Eskom's proposed tariff hikes could harm local government, Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Sicelo Shiceka said on Thursday.

"We believe the way tariffs are being proposed will undermine the work of local government," he told a local government indaba in Boksburg, Gauteng.

The minister said his department would talk to the minerals and energy department about the proposed hikes and also about the way electricity is provided to mines.

He said he would engage with the energy department to ensure things "are streamlined and worked properly".

The indaba wrapped up on Thursday with a declaration to guide government's turn-around strategy for local government.

The 1100 participants at the indaba thrashed out a range of interventions to address myriad problems facing municipalities.

The turn-around strategy would be submitted to Cabinet by December this year and municipalities were expected to formulate their own specific strategies, within the framework of the national turn-around plan by March next year.

The indaba comes in the wake of service delivery protests around the country.

Communities took to the streets in various areas protesting against the lack of delivery and corruption, and calling for the removal of councillors and mayors.

The indaba also followed a meeting between President Jacob Zuma and most of the countries mayors in Khayelitsha in the Western Cape on Tuesday.