The 4 November local government elections will give most municipalities a new council within weeks. For any business that supplies a municipality, bids for its tenders or waits for its payments, the useful question is what changes on the day a council is declared elected and what does not. The primary sources, which are the legislation and a joint circular from government and National Treasury, answer part of that question clearly and leave the rest to the municipality.
The timetable the law sets after results
The Local Government: Municipal Structures Act 117 of 1998, as published in the Government Gazette on gov.za, sets the first steps for a new council. Section 29(2) requires the municipal manager to call the first meeting of the council within 14 days after the council has been declared elected. Section 36 says the council must elect its speaker at its first sitting, with the municipal manager presiding over that election. Section 55 requires a council that has an executive mayor to elect that mayor at a meeting held within 14 days of the council’s election. Schedule 3 sets the procedure for electing office-bearers: nominations, a secret ballot if more than one candidate is nominated, and a majority of votes to win. Check the current consolidated Act for later amendments.
The Electoral Commission has said it will declare final results and the allocation of council seats within a prescribed seven-day period, as reported by SAnews. The 14-day clocks in the Act run from the declaration, so first council meetings will fall at different dates in different municipalities. Ask each municipality you deal with for its date.
What government says stays in place
A joint circular on the transition from the Department of Cooperative Governance, National Treasury and the South African Local Government Association, dated 2 October 2026, is the closest primary source on continuity. On delegations, it says that all delegations and functions of a municipality’s administration remain in place during the election period. It explains that section 59(2)(f) of the Municipal Systems Act requires a new council to review the system of delegations within one year of taking office, and that until that review is done the delegations remain in place. It adds that administrative actions allowed under the law and the municipality’s delegations continue during the transition, giving the implementation of the supply chain management policy and process as an example.
The circular also says the municipal manager should table the existing system of delegations at the first council meeting for adoption as a temporary system, pending the review. For a supplier, the practical reading is that the officials who sign orders, approve invoices and run bid committees keep their authority unless and until the new council changes it. The circular does not say that existing contracts or open tenders are automatically paused, cancelled or reviewed after an election, and we did not find a statement in any source we read that says so. Anyone who wants certainty on a specific contract should ask the municipality in writing.
Long-term commitments before and after the election
The same circular urged municipalities to avoid long-term or large-scale procurement commitments, concessions and disposals of immovable property immediately before the elections, and to defer them to the incoming council unless they are unavoidable and in the public interest. A bid that involves a long concession, a large capital project or a property deal may therefore wait for the new council. Section 33 of the Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003 (MFMA) sets a high bar for contracts that impose financial obligations beyond the three years covered by the annual budget. Among other things, the municipal manager must make the draft contract public and invite comment at least 60 days before the council meeting at which it is to be approved, and must seek the views of National Treasury and the relevant provincial treasury. If you are pursuing a multi-year contract, build that 60-day period into your timeline.
Payment: what the MFMA requires
Section 65(2)(e) of the MFMA requires the accounting officer to take all reasonable steps to ensure that all money owing by the municipality is paid within 30 days of receiving the relevant invoice or statement, unless prescribed otherwise for certain categories of expenditure. The joint circular goes further on creditors. It says municipal councils must prioritise the payment of creditors, including Eskom and water boards, and it lists creditors outstanding for more than 30 days, with the reasons for delayed settlement, among the items in the handover reports that outgoing administrations must prepare for incoming councils. Those reports go to the provincial cooperative governance departments, National Treasury, the Department of Cooperative Governance and SALGA before the first council meeting, according to the circular. Our earlier reports on municipal debt and the planned MFMA overhaul and on municipal unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure give the wider financial context.
A practical checklist for the coming weeks
- Invoices and payment records. List every invoice submitted, its date of receipt by the municipality and its status. Anything unpaid after 30 days of receipt is outside the standard in section 65(2)(e). Keep proof of submission, because officials may change during the transition.
- Tender and briefing dates. Confirm closing dates, compulsory briefing sessions and evaluation timelines directly with the supply chain office. Do not assume a date holds until the municipality confirms it in writing.
- Council meeting dates. Ask when the first council meeting and the election of the speaker and mayor will be held. Items such as long-term contracts and concessions need council decisions, so the council calendar affects your timeline.
- Supply chain notices. Section 112 of the MFMA requires a municipality’s supply chain management policy to be fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective, and to comply with a prescribed regulatory framework. Read the policy for the thresholds, the types of process and the pre-qualification rules that apply to you, and watch for notices on the municipality’s website and notice boards.
- Delegations and contacts. Note who holds authority to approve orders and payments. If the council adopts a new system of delegations, update your contact list.
- Contract terms. Check expiry dates, renewal options and termination clauses in your municipal contracts, and whether any contract runs beyond the current budget year.
Where to find municipal tenders
Our own Tender Finder lets you search and set alerts for government tenders, including municipal ones. For registration, scoring, bidding and getting paid, see our guide to winning government tenders in South Africa. For the market view before the vote, read our report on three municipal election scenarios for the rand and bonds. The election count itself is still under way, and the IEC results dashboard is the place to follow it.
