At the end of every month, Accounting Officers of municipalities submit financial statements to the
Gauteng Provincial Treasury detailing their state of municipal budgets as required by Section 71.1 of
the Municipal Finance Management Act, No.56 of 2003 (MFMA).
Furthermore, on a quarterly basis, the Gauteng Provincial Treasury compiles a consolidated
statement on the state of municipal budgets and submits the document to the Gauteng Provincial
Legislature in compliance with Section 71.7 of the MFMA.
Therefore, today we are publishing the consolidated quarterly state of municipal finance report
covering the first half of the 2025/26 financial year which ended on 31 December 2025. We are doing
this in a conscious effort to inform the public about the financial performance of municipalities in our
province and how this impact on service delivery to communities.
STATEMENT ON THE OPERATING REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE
At the start of the current municipal financial year on 01 July 2025, Gauteng municipalities adopted a
consolidated budget of R229.1 billion for operating revenue and R222.2 billion for operating
expenses, resulting in an overall budgeted operating surplus of R6.9 billion.
The total operational revenue generated by Gauteng municipalities as of 31 December 2025, was
R123.3 billion, or 53.9% of the annual budget and 3.9% more than the 50% straight line estimate. The
metropolitan municipalities were the primary contributors (City of Ekurhuleni – R34.5 billion; City of
Johannesburg – R48.5 billion and City of Tshwane – R27.6 billion).
The operating expenditure incurred during this period amounted to R109.2 billion, representing 49.2%
of the annual budget. The main contributors being the metropolitan municipalities.
As a result, most Gauteng municipalities have generally been functioning within the adopted budget
during the first half of this financial year. However, the City of Johannesburg, Lesedi Local
Municipality, Merafong City Local Municipality and Rand West City Local Municipality reported
accumulated operating deficits during this period.
The collection rate for majority of the Gauteng municipalities as at the end of December 2025 was
R30.1 billion, or 116%, which is higher than the 95% expected standard (as per MFMA Circular 71).
However, the collection rates for City of Johannesburg, Emfuleni Local Municipality, Lesedi Local
Municipality and Merafong Local Municipality were below the expected norm of 95%
