What do 8 South African and 7 German municipalities have in common?
By Adv Hanlie Linde,
Munisipale Bestuurder van Bergrivier Munisipaliteit in die Weskus van die Wes-Kaap van SA
Bergrivier Municipality has been selected as one of 40 Municipalities in South Africa (of which nine are from the Western Cape) to report to the United Nations in Frankfurt in June 2026 on the implementation of some of the Sustainable Development Goals through a VLR (Voluntary Local Review) process. The purpose of the VLR is to breach the gap between global commitments and local action.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2015 followed on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and are a global commitment by all United Nations (UN) Member States (including SA). The commitment to the SDGs was signed in 2015 and is focused on peace and prosperity for all. Agenda 2035 consists of 17 specific Sustainable Development Goals comprising 169 targets. The core principles of the SDGs include:
Universality
Leaving no one behind
Interconnectedness
Inclusiveness
Multi-Stakeholder Partnership
Include 5 P’s namely Planet, People, Partnerships, Peace and Prosperity.
In 2023, all feedback reports on the implementation of the SDGs in all member states indicated that the globe as a whole is far off-track on the set targets, and the UN started focusing on Local Governments around the globe to implement VLRs to provide a spark in reaching the set targets.
On the African continent, the African Union aligned with the UN SDGs by adopting Agenda 2063, which includes 5 ten-year implementation plans and 15 flagship projects.
The South African Local Government Association in South Africa (SALGA) are assisting Municipalities, from the National and Provincial Offices, on the implementation of the VLRs.
The Municipal Manager of Bergrivier Municipality was invited to attend the SDG Training and Peer Learning workshop on SDG Localisation, Voluntary Local Reviews, and Infrastructure Asset Management for national and local government officials in South Africa, to be held in Johannesburg from 21 – 24 October 2026. The project is funded by the Italian Government through the UN.
The purpose of the VLR is to bridge the gap between global commitments and local actions. It empowers local governments to take ownership of the SDGs and tailor them to their specific contexts, needs and priorities.
The expectation of the UN, as well as National and Provincial SALGA, is that Bergrivier Municipality will implement a process to work with stakeholders (internally and externally) to produce a first baseline report by the end of May 2026. This was done on schedule. The report was approved by the full Council on 26 May 2026 after recommendation by Mayco, and the draft report (approved in principle on 31 March 2026) was advertised for public comments (during April 2026 and discussed at all public participation meetings held – 12 in total), and all inputs received were integrated in the report as far as possible. There is no prescribed format or other requirements, and each Municipality can decide how they report and which SDGs to address (except that reporting on SDG 11 (Sustainable cities) is compulsory).
The Bergrivier Municipal Council approved on 9 December 2025 that Bergrivier Municipality will report on 4 SDGs that are very important to Bergrivier Municipality and in line with our vision and values, namely:
SDG 1 (No Poverty);
SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation);
SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities); and
SDG 16 (Strong Institutions).
8 of the 40 Municipalities were chosen to present their VLRs in Germany from 15 – 19 June 2026.
Frankfurt am Main (on the Main River) is Germany’s financial and commercial capital and home to the European Central Bank. It is the 5th most populated city in Germany trailing behind Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne. It has 780 000 inhabitants. One in every three people living in Germany is not from German descent (2024).
Left: The Municipal Building and main entrance to the Stadthaus in Romerberg, Frankfurt.
Eight (8) Municipalities from South Africa were invited. They are:
· Bergrivier Municipality
· Matzikama Municipality
· Mosselbay Municipality
· City of Cape Town
· Buffalo City (East Londen)
· Waterberg District Municipality
· Tswane City (Pretoria)
· eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality (Durban)
Seven (7) Municipalities from Germany were invited. They are indicated on the map below. Afschaffenberg also hosted the study tour / field visit on Thursday, 18 June 2026.
Many presentations were made during the week. After each practical session, each Municipality presented their findings / inputs / plans.
Photo above: 9 of the individual participants in front of the Memox Building, Frankfurt where the first two days of workshop was hosted.
Photo above: All the participants together after workshop day 1.
Photo below: Most work was done in groups. From left to right the participants represented eThekwini, Tswane, Bergrivier, Hamburg and Salga WC.
Learning from one-another
During the week there was ample time to liaise with colleagues from Germany and the rest of South Africa. It was very informative and I have learned inter alia the following:
Municipalities in Germany: Germany is a third of the extent of South Africa and in that space they have more than 8000 Municipalities. Just 3200 of the 8000+ Municipalities have more than 5000 inhabitants per Municipality. And in a small Municipality like Neustadt in Holstein (next to the Baltic Sea in North Germany) with a population of 6000 inhabitants they have 35 Councillors.
Germany has many of the same challenges than South Africa of which climate change, illegal immigration and drug-related crimes are but a few.
The German Municipalities is way in front of South Africa on the collection of reliable data and AI ways to present data linked to live dashboards, but they could also learn from South African Municipalities on performance management, public participation, climate change mitigation and resilience.
The German Municipalities all complain about a lack of resources, but most of them have a whole section dealing with SDG’s and each has a dedicated SDG Manager. They were stunned to realise that in South Africa we all do this over and above our normal responsibilities without any extra remuneration.
The Europe that the world knew from 20 years ago, is no more and will never be the same again. The number of wars across the globe, the immigration due to wars and the creation of one exchange rate in the euro, created a Europe with huge challenges and high risks.
The benefit for a country to have a reliable, safe, clean public transport system that is affordable to all in that country, is a game changer that we will have to create in South Africa. The sun only sets at 22:30 in Frankfurt and it only gets dark after 00:00. I have stayed out one evening to take pictures of the Main River with night lights and could go back safely to our hotel with public transport. Easy, safe, affordable, reliable.
Most shops are closed on a Sunday and the churches in the city very well attended.
Photo above: The four colleagues from the Western Cape is from left to right Deone Wessels (Matzikama Municipality), Hanlie Linde (Bergrivier Municipality), Jameyha Armien-Ally (City of Cape Town) and Logan Duthie (Mosselbay Municipality).
The St Peter und Alexander catholic church in Afschaffenburg, Bavaria, Germany (an hour’s drive from Frankfurt to the east) was build in the 10th century and still host one of the oldest organs in the world.
The way forward for the VLR in Bergrivier Municipality
The next step in this process is that the German Municipalities will be visiting us in eThekwini from 7 – 11 September 2026, where we will be providing feedback on the homework created in Frankfurt and follow up on the exchange and the way forward with the VLRs.
The logical next step is not to do a second VLR in 2027, but to increase the number of SDG’s that the Municipality rapport on from 4 to at least 6 including service delivery SDGs like electricity (SDG 7) or climate change.
Further, it is suggested to Bergrivier Municipality that we do a desktop review of the statistics provided in our VLR and include a gender lens on one or more of the SDGs for example a gender review on SDG 1 (No Poverty).
The VLR of Bergrivier Municipality was successfully submitted and uploaded to the UN on the global stage. It is a privilege and honour to see our approved VLR next to the VLR of Barcelona, Spain and Bern, Switzerland.
The SDGs are 17 goals that speak to the heart of our existence. It must resonate with each one of us. Please take a moment and read through them and decide which one or two resonates with you the most and start today to make a difference in that field. For a global change, we need local action. For a big difference, it is the next small steps that counts.
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