An Investigation into the Effectiveness of Section 139 of the Constitution in Municipalities under Administration: A Case of KwaZulu-Natal Municipalities

Abstract

The local government sector in South Africa is always marred with challenges in service delivery which is an indication that some municipalities are struggling to fulfil their constitutional mandates or obligations. The Constitution Act (1996) of the Republic of South Africa mandates provincial and national government departments to intervene in municipalities that are failing to meet their constitutional obligations such as service delivery, revenue collection, financial management, financial reporting, playing an oversight role, etc. Even though there are diagnostics reports detailing the reasons for dysfunctionality of municipalities that end up being under Section 139, the three main contributing factors to such kind of intervention are collapse of governance, failed service delivery and financial crisis. The rising number of municipalities under Section 139 intervention in South Africa in general is alarming. This has led to general perception that possibly Section 139 interventions are not effective. Both the Auditor-General of South Africa and the Chairperson of the Select Committee of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs joined the Parliamentary Committee in raising concerns about possible ineffectiveness of Section 139 interventions. These are some of the reasons why this study investigated effectiveness of Section 139 interventions in KwaZulu-Natal municipalities.