Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA)

The Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA) is a national government component established under Section 7(2) and Schedule 3 of the Public Service Act of 1994. MISA is accountable to the Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, and forms part of the department’s programme to improve how municipalities provide and maintain infrastructure.

Registered name

Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA)

Type

National government component (under CoGTA)

Fields funded

Civil and electrical engineering, town planning, environmental and construction management

Website

misa.gov.za

What MISA does for municipalities

MISA has four main tasks: supporting municipalities to plan infrastructure effectively, helping them implement projects set out in their integrated development plans, assisting with the operation and maintenance of existing infrastructure, and building municipal capacity to do all of this themselves. MISA delivers that support by deploying engineers, town planners, project managers and other built environment professionals to municipalities, managed by provincial programme managers.

MISA’s refocused strategy commits it to monitoring the extent and condition of municipal infrastructure and progress on new projects and budgets, and to intervening where problems are acute. MISA also works with National Treasury’s Office of the Chief Procurement Officer on national framework contracts for municipal infrastructure goods and services. MISA lists its values as integrity, collaboration, knowledge, professionalism and service excellence.

The technical bursary scheme

The MISA Technical Bursary Scheme targets needy South African students studying, or planning to study, towards technical professions in the built environment. The scheme supports MISA’s function of building municipal technical capacity by developing a pipeline of qualified people. MISA funds about 70 students a year: roughly 20 in civil engineering and 25 in electrical engineering at national diploma or N2 to N6 level, 15 in urban and regional planning, and about five each in environmental management and in project and construction management.

The bursary covers registration, tuition, prescribed books and materials, accommodation and meals. Applicants need household income below R600 000 a year and must have passed all the previous year’s courses, and MISA prefers students from rural and previously disadvantaged communities.

Timing

The 2026 round closed on 7 March 2026, and a 2026/27 technical bursary call closed on 20 June 2026. Watch MISA’s website from January 2027.

How to research MISA

Read MISA’s news statements to see which municipalities it supports, and explain in your motivation how your field could help a struggling municipality near your home. MISA publishes a new form and email address each cycle, so always use the current call.

See our electrical engineering bursaries list.