President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Thursday launch the Cabinet-approved Revised White Paper on Local Government (WPLG), 2026, aimed at addressing persistent challenges in municipal governance, financial management, institutional capacity and service delivery.
The launch, to be held at the Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, will take place under the theme: “Every Municipality Must Work: From Policy to Collective Action”.
The Revised White Paper builds on the national dialogue on the future of local government, including resolutions of the 2022 Presidential Local Government Summit, stakeholder consultations and government’s ongoing efforts to reform the local government system.
The policy provides a framework for a differentiated approach to municipalities, recognising that metropolitan, secondary-city, rural and small-town municipalities have different capacities, challenges and development needs.
The launch follows President Ramaphosa’s commitment in the 2026 State of the Nation Address to finalise a revised White Paper to reimagine the local government system and address its structural and operational challenges.
The event will also introduce the Implementation Plan and Transition Management Body, which will support the transition from policy development to implementation. The White Paper will be accompanied by a Research Compendium consolidating the research that informed the policy review.
The launch is expected to bring together the political and administrative leadership of all 257 municipalities, national and provincial government, Parliament, oversight institutions, organised local government, traditional and Khoi-San leadership, organised labour, business, civil society, academia and development partners.
The engagement will seek to strengthen stakeholder ownership of the revised policy and reinforce the shared responsibility of government and wider society in building capable, accountable and developmental municipalities that deliver reliable services and respond to community needs. - SAnews.gov.za
