The North West Provincial Treasury, in collaboration with national and provincial government partners, is strengthening support to municipalities to improve the management, expenditure and reporting of infrastructure grants.
The Provincial Treasury, National Treasury, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), and the National and Provincial Disaster Management Centres held a Municipal Unspent Infrastructure Grant Roll-Over engagement session to assist municipalities with the management of key infrastructure grants.
The session was held in line with Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) Circular No. 134, which outlines the rules, deadlines and documentation required for municipalities to submit rollover applications for unspent conditional grants, in terms of Section 21(2) of the 2025 Division of Revenue Act (DoRA).
The engagement focused on the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) and Municipal Disaster Recovery Grant, with particular attention given to sound planning, efficient expenditure, accurate reporting, and compliance with grant requirements.
Provincial Treasury Head of Department, Ndlela Kunene, said effective grant management is important not only for municipal financial performance and compliance, but for ensuring that public resources ultimately translate into infrastructure and services that respond to the needs of communities.
Kunene said the engagement takes place against the backdrop of equitable share withholdings affecting municipalities, alongside the growing need for effective municipal responses, to natural disasters that affect communities and infrastructure across the province.
“These pressures reinforce the importance of sound financial management, credible planning and effective coordination among municipalities and the provincial and national institutions responsible for supporting local government,” Kunene said.
He said rollover applications have been received from 10 municipalities in the North West and would be assessed by National Treasury, in accordance with the requirements of MFMA Circular No. 134.
The circular stipulates that rollover requests must arise from unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances before they can be considered for approval.
Kunene said the Municipal Disaster Recovery Grant is particularly important in enabling affected municipalities to respond to infrastructure damage arising from declared disasters, while effective implementation of the MIG remains central to municipalities' efforts to address infrastructure needs.
“The Provincial Treasury will continue working with National Treasury, CoGTA, disaster management structures and municipalities to strengthen financial management and support the effective implementation of municipal grants,” he said.
Through these collaborative efforts, the department seeks to ensure that municipalities are better positioned to manage public resources responsibly and that infrastructure funding contributes to sustainable service delivery and improved conditions in communities. – SAnews.gov.za
