Motlanthe warns municipalities are heading for collapse

JOHANNESBURG - Former President Kgalema Motlanthe says almost 90 percent of municipalities are in trouble.

He was speaking at his foundation's Annual Drakensberg Inclusive Growth Forum.

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Leaders from various sectors are gathering to discuss issues affecting the country.

Motlanthe says 66 of the country's municipalities are completely dysfunctional.

"A case should be made therefore on how to improve efficiency and capacity of local government and local economies through the informal sector and tourism," he said.

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"If we had to examine that data provided by the Minister in the Presidency for planning monitoring and evaluation, it reveals that almost 90 percent of the 257 municipalities are in trouble with 163 of them currently distressed and 66 totally dysfunctional.

"Many of these municipalities failed to fully spend their infrastructure grants."