{
  "id": 1195145,
  "title": "Transforming Municipalities Into Engines of Economic Growth",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/transforming-municipalities-into-engines-of-economic-growth",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-16T04:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IOL",
    "slug": "iol",
    "url": "https://iol.co.za/sunday-tribune/opinion/2026-08-16-transforming-municipalities-into-engines-of-economic-growth/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "As we approach the 4th of November 2026, South Africans face a crucial decision not just about who will lead their municipalities after local elections, but more importantly, about the type of governance they require for the next stage of their development. Municipalities are expected to evolve from simply collecting waste, fixing potholes, managing accounts and enforcing regulations. The future municipality should transform into a local-level developmental state, serving as the engine for investment, production, employment and social transformation. This transformation is particularly urgent for South Africa, which desperately needs to boost economic growth, fixed investment and employment creation. Globally, cities contribute to approximately 80% of GDP and 88% of private-sector job creation. Therefore, South Africa's municipalities cannot remain isolated entities from the national economic project. Following the Local Government Elections on November 4th, economic development must become an integral part of local government's identity. Five pillars should be the foundation of this new developmental municipality. First, municipalities should move away from being dependent on conditional grants, equitable-share allocations and other fiscal transfers from the national treasury. While transfers will continue to be necessary, especially for poorer municipalities with limited revenue sources, a developmental municipality must focus on identifying its economic assets and developing mechanisms to increase its own revenue base. Municipalities should explore innovative approaches like municipal property, development charges, properly governed municipal entities, infrastructure partnerships, land-value capture, investment partnerships and access to responsible long-term capital. The second pillar is for each municipality to view investment as its business. Municipalities should aim to streamline the process for investors seeking to establish factories in their areas, ensuring that planning approval, electricity connections, water approvals, environmental authorisations and building permits are obtained swiftly. The third pillar involves municipalities declaring war on unemployment. Every mayor should be as aware of their municipality's unemployment rate as they are of the state of the municipal budget. Municipalities should proactively create local economic ecosystems, supporting township enterprises, cooperatives, informal traders, tourism businesses, manufacturing SMEs, technology enterprises and young entrepreneurs. Fourthly, municipalities must address urban food insecurity, a developmental emergency that is no longer confined to rural areas. High levels of urban food insecurity, exacerbated by spatial inequality, require municipalities to take proactive measures to ensure that poorer residents have access to nutritious food. Lastly, municipalities must leverage their comparative advantages. Buffalo City should focus on its automotive and ocean economy potential, Nelson Mandela Bay should capitalize on its ports, manufacturing base and industrial infrastructure, Johannesburg should strengthen its role as Africa's premier commercial city, and rural municipalities should harness opportunities in agriculture, tourism, renewable energy, agro-processing and logistics. Economic development should not be confined to a single, under-resourced department. Instead, it should become the responsibility of the entire municipal administration, with every municipal department working collaboratively towards shared goals.",
  "summary": "Exploring the urgent need for South African municipalities to evolve into developmental states that drive economic growth, job creation, and social transformation ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}