Fix the damn potholes: The poverty of our politics

What is a municipality, and which everyday services is it expected to provide?

A municipality is a local government authority that manages services affecting residents’ everyday lives. It matters because people experience government through practical basics, not only through national policies. The article presents these basics as pothole repairs, clean water, reliable electricity, sewage removal and safe streets.

When a road breaks, residents and businesses face higher costs. When water stops, households must find another supply. When electricity fails, people may need backup arrangements. A blocked drain can become a health hazard. These are municipal service failures because the work of maintaining local infrastructure has not been done reliably.

Municipalities operate within wider national and provincial systems, and they face revenue, policy and infrastructure constraints. Still, residents need clear answers about who must act. The article argues that explanations of jurisdiction should lead to solutions, not end the discussion. Reliable basic services are central to dignity, security and social justice.

Why have potholes, unreliable water and electricity, sewage problems and unsafe streets become major issues in South Africa’s local government elections?

Potholes, water interruptions, unreliable electricity, blocked drains and unsafe streets have become major election issues because they directly shape people’s lives. Residents do not experience government as an abstract system. They experience it through roads, taps, power lines, sanitation and public safety. These services show whether political promises produce usable results.

The article describes a familiar problem: citizens ask about water or electricity, but receive explanations about history or jurisdiction. Meanwhile, a resident carrying water home still needs a solution before supper. Service failure also creates hidden costs. A broken road can mean repairs and lost earnings for a taxi owner. A blocked drain can threaten health.

The local government elections on 4 November therefore provide a practical test. Parties should state which services will improve, what they will cost, who is responsible and how progress will be reported. Voters can then judge delivery rather than announcements.

How many South African municipalities received clean audits in 2024/25, and what does a clean audit show?

In 2024/25, only 39 South African municipalities achieved clean audits. That represented 15% of municipalities, according to the Auditor-General. A clean audit generally indicates that financial statements and related records meet required standards, although it does not by itself prove that residents receive excellent services.

The article makes this distinction important. Financial discipline matters because public money must be controlled and accounted for. But residents also need evidence that spending improves daily life. Money can be properly recorded without producing dependable water, electricity, roads or sewage removal. Audit performance is therefore one measure of municipal competence, not the whole measure.

The figure points to a serious accountability challenge before local elections. Municipalities and political parties should connect budgets to visible improvements and explain who is responsible for delivery. Future scrutiny should ask both whether money was managed correctly and whether it made residents’ lives more secure, accessible and dignified.

What happens to households, workers and small businesses when municipal services fail?

Municipal service failure transfers public responsibilities to private people. Households spend time finding water, arranging alternatives or coping with unsafe conditions. Workers may lose time or income while travelling around damaged roads. Small businesses face repair bills, interruptions and reduced earnings. The burden becomes unpaid work that residents never agreed to perform.

The article gives clear examples. A water interruption means time spent finding another supply. A broken road creates a taxi owner’s repair bill and lost earnings. A blocked drain becomes a health hazard. These costs are not shared equally. A household able to buy a water tank or backup power may experience inconvenience, while another absorbs the disruption directly.

This is why the article calls municipal competence an issue of social justice. Praising people for resilience can hide institutional failure. Reliable services would reduce the unequal costs carried by households, workers and small businesses, while making daily life safer and more dignified.

Which level of government is responsible for fixing a failed service when national, provincial and municipal powers overlap?

When a service fails across national, provincial and municipal powers, responsibility can become unclear. The article does not assign every service to one government level. Instead, it says national policy, provincial responsibilities, revenue pressures and inherited infrastructure all shape municipal constraints. That complexity does not remove the need for action.

A resident carrying water home cannot reorganise the three spheres of government before supper. Citizens therefore need an answer that identifies who must act and how different authorities will cooperate. If delivery depends on another sphere, parties should explain the cooperation required. Jurisdiction should begin a plan, not close the conversation.

The practical test is accountability. Before elections, parties should state which services will improve, what the work will cost, who is responsible and how progress will be reported. That would let residents distinguish a funded commitment from a promise and completed work from an announcement, even where several government levels are involved.

How do apartheid-era patterns of land, wealth and access to opportunity still shape the quality and impact of municipal services?

Apartheid-era patterns continue to shape land, wealth and access to opportunity. They influence how far residents live from jobs and services, and how much capacity households have to absorb failures. Municipal competence therefore has unequal consequences. A service interruption is not experienced in the same way by every family.

The article uses city growth as an example. Densification is needed to confront apartheid geography, but new homes require supporting systems. More households need adequate sewage, transport, schools and clinics. If development expands while old infrastructure degrades, residents may remain far from opportunity or face failing services in more crowded areas.

History explains why the work is difficult, but it cannot provide an indefinite exemption from scrutiny. The ANC is challenged to account for appointments, maintenance, procurement and spending. The DA is challenged to show whose circumstances improve through competence and development. Future policy must connect growth and transformation with reliable infrastructure and meaningful resident influence.

How do municipal budgets, procurement, maintenance and public accountability turn political promises into reliable services?

Municipal budgets turn political promises into possible work by assigning money to priorities. Procurement determines how public resources are acquired, while maintenance keeps infrastructure functioning after it is built. Accountability connects all three to results. Without these links, a promise may remain an announcement rather than a funded, completed commitment.

The article points to everyday mechanisms. Spending should make life more secure, accessible and dignified. Maintenance should prevent roads, drains and infrastructure from degrading. Procurement and appointments should withstand scrutiny. Parties should identify the service, cost, responsible person or institution and reporting process. Residents can then track whether delivery is happening.

The current record is weak: only 39 municipalities, or 15%, achieved clean audits in 2024/25. Financial discipline is necessary, but it is not sufficient. Municipalities must show how controlled spending produces working services. Accountability should apply to allies and opponents alike, and cooperation should include accepting useful proposals from other parties.

Key Facts:

📌 Municipalities are expected to provide practical services residents use every day.

📌 The article names roads, water, electricity, sewage removal and safe streets.

📌 Service failures shift work and costs onto households and businesses.

📌 Local elections test whether political power improves residents’ daily lives.

📌 Residents often receive explanations instead of clear responsibility for fixing services.

📌 Service failures create costs that households and businesses must absorb.

📌 Only 39 municipalities achieved clean audits in 2024/25.