Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM) has pushed back against its inclusion on a National Treasury list of municipalities set to have their Equitable Share allocations temporarily withheld, insisting it was incorrectly named despite meeting all its financial obligations.

The Equitable Share is a financial allocation from national government revenue to local municipalities. It helps municipalities provide free basic services to indigent households and fund day-to-day administrative operations.

The office of the Executive Mayor William Matsheke confirmed that the municipality had earlier received correspondence from Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana indicating National Treasury’s intention to withhold the funding.

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The move targets municipalities that have failed to adopt funded budgets, curb irregular and wasteful expenditure, or settle outstanding debts with key institutions such as Rand Water, Eskom and the South African Revenue Service (SARS).

The mayor stated that the municipality’s account with Rand Water is fully up to date and that no overdue amounts have accumulated. The municipality subsequently requested that National Treasury reconsider its decision to withhold the Equitable Share allocation.

Despite this, National Treasury announced on July 7 that it would temporarily withhold Equitable Share funding from 69 municipalities across South Africa, citing persistent financial mismanagement. RWCLM maintains that it was erroneously included in this group.

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Matsheke warned that withholding the Equitable Share would have serious consequences for local communities.

“Withholding will definitely interrupt the provision of essential basic services and undermine our financial recovery efforts, especially when we have met all obligations required to avoid this occurrence,” he said.

The municipality said it remains committed to constructive engagement with National Treasury and is hopeful that the decision will be reviewed and reversed.

The Randfontein Herald sent a media inquiry to the National Treasury’s media team on Wednesday, July 15, for comment on whether the RWCLM had been incorrectly removed. Their media team replied that inquiries take between 24 and 48 hours for a response. On Friday, July 17, the team requested an extension to reply to the inquiry and said they would respond by Tuesday, July 21. However, on July 22 at 14:00, no further response has been received. An update will be published as soon as a response is given.