Across South Africa, roads crumble, wastewater systems fail, refuse accumulates and infrastructure projects stall midway through completion. Increasingly, many citizens are asking the same question: What is happening to our municipalities?

Recently, I read about a briefing presented to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) by the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) on the 2024/25 audit outcomes and governance challenges affecting JB Marks Local Municipality, City of Matlosana Local Municipality and Ditsobotla Local Municipality. The findings painted a deeply troubling picture of governance instability, weak financial controls, stalled infrastructure projects, deteriorating wastewater systems, irregular expenditure and severe failures in accountability. It made me realise that perhaps we are no longer asking the right questions.

The North-West University (NWU), of which I am the principal and vice-chancellor, alone produced nearly 13 000 graduates this graduation season, from diplomas to PhDs. Why then are municipalities in the North West Province still found wanting when it comes to skills? If municipalities continue to cite ‘skills shortages’, then the issue can surely no longer primarily be one of educational supply.

The NWU and other universities across the country continue to produce graduates, research outputs and community engagement initiatives aimed at addressing South Africa’s developmental challenges and critical skills shortages. Every year, our universities produce accountants, engineers, scientists, planners, public administrators, legal professionals and technologists capable of contributing meaningfully to the public sector.

Let us be honest. The real crisis within many of our municipalities is not simply one of skills. It is instability in leadership, the politicisation of appointments, poor institutional management, poor people management, and undue political interference.

It ultimately points to the painfully slow progress being made in depoliticising the public service, or, put differently, in professionalising the public service.

There is not a shortage of skills. There is a shortage of ethical leadership, institutional accountability and administrative stability.

The consequences of municipal dysfunction are also not abstract. As university leaders, we see them affecting our students directly.

The dysfunction of municipalities such as JB Marks and Emfuleni has real implications for stability on and around our campuses. We have seen how service delivery failures, deteriorating infrastructure and prolonged municipal inefficiencies contribute to frustration, instability and disruption within university communities, including on campuses such as Vanderbijlpark.

Municipal collapse also exposes students, particularly those living off campus, to serious safety risks. When streetlights remain broken for extended periods, when roads and surrounding infrastructure deteriorate, and when basic municipal maintenance fails, our students become more vulnerable to crime and gender-based violence.

This becomes even more concerning when universities and their surrounding communities are among the most significant ratepayers within these municipalities. Institutions that contribute substantially to local economies and municipal revenue should not have to operate amid collapsing infrastructure and deteriorating public services.

A failing municipality does not only damage roads, wastewater systems and public finances. It erodes dignity, weakens communities, undermines institutions and places young people at risk.

Too often, technically capable officials operate within environments characterised by constant political turbulence, acting appointments, weak consequence management and institutional uncertainty. No municipality can function optimally when leadership positions remain vacant for extended periods, when institutional memory is continuously disrupted, or when political considerations outweigh merit and competence.

A capable state is not built merely by producing graduates. It is built by creating institutions where competence is protected, ethical leadership is rewarded, and professionals are allowed to perform their functions without fear, favour or undue interference.

As universities, we are producing graduates whose employability and ability to contribute meaningfully to society increasingly depend on the whims of self-serving politics. That is not what our students signed up for, and it is not what South Africans were promised in a democratic state founded on constitutional values, accountability and professional public administration.

The tragedy is not that South Africa lacks talent. Our universities continue to produce remarkable young people with the skills, resilience and intellectual ability to help rebuild this country. The tragedy is that too many institutions are unable, or unwilling, to create environments where that talent can flourish.

If we are serious about rebuilding our municipalities, then we must move beyond simply talking about skills shortages. We must speak honestly about professionalising the public service, insulating institutions from excessive political interference, strengthening accountability, and restoring ethical leadership at every level of government.
Without capable institutions, even the best graduates will struggle to succeed. And without professional public administration, no amount of qualifications alone will rescue failing municipalities.

By Prof. Bismark Tyobeka, principal and vice-chancellor of the North-West University (NWU).