Mashatile faces Parliament on fuel, crime and municipal service delivery

What Mashatile will cover in Parliament

Mashatile’s appearance forms part of the constitutional requirement for Cabinet members to account to Parliament for the exercise of their powers and performance of their duties, acting spokesperson Keith Khoza said.

Khoa said the deputy president would outline government efforts to implement rapid-response interventions for service delivery and to resolve service delivery hotspots to improve governance in municipalities across the country.

Fuel prices and support for small-scale farmers

Khoza said Mashatile would brief MPs on government interventions aimed at protecting and improving the long-term sustainability and profitability of small-scale farmers, particularly in rural and underdeveloped provinces. Those measures respond to ongoing fertiliser and fuel price volatility following a recent fuel price adjustment announced by the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe, which took effect on 6 May 2026.

The source notes that fuel prices in South Africa have surged in recent months, driven by geopolitical tensions that destabilised international energy markets and increased local fuel costs, placing pressure on businesses, motorists and the taxi industry.

Municipal governance and the District Development Model

Khoza said Mashatile would also update members on the rollout of the District Development Model (DDM), describing it as a coordination effort across spheres of government intended to improve the functioning of municipalities. He added that the update would include efforts to align budgets and investments in healthcare.

Crime, security cluster measures and the Western Cape picture

Mashatile is expected to respond to questions on agriculture and land reform, as well as measures implemented by the security cluster to combat organised crime and gang violence in the Western Cape.

Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile said that for the quarter between October and December 2025 the Western Cape recorded 1,157 murders, a decrease of 41 cases from the same period the previous year. Patekile said that translated to 15.2 murders per 100,000 people, down from 16, but added that “1,157 murders in a single quarter is still far too high.”

The Western Cape continues to account for more than 15% of the country’s crime despite having a smaller share of the population, and several of its police stations remain among the nation’s top murder hotspots, including Mfuleni, Delft, Nyanga, Mitchells Plain and Gugulethu.

What Joburg residents should be watching

The parliamentary session will set out the government’s account of steps being taken on three issues with clear public impact: fuel costs and agricultural support, interventions to tackle municipal service delivery failures, and security cluster actions against organised crime. Mashatile’s briefing will outline the measures MPs can question and scrutinise.

For Johannesburg residents, the outcomes to follow in coming weeks will include whether the government’s stated interventions around municipal governance and coordination through the DDM are translated into concrete actions and how national measures to ease input costs for small-scale farmers might be rolled out. The briefing will also provide an update on national security cluster responses to organised crime and gang violence raised in Parliament.

Parliamentary accountability and next steps

Khoza emphasised that Mashatile’s appearance is part of the accountability process to Parliament. MPs will have the opportunity to question the deputy president on the timing, scope and expected effects of the interventions he outlines.

When: Mashatile will answer related questions at 2pm in the National Assembly.
Topics: service delivery, fuel prices, small-scale farmer support, District Development Model, health budget alignment, agriculture and land reform, and security cluster measures against organised crime and gang violence.

“1,157 murders in a single quarter is still far too high,”

Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile