In South Africa local government is at the frontline of service delivery, when there are service delivery protests they are primarily directed at local government and rightly so. But local government is not being capacitated and properly resourced, and only receives 9% of revenue collected. The division of revenue should be seen as a developmental budget, a budget that will promote job creation, the development of the forces of production, and improving living standards. Across the world from Germany to China we have practical examples of the central role played by local government if it is properly financed and capacitated, but our government like in so many instances continues to remain ignorant of what good governance requires.