Who runs local government in South Africa?
South Africa is covered 'wall to wall' by 257 elected municipalities: every piece of land, including former homeland areas ruled by chiefs, falls inside a municipality. Above them sit nine provinces with elected legislatures. Alongside this elected system, the Constitution recognises traditional leaders (kings, queens, senior traditional leaders and headmen), and since 2019 Khoi-San leaders too. They lead traditional councils and sit in advisory Houses, but they do not replace elected municipalities.
Republic of South Africa · Unitary parliamentary republic with three 'spheres' of government (often called quasi-federal) · Southern Africa
The levels of government below the nation
| Level | How it is chosen | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Provinces (9) | Provincial legislature elected by proportional representation (list of parties); the legislature elects a premier, who appoints an executive council of 5–10 members | Health, schools, housing and roads within national framework laws; oversees municipalities. |
| Metropolitan municipalities (8, 'Category A') | Council elected every five years: half the seats are ward councillors chosen by first-past-the-post, half come from party lists; the council elects the mayor | Single tier of local government for the biggest cities (e.g. Johannesburg, Cape Town, eThekwini/Durban). |
| District municipalities (44, 'Category C') | Partly directly elected by proportional representation and partly made up of councillors sent by the local municipalities inside the district | Share functions with local municipalities, e.g. bulk water, district planning and health. |
| Local municipalities (205, 'Category B') | Council elected like a metro: ward councillors plus party-list councillors; council elects mayor | Day-to-day services: water and electricity distribution, refuse, local roads, land-use planning. |
| Wards (4,468 at the 2021 elections) | Each ward elects one councillor; a ward committee of up to 10 community members is chaired by the ward councillor | Not a government in its own right; a link between residents and the council. |
Three questions about local power in South Africa
Are local leaders elected?
All 257 municipal councils and nine provincial legislatures are elected. Mayors are chosen by councils, not directly by voters. Traditional leaders are not elected: they inherit their position according to custom and are then officially recognised by government.
Which laws set up local government?
Municipalities, wards and ward committees are set up by the Constitution and statute. Traditional leadership is also formal, through Chapter 12 and the 2019 Act. Street committees, ratepayers' groups and lobby groups like CONTRALESA are informal.
Who are local leaders accountable to?
Councils answer to voters every five years and can be placed under provincial administration if they fail (section 139 of the Constitution). Traditional leaders answer to their communities, to the Houses' codes of conduct and to government, which can withdraw recognition; courts can review both.
Traditional and customary authority
Chapter 12 of the Constitution recognises 'the institution, status and role of traditional leadership, according to customary law'. The Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act 3 of 2019 (in force from 1 April 2021) sets out who is recognised: kingships and queenships, principal and senior traditional leaders, headmen and headwomen, and for the first time Khoi-San leaders. It also creates traditional councils and National, provincial and local Houses of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders, which advise government but cannot pass laws. Traditional leaders may sit in municipal councils whose area includes their community, but only as non-voting participants. In KwaZulu-Natal about 2.8 million hectares of communal land is held by the Ingonyama Trust, set up by a 1994 law with the Zulu king as trustee; the Trust Board administers the land and the people living on it hold their rights under customary law. CONTRALESA (the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa) is a voluntary organisation that lobbies for traditional leaders; it is not a government body and has no legal powers.
Community and neighbourhood power
The Constitution (section 152) requires municipalities to encourage community involvement. The Municipal Structures Act lets municipalities set up a ward committee in each ward: up to 10 people representing local interests, chaired by the ward councillor, who advise the council. They have no budget or legal powers of their own. Municipalities must also consult residents on their five-year Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and budget. Outside the law there are many residents' and ratepayers' associations, street committees and community policing forums.
Points to know
- There are no areas 'outside' local government: former homeland land run by chiefs is still inside an elected municipality.
- Elected councillors and chiefs often overlap in the same village, so decisions about land, roads and water can involve both.
- The Constitutional Court ruled in May 2023 that Parliament had not consulted the public properly before passing the 2019 Act, so the Act was declared invalid, but the ruling was suspended to give Parliament time to fix it.
- Party-list councillors mean a party, not just voters, decides who sits on half of most councils.
- Municipal Structures Act rules ask parties to 'seek to ensure' that half of their list candidates are women.
Local terms
- Ward committee
- A group of up to 10 residents, chaired by the elected ward councillor, that advises the municipal council.
- Inkosi (plural amakhosi)
- isiZulu word for a senior traditional leader (chief).
- Traditional council
- A council led by a traditional leader under the 2019 Act; part of its members are chosen by the leader according to custom and part are elected by the community.
- CONTRALESA
- Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa: a voluntary organisation that speaks for traditional leaders; not a government body.
Sources
- Constitution of the Republic of South Africa 1996 (rev. 2012), Constitute Project, checked 14 October 2026
- Country profile: South Africa (SNG-WOFI, 2022 edition), OECD–UCLG World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment (SNG-WOFI), checked 14 October 2026
- The local government system in South Africa: country profile 2017–18, Commonwealth Local Government Forum, checked 14 October 2026
- Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act 3 of 2019, South African Government (gov.za), checked 14 October 2026
- Local Government: Municipal Structures Act 117 of 1998, South African Government (gov.za), checked 14 October 2026
- Minister gazettes date of Local Government Elections (7 August 2026), SAnews (South African Government News Agency), checked 14 October 2026
- Massive victory for rural democracy: Constitutional Court strikes down TKLA (31 May 2023), Land and Accountability Research Centre, University of Cape Town, checked 14 October 2026
- Constitutional Court judgment [2025] ZACC 22 (extension of suspension of invalidity of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act), Southern African Legal Information Institute (SAFLII), checked 14 October 2026
- Ingonyama Trust Board (official site), Ingonyama Trust Board, checked 14 October 2026
See also: South Africa's official statistics and leaders · the 10 levels of power.