Despite these concerns, Zukiswa Kota, Programme Manager at PSAM, has highlighted recent strides towards addressing long-standing issues.

Speaking on the matter, Kota said, “We are concerned about the ability of the state to meaningfully and progressively ensure those rights that are enshrined in Section 27 of the Constitution. We do however note with some encouragement both in the State of the Nation Address and to some degree in the recent Budget Speech in which the Minister of Finance outlined plans to directly address failures at municipal levels.”

Kota emphasised the critical need for robust intergovernmental collaboration to resolve municipal debt management issues that have persisted for years. While adopting a cautiously optimistic stance, she remarked, “It is high time that there is a much stronger collaborative intergovernmental approach to issues of debt management at municipal level.”

--SABC/ChannelAfrica--