What are Municipal Services?

This video explains what services municipalities must provide, where municipalities get the money from to provide these services, how they spend their funds and why it is so important that people pay for municipal services. This video is part of the Civics Academy Local Government Series. These videos explain how local government functions. Most videos in this series are available in English, Afrikaans and IsiXhosa. Check out our videos on www.civicsacademy.co.za
Municipalities are part of the local sphere of government. The local sphere of government together with the National and Provincial spheres make up the three spheres of government. The Constitution sets out what specific services the different spheres of government must provide in Schedules 4 and 5. Parts B of those Schedules set out the local government services, which affect our every day lives directly. These include:
electricity
water and sanitation services
refuse removal
municipal roads
parks and recreation
community halls and public places
cemeteries
Some services are “shared services”, meaning that different spheres of government have to collaborate in providing them. This is discussed in the videos “What is Local Government?” and “What can I expect from my Municipality?”
To be able to provide the constitutionally mandated services, municipalities need substantial amounts of money.
Municipalities vary greatly in size, social structure and service requirements. This means that their ability to generate income and the costs they encounter also differs widely.
Whatever their size or structure, all municipalites have to secure their income from the same sources namely grants, loans, property taxes, and user charges.