Introduction
Legislation and Policies
Budget
Introduction
Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (DCoGTA)
The DCoGTA is responsible for facilitating cooperative governance, to support all spheres of government and to assist the institution of traditional leadership with transforming itself into a strategic partner of government in the development of communities.
The department’s mission is to ensure that all municipalities perform their basic responsibilities and functions consistently by:
- putting people and their concerns first
- supporting the delivery of municipal services to the right quality and standard
- promoting good governance, transparency and accountability
- ensuring sound financial management and accounting
- building institutional resilience and administrative capability.
Chapter 13 of the NDP outlines a vision for building a capable and developmental state through interdepartmental coordination and strengthening local government. This vision is given expression by outcome 9 (responsive, accountable, effective and efficient developmental local government) of government’s 2014 – 2019 medium-term strategic framework, with which the work of the department is closely aligned. Over the medium term the department intends to focus on facilitating access to sustainable basic services through municipal infrastructure, alleviating poverty through the community work programme, providing disaster relief and enhancing proactive disaster planning.
Legislation and policies
The department oversees the implementation of, among other things, the following legislation:
- Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act, 2005 (Act 13 of 2005).
- Municipal Property Rates Act, 2004 (Act 6 of 2004).
- Municipal Property Rates Amendment Act, 2009 (Act 19 of 2009).
- Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (Act 56 of 2003).
- Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act 57 of 2002).
- Municipal Systems Act, 2000 (Act 32 of 2002).
- Municipal Systems Amendment Act, 2011 (Act 7 of 2011).
- Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, 1998 (Act 117 of 1998).
- Local Government: Municipal Demarcation Act, 1998 (Act 27 of 1998).
- National House of Traditional Leaders Act, 2009 (Act 22 of 2009), and Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act, 2003 (Act 41 of 2003, which were consolidated by the National Traditional Affairs Bill to simplify the process. In September 2013, the National Traditional Affairs Bill was published in the Government Gazette for public comment. The amendment of the legislation will also ensure, among other things, that traditional affairs, rather than only traditional leaders, will take centre stage. The Khoisan communities will also be fully represented in the National House of Traditional Leaders.
- The Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Amendment Act, 2014 (Act 29 of 2014) seeks to:
- regulate the categories of property in respect of which rates may be levied
- regulate the time frames of publication of the resolutions levying rates and what must be contained in the promulgated resolution
- provide for the exclusion from the rates of certain categories of Public Service infrastructure
- give powers to a municipality to levy different rates on vacant land
- give power to the MEC of Local Government to extend the period of validity of a valuation roll by additional two years
- amend the dates on which a supplementary valuation takes effect
- address the problems that have been experienced in the implementation of the Local Government: Municipal Property Rates Act of 2004
- White Paper on Local Government (1998)
Budget
The department has a total budget of R295.8 billion over the medium term. Of this, R278.6 billion is allocated to transfers and subsidies to provinces and municipalities, mainly for the local government equitable share and the municipal infrastructure grant, which amount to R274.1 billion over the MTEF period. A projected R14.1 billion of the department’s total budget over the medium term is allocated to goods and services, mainly for the payment of participants in the community work programme. Total expenditure is expected to increase at an average annual rate of 8.8%, from R82.8 billion in 2018/19 to R106.6 billion in 2021/22.
The department anticipates an increase in personnel, from 491 in 2018/19 to 548 in 2021/22, across all programmes to strengthen its capacity for the implementation of the integrated urban development framework, and municipal support and reporting functions. As such, spending on compensation of employees is expected to increase at an annual average rate of 10.5% from R310 million in 2018/19 to R418.3 million in 2021/22. For the 2018/19 financial year, the department was allocated R85 billion.
Source: South Africa Yearbook 2018/19