Councillors' Farewell Parties Cost Hundreds of Millions

Municipalities across South Africa spent hundreds of millions of rand on farewell events for outgoing councillors while communities still lack basic services.

Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in City Hall

Councillors' Farewell Parties Cost Hundreds of Millions

Live Poll

Do you trust your local municipality to spend public money responsibly?

Municipalities across South Africa spent hundreds of millions of rand on farewell events for outgoing councillors, funded from municipal budgets. The events featured halls, catering, sound systems, gifts, decorations and alcohol as councillors' five-year term ended.

Why it matters

The spending comes as many communities still lack water, electricity and tarred roads, and as millions of residents live in mud or makeshift houses. The debate raises questions about how municipal resources are managed and prioritised for South African residents.

Municipal spending on councillor farewell events totalled hundreds of millions of rand nationally, according to reporting on municipal budgets. The precise total and per-municipality breakdown remain unclear from the available information.

The players

Dagma Mamanyoha

Executive Mayor of Mopani District Municipality in Limpopo, who addressed outgoing councillors at a farewell event.

Odas Ngobeni

Mayor of Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality in Limpopo, who addressed a farewell event alongside the provincial cooperative governance MEC.

Pule Shayi

Member of the Executive Council for Cooperative Governance in Limpopo, who addressed a farewell event in Greater Tzaneen.

Ledile Molope

Provincial Director of Operations at the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), who called for responsible management of municipal resources.

Siviko Mabunda

Provincial secretary of the Forum for Limpopo Entrepreneurs, who criticised the banquets as wasteful expenditure.

The details

Farewell events for outgoing councillors, marking the end of their five-year term, included flashy halls, pricey catering, sound systems, gifts, decorations, washdowns and expensive alcohol. Speakers at events in Limpopo, including Mopani District Municipality Executive Mayor Dagma Mamanyoha and Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality Mayor Odas Ngobeni, addressed the gatherings, while critics called the spending wasteful.

1 November 2021: Councillors' five-year term began.
1 November 2026: Councillors' five-year term ended.
A fortnight before publication: Greater Tzaneen farewell event addressed by Mayor Ngobeni and MEC Pule Shayi.

Big Picture

The spending contrasts with long-standing service-delivery backlogs in South African municipalities, where water, electricity and tarred roads remain outstanding in many areas. It sharpens scrutiny of how local governments allocate budgets between events and infrastructure.

Residents in affected municipalities face continued gaps in water, electricity and road access while municipal budgets fund events. Ratepayers are directly affected by how their municipality allocates its spending.

The takeaway

Tracking how municipalities spend their budgets helps residents hold local leaders accountable for delivering basic services. Residents can ask their councils for published expenditure reports on events and service-delivery priorities.