while pledging full support to the Electoral Commission to deliver free and fair polls. “Municipalities are the closest sphere of government to our people. They affect daily lives directly and serve as the practical base for economic activity,” Mokgosi said, referencing Section 153 of the Constitution, which mandates municipalities to promote social and economic development. He stressed that fixing local government means restoring administrative functionality to meet basic community needs and create an environment conducive to business growth and job creation. “We must improve water provision, electricity supply, refuse removal and road maintenance,” he said. The Premier highlighted improvements in provincial governance, noting that nine of eleven departments received unqualified and clean audit outcomes in the last audit cycle. All senior managers have complied with financial disclosure requirements, a move aimed at strengthening ethical leadership and preventing conflicts of interest. Performance agreements have been signed by Executive Council members, with political consequence management promised for non-performance. Several cases involving government and municipal officials are under investigation, while others are before the courts. On finances, Mokgosi reported that the province spent 98% of its allocation from National Treasury and expects no funds to be returned to the national fiscus this financial year. A province-wide Smart-Gov Monitoring and Evaluation Dashboard will be launched at the start of the 2026/27 financial year, integrating all departments into a single real-time oversight platform to track expenditure, performance and service delivery outcomes. Encouragingly, municipalities such as Moses Kotane, Taung and JB Marks improved from qualified to unqualified audit opinions. Disclaimer audit outcomes have dropped dramatically from nine municipalities in 2020/21 to just one — Ditsobotla — in 2024/25. However, Mokgosi admitted that instability has devastated some municipalities. He described Ditsobotla as a “textbook example” of how poor governance destroys local economies, erodes revenue and worsens unemployment. To strengthen struggling municipalities, the province will invoke Section 154 of the Constitution to enhance capacity in waste management and road maintenance. Ditsobotla and Matlosana are priority areas, with support from SANRAL and farmers’ organisations. Remedial action plans are underway, alongside Section 106 investigations into alleged maladministration at Matlosana, Madibeng and Tswaing. Eskom will assist municipalities battling load reduction through energy efficiency and demand management grants. Through the “Adopt a Municipality” initiative, Ramotshere Moiloa has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Infrastructure South Africa. Over the next 24 months, the partnership aims to fast-track infrastructure development, boost revenue collection and address maintenance backlogs. Water and sanitation remain a major priority. The province has allocated R300 million for water and sanitation projects, alongside R1.9 billion for bulk water supply initiatives in Madibeng, Ratlou, Mahikeng and Ramotshere Moiloa. Mokgosi apologised to residents affected by delays, citing vandalism and criminality as contributing factors. Cases have been reported to the South African Police Service for investigation. “The people of North West must see change,” he said. “We will not only listen — we will deliver.”