The National Treasury will release the remaining July 2026 equitable share allocations previously withheld from municipalities to prevent disruptions to basic service delivery.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced the decision on Tuesday, saying the funds had been withheld for nearly 30 days under Section 216(2) of the Constitution after municipalities failed to comply with key financial management requirements.
He stressed that the release does not mean the affected municipalities have met the requirements of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) or other governance obligations.
“The release must be understood as a conditional release, intended to protect basic service delivery while requiring affected municipalities to correct the serious weaknesses identified,” Godongwana said.
The allocations were withheld after municipalities adopted unfunded budgets, accumulated unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure (UIFWE), and failed to meet payment obligations to Eskom, water boards, SARS and other entities.
Of the 69 municipalities initially affected, 20 have received their full allocations, 21 have received partial payments and 28 are yet to receive any funds.
Treasury said municipalities must now comply with strict reporting and governance conditions or risk having their December 2026 equitable share allocations withheld.
No tags for this post.
