Here are the worst municipalities in South Africa

The Auditor-General’s latest audit report on local government revealed 62 municipalities which are in severe financial distress.

On Wednesday, 24 June 2026, the Auditor General (AG), Tsakani Maluleke, released the 2024-25 Consolidated General Report on Local Government Audit Outcomes.

This report revealed serious financial and operational challenges at municipalities across South Africa.

Only 15% of municipalities in South Africa achieved clean audits, and 24% of the total local government expenditure budget has regressed over the last 5 years.

A particular problem is that the performance of South Africa’s eight metros continues to decline, with none achieving a clean audit.

The Auditor-General found that the financial positions of 62 municipalities were so dire that they reported going-concern uncertainty.

That means that there are serious doubts about whether these municipalities have enough financial resources to continue operating in the foreseeable future.

In the commercial world, if a company is not a going concern, it is in such trouble that it faces liquidation or bankruptcy.

For a municipality, it means it is facing a severe financial crisis where its ability to deliver basic services, pay employees, and honour its debts is in jeopardy.

The report further showed that 51% of municipalities had an adverse current ratio, meaning they did not have enough current assets to cover their current liabilities.

17 municipalities were in a state of technical insolvency, meaning they had an adverse solvency ratio where their total liabilities exceeded their total assets.

174 municipalities in South Africa had an adverse liquidity ratio, meaning they did not have enough cash available to pay their creditors.

Approximately 28 municipalities lacked sufficient cash at year-end to cover even one month of fixed operating costs.

These municipalities generally operate from month to month, prioritising salary payments above other obligations.

The worst municipalities in South Africa

The 62 municipalities facing the most severe financial distress, with going concern uncertainty, were named in the report by province, as shown in the table below.