Treasury secures R5.6bn loan to improve service delivery in metros ahead of elections
The South African National Treasury has secured a R5.6 billion loan from German and French development banks to improve municipal service delivery. The funding aims to enhance electricity, water, and sanitation infrastructure in eight major metropolitan areas.
Why it matters
Improving municipal infrastructure is critical for South Africa's economic stability and service reliability for over 22 million residents ahead of upcoming local elections.
The MTSR programme recognises that metropolitan municipalities and their financial sustainability are key to achieving economic growth for South Africa via improved service delivery. Picture: iStock
National Treasury has secured concessional loan financing from German and French development cooperation, via KfW Development Bank (KfW) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD), worth €300 million (R5.6 billion) to support the Metro Trading Services Reform (MTSR) programme.
This agreement comes just eight weeks and six days ahead of the local elections. The MTSR programme is designed to support the improvement of three trading services, namely electricity, water supply and sanitation, and solid waste management, in South Africa’s metropolitan municipalities.
These municipalities: Buffalo City, City of Cape Town, City of Ekurhuleni, City of eThekwini, City of Johannesburg, Mangaung, Nelson Mandela Bay, and City of Tshwane, serve more than 22 million residents. Therefore, ensuring these three trading services run smoothly is important.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in