THE MOGALAKWENA LOCAL MUNICIPALITY IN SOUTH AFRICA

The report examines the Mogalakwena Local Municipality as a site of 'perpetual instability' driven by cyclical factionalism within the ANC at local, regional, and provincial levels. It details how political battles over the appointment of the Municipal Manager (MM) and other senior officials led to a breakdown of the party-state interface, resulting in a complete municipal shutdown in 2014, the diversion of public funds toward 'lawfare' and private security, and a severe halt in basic service delivery. The study argues that the municipality's collapse reflects broader institutional fragility within the South African state under the Zuma administration.

• The Mogalakwena Local Municipality is characterized by 'perpetual instability', where recurrent factionalism within the ANC at provincial, regional, and local levels has permeated the administration, leading to a complete shutdown of the municipality and a halt in service delivery.
• Political conflict between the ANC's Waterberg Region and the Limpopo provincial leadership manifested in the contested appointment of Municipal Manager (MM) Willy Kekana, which served as a catalyst for escalating disputes that crippled the municipality.
• The provincial government, specifically the Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (CoGHSTA), has been used as an administrative tool to advance the interests of specific ANC factions, including the use of forensic reports to remove political rivals.
• The municipality has experienced a rise in 'lawfare', where legal processes, forensic investigations, and private attorneys are used to justify politically expedient strategies, often funded by the municipality itself.
• The political turmoil led to extreme securitization and violence, including the use of armed bodyguards and police to forcibly reinstall an ousted mayor in 2014, and the assassination of a local social movement leader.
• Administrative functions have been severely degraded, with a reliance on acting managers in key positions, a lack of institutional memory, and the marginalization of critical units like Performance Management and Risk Management.
• There is a significant disconnect between official municipal reports on service delivery and the actual experiences of the community, particularly regarding water access and unfinished projects.
• The municipality's instability is linked to the broader 'fragile stability' of the South African state, suggesting that internal ANC splintering has turned state institutions into battlegrounds for competing factions.

APA

Public Affairs Research Institute (2017). THE MOGALAKWENA LOCAL MUNICIPALITY IN SOUTH AFRICA. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/310717-Mogalakwena-report-Final.pdf

Chicago

Public Affairs Research Institute. THE MOGALAKWENA LOCAL MUNICIPALITY IN SOUTH AFRICA. 2017. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/310717-Mogalakwena-report-Final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Public Affairs Research Institute |title=THE MOGALAKWENA LOCAL MUNICIPALITY IN SOUTH AFRICA |date=2017 |url=https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/310717-Mogalakwena-report-Final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{publicaffairsresearchinstitute2017mogalakwena, author = {{Public Affairs Research Institute}}, title = {{THE MOGALAKWENA LOCAL MUNICIPALITY IN SOUTH AFRICA}}, institution = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2017}, url = {https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/310717-Mogalakwena-report-Final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }