Six Municipalities Withhold Legal Work Records
Cooperative Governance lacks a consolidated record of legal work by six South African municipalities, and five have yet to respond to its request.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in City Hall
The Department of Cooperative Governance does not hold a complete consolidated record of legal work, invoices, payments and service providers across six municipalities. It requested the information for the 2021/22 to 2025/26 financial years, with only Makana Local Municipality having submitted its response.
Why it matters
Detailed legal-work information is held mainly at municipal level, so the Department asked the municipalities directly to give Parliament accurate and verifiable figures. Outstanding responses delay the transparency Parliament has requested.
Six municipalities were asked for legal-work details covering five financial years, including law firm or consultant names and amounts invoiced and paid. Only Makana Local Municipality has fully responded, while Masilonyana's reply was returned for correction and four municipalities have not yet answered.
The players
Department of Cooperative Governance
The national department responsible for coordinating and supporting South Africa's local government sphere, which requested the legal-work records from the municipalities.
The details
The Department asked each municipality to report every legal matter, its nature, the law firm or consultant involved and the amounts invoiced and paid. Municipal Managers or Chief Financial Officers were asked to certify the information before submission.
Timeline
The requested records cover the 2021/22 to 2025/26 financial years.
The parliamentary question reply was published on 3 November 2026.
City Hall
Municipalities administer their own affairs within the constitutional and legislative framework governing local government, yet national oversight depends on their reporting. The Department's request for certified records tests how that autonomy is balanced against accountability to Parliament.
Residents of the six municipalities may see their local government's legal spending scrutinised once the records are consolidated. The Department will send Parliament a supplementary reply containing the information it receives.
The takeaway
Public spending on municipal legal services depends on accurate local records, so timely certified reporting is central to accountability. Citizens can follow whether outstanding municipal responses reach Parliament.
Further reading
Explore more City Hall coverage of how South African municipalities are governed and overseen.
