\n South Africa\u2019s major municipalities, except Cape Town, are in a \u201cdeath spiral,\u201d overspending on administrative costs while neglecting critical infrastructure, Deputy Finance Minister Ashor Sarupen warned on Wednesday.\n <\/p>\n
\n Sarupen said municipal salary bills have ballooned well beyond inflation, revenue, and service output, according to Bloomberg<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe result is a state that looks busy, that delivers less, consuming more in salaries and symbolism, while investing less in infrastructure that actually keeps our cities alive,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n \n The consequences are most visible in Johannesburg, the nation\u2019s economic hub, and across many of South Africa\u2019s 256 municipalities, where residents face erratic refuse collection and recurring water and electricity outages. These failures have fueled mounting frustration and, in some cases, violent protests.\n <\/p>\n Infrastructure bill mounts<\/p>\n \n Last year, it was reported that Johannesburg, often described as Africa\u2019s wealthiest city, needs about 221 billion rand ($12 billion<\/a>) to address its crumbling infrastructure.\n <\/p>\n \n Sarupen stressed that reversing the decline would require urgent, coordinated interventions to improve accountability and redirect funding toward essential services.\n <\/p>\n \n The National Treasury, he said, is providing conditional grants to municipalities that can demonstrate sound management, ring-fence their utilities and capital budgets, and charge market-related fees for services.\n <\/p>\n