President Ramaphosa Condemns Municipal Underspending as Act of Treason
(The Post News)- President Cyril Ramaphosa Condemned Municipal underspending, labelling it as a betrayal of public trust in the National Council of Provinces Plenary on Wednesday, 25 June 2025. The president was responding to a question about the government’s assessment regarding the impact of the inadequate spending by municipalities.
In a question posed by K.M. Mmoiemang, the plenary was addressing municipalities that continue to underspend and fail to adequately use the allocated service delivery budgets to ensure they develop the necessary capacity, acquire the requisite skills and establish credible financial management systems.
Ramaphosa has acknowledged the significance of the issue, particularly in relation to spending on infrastructure allocations. He described the poor Municipal spending as a serious offence, saying, “I actually often characterise it as treason against the people of South Africa when monies that have been allocated are not spent and returned back to the treasury. Inadequate or slow capital expenditure by municipalities and provinces has, in many ways, hampered the delivery of the services that are due to our people.”
The President added to say that, in addition to that, “it erodes public trust in the state’s ability to improve the livelihood of our citizens and exacerbates service delivery protests.” He proceeded to highlight the consequences of underspending, reflecting ineffective governance. “The inability of many Municipalities to spend their capital budget is often the result of poor management, poor planning, weak implementation capacity and inadequate financial and supply chain management.” Said Ramaphosa.
Amongst other measures considered to address the root causes of underspending, Ramaphosa mentioned that “Key interventions that we often embark on include budget monitoring forums that are coordinated by the national treasury to track in-year spending and detect low expenditure patterns.” He said that the measures will ensure that infrastructure is maintained and expanded to improve service delivery.
The President explained that as municipalities re-evaluate and realign, there is hope to see better results. He further addressed the matter of a lack of Consequence management. He said that it is a matter that the government is attending to in great detail, as there is a demand for accountability and responsibility of duties from the elected representatives.
About the Author
