STATS SA

WHICH MUNICIPALITIES SPENT THE MOST PER RESIDENT IN 2022?

The primary role of South Africa’s 257 municipalities is to provide water, electricity, refuse removal, sanitation and other services to millions of households. This mammoth task requires extensive resources.

Municipalities collectively spent R532 billion in 2022. This total includes both operational and capital expenditure, published in two separate statistical releases. If we consider the Census 2022 national population count of 62,0 million, this equates to an average municipal expenditure of R8 572 per resident. At a more granular level, the municipalities of Gauteng recorded the highest level of municipal spending per resident, at R12 060. Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and Limpopo registered the lowest values. (see figure 1)

The top 20 list: Do you live in any of these municipalities?

If we filter this down to individual local and metropolitan municipalities, the analysis shows spending per resident ranging from a low of R1 389 (Nongoma LM in KwaZulu-Natal) to a high of R23 201 (Gamagara LM in Northern Cape). A list of the top 20 spenders shows a splattering of local and metropolitan municipalities across eight provinces (Figure 2). the y-axis according to their provincial averages. Limpopo has the lowest average, with many municipalities clustered at the bottom end. Gauteng, with the highest average, has municipalities appearing higher up on the scale.

The range between the lowest and highest municipalities within each province tells a story.

Northern Cape had the largest spread between lowest and highest. This is attributed to the outlier of Gamagara LM, which appears on the far right. But more on this later!

Apart from the Northern Cape, the provinces of Free State, Eastern Cape and North West registered the widest ranges between minimum and maximum. Municipalities in Gauteng and Limpopo are more clustered.

(Figure 4) might provide a clue to why these differences exist. >

Interestingly, several municipalities in the top 20 are clustered in an area that includes parts of Gauteng and Mpumalanga. Lighter-coloured municipalities – with relatively low per capita spending – are prevalent in provinces such as Limpopo, Eastern Cape, KwaZuluNatal and North West.

For the data nerds (Figure 3) shows where each local and metropolitan municipality fits on the per capita spending range. Provinces appear on