A capable state must start where people live and work.   In many cities and towns across the country, roads are not maintained, water and electricity supply is often disrupted, refuse is not collected and sewage runs in the streets.   In part this has happened because many municipalities lack the technical skills and resources required to meet people’s needs.   Many municipalities have not reinvested the revenue they earn from these services into the upkeep of infrastructure.   Starting this year, we will work with our municipalities to establish professionally managed, ring-fenced utilities for water and electricity services to ensure that there is adequate investment and maintenance.   Many of the challenges in municipalities arise from the design of our local government system.   We will therefore undertake extensive consultation to develop an updated White Paper on Local Government to outline a modern and fit-for-purpose local government system.   We will review the funding model for municipalities as many of them do not have a viable and sustainable revenue base.   We will continue to work with traditional leaders in the implementation of local development programmes.   We will expand our support to municipalities that require assistance, drawing on the lessons of the Presidential eThekwini Working Group.   We are seeing great progress in eThekwini as we implement the district development model, which enables all key role players as in government, business, labour and community-based organisations to work together.   As we work to reform the public service and build the capability of the state, we will harness technology to transform the way that government works.   We will invest in digital public infrastructure to give South Africans access to government services anytime, anywhere, through a relaunched http://gov.za platform.   At the heart of this transformation will be the implementation of a digital identity system.   These measures will transform the relationship between citizens and government, and create one government that is accessible to every person at a touch. #SONA2025 #AWorkingNation