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The aim of this article is to assess and determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Eastern Cape Government Department's budgets, with special reference to the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (DCoGTA). The Department is mandated by the Constitution of Republic of South Africa to support both municipalities and traditional leadership institutions, and therefore any severe budget cut would have significate negative effects on the quality of the support it provides. All municipalities are obliged to provide municipal services to all members of society in a most transparent and equitable manner. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Eastern Cape municipalities were faced with serious socio-economic challenges such as poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment. These challenges are likely to have escalated to serious levels due to COVID-19 severe budget cuts and regulations that prevented acts of any