MEC Mosenogi welcomes Minister Godongwana’s decision on the release the Remaining Equitable Share of six (06) municipalities of the province
The North West MEC for Finance Kenetswe Mosenogi welcomes the decision by the Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana to commence the release of the remaining withheld Local Government Equitable Share transfers from 31 July 2026. Mosenogi expressed that the North West Provincial Government recognises that the measure was corrective in nature and aimed at strengthening fiscal discipline, accountability and compliance within municipalities.
This decision follows the temporary withholding of transfers for twelve (12) municipalities of the North West Province under Section 216(2) of the Constitution, read with the applicable provisions of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA). As at the date of Minister statement relating to the release of the remaining equitable, six of the twelve had already received entire equitable, and the last six, namely: Madibeng, JB Marks, Matlosana, Mafikeng, Maquassi Hills and Dr Ruth Segomotsi will receive their remaining equitable share effective from 31st July 2026.
Mosenogi shared that the Provincial Government has put in place deliberate measures to support municipalities to meet the conditions set by National Treasury. “We note with appreciation that most municipalities have already received their full or partial equitable share allocations, with the remaining outstanding transfers now scheduled for release this week. Six municipalities remained on the withholding list because of the slow movement in addressing Unauthorised, Irregular, Fruitless and Wasteful (UIF&We) expenditure as well as lack of consequence management.
The MEC said most importantly, the North West Provincial Government reaffirms its firm commitment to stabilising local government and ensuring that municipalities become financially viable. “It is in our collective interest to fix local government so that communities receive consistent and reliable basic services”, echoed the MEC.
The Provincial Treasury working with the affected municipalities had already to capacitate municipalities with all measures that meant to ensure that municipalities addressed the UIF&We in line with applicable circulars. The support includes provided guidance in relation to the investigations and processes that should be undertaken by relevant structures of the municipality, namely; Council, MPAC and Disciplinary Boards for implementation of effective consequence management measures.
MEC Mosenogi explained that one of the issues that continue to cripple sufficient functioning of the municipalities is the debt owed to these institutions by government departments and public entities. She indicated that the Provincial Treasury coordinated an intensive programme of engagements with provincial departments, municipalities, public entities and other stakeholders to verify outstanding balances, reconcile disputed accounts, facilitate payment arrangements and improve the credibility of municipal financial information.
The North West Provincial Government has made measurable progress towards addressing outstanding municipal debt owed by provincial departments and public entities. According to the June 2026 municipal debt reconciliation, the total amount owed by provincial departments to municipalities has been reduced to R893.1 million from the R1.010 billion reported in March 2026 Section 71 reports. This represents a decrease of approximately R116.9 million or 11.6 per cent, suggesting that reconciliation processes have significantly improved the accuracy of the debt position.
As per the Minister directive, departments have been directed to settle all undisputed debt immediately, all payment arrangements must be finalised by end of August 2026 including addressing all disputed debts by September 2026.
“These interventions have resulted in payments towards outstanding municipal debt, strengthened collaboration between government institutions and municipalities, and the establishment of structured mechanisms to improve debt reconciliation and financial reporting. The North West Provincial Government has consistently tracked and reported on these payments because the financial health of our municipalities is a shared responsibility”, said MEC.
“While we remain committed to settling all legitimate amounts due to municipalities, where genuine disputes or misstatements arise from municipal billing systems, we will not simply settle contested invoices. Instead, we will work with the affected municipalities to resolve those disputes and support them to correct their billing systems so that accounts are accurate and credible”, she exclaimed.
The North West Provincial Treasury, working with the Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs and other stakeholders, will continue to provide support, monitoring and oversight to assist municipalities to sustain compliance and improve their financial management practices ahead of the December 2026 and subsequent equitable share instalments. During the month August 2026, the Provincial Treasury working with Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs would be embarking on district specific government debts reconciliation working session with all municipalities and it is expected that government departments (both national and provincial) will be working all municipalities for reconciliation of the accounts with the sole objective of ensuring that municipal accounts are paid on time.
“We call on all municipalities in the Province to use these working sessions for reconciliation of accounts with departments and further embrace all provincial efforts in an effort to ensure that conditions for the release of the December equitable share are complied with”, concluded the MEC.
For more information contact: Media Liaison Officer Lesedi Makhubela
Cell: 062 103 2798 and Director Information Management:
Ms. Kesalopa Gill
Contact: 018-388 1363/2319/3584
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