Cllr Bheke Stofile
According to Statistics South Africa’s census 2022 around half of South Africa’s over 62 million population reside in just 17 of 257 municipalities. These are overwhelmingly metropolitan and secondary city municipalities where jobs are created, where children go to school, where basic service are consistently accessible and where hope is either built or broken.
More than 60% of the population lives in urban areas, and by 2030, that figure is expected to be 71%, and 80% by mid-century.
This concentration of people in particular geographic spaces is not a statistical curiosity it is a historical structural reality with far-reaching consequences for housing, infrastructure demand, economic opportunity, environmental sustainability and social cohesion.
The numbers show that economic hubs attract people. This is consistent with global migration patterns. People move for work, education, housing, and safety. It explains why provinces like Gauteng and Western Cape have seen high volumes of in-migration.
Gauteng has about 16-million people, with Johannesburg and Tshwane each home to more than 5-million. Together with Cape Town, eThekwini and Nelson Mandela Bay, these metros account for 42% of the urban population – and they generate more than half of our national economic output while urban centres collectively contribute 81% of the national economic output.
Cities and towns are the engines of economic growth. They have a huge potential to drive commerce, culture, and innovation, support small businesses, and create a conducive environment for job creation.
Rural-urban linkages are equally significant. These connections – spanning people, goods, services and knowledge – are instrumental in sustaining vital interdependencies between rural and urban areas, helping to drive inclusive growth, reduce poverty and improve livelihoods across the country.
For local municipalities to truly advance South Africa’s growth agenda, it is essential to adopt an all-of-government and all-of-society approach.
This means aligning efforts and resources across national, provincial and local spheres, as well as engaging communities, traditional authorities, and the private sector, to ensure development strategies benefit both rural and urban spaces.
It is within this context that the South African Local Government Association (Salga) will at the end of this month host its national members assembly under the theme: “Empowering municipalities to drive South Africa’s growth agenda through economic resilience and sustainable service delivery.”
More than 1 000 delegates from member municipalities, local government experts and policy makers exploring how local government can anchor national growth and sustainability.
The gathering takes place at a pivotal moment in the history of local government. Various reforms and legislative reviews are underway, central among them is the review of the 1998 white paper on local government.
This calls for a bold reimagining of local government as a catalyst to drive our country’s growth agenda.
If we want South Africa to grow, we must empower municipalities to lead the way and drive inclusive development. It is at the local sphere where the real action is.
This is the place where change is felt or fails.
We must empower municipalities by ensuring that we:
• Reform the funding model and ensure that municipalities get a fair share of resources and access to innovative financing.
• Professionalise local government and protect technical roles from political interference, invest in skills, and foster ethical leadership.
• Build real partnerships where banks, insurers, and Sars become allies in revenue collection and financial sustainability.
• Align national, provincial, and local plans, thus ending duplication and ensuring every rand delivers maximum impact.
Development must be inclusive. In the new chapter of local government, every municipality must become a place of opportunity, transformation and growth.
This must inspire all of us to ensure a thriving local government. When local government thrives, South Africa thrives.
• Stofile is the president of Salga
