Public trust in government is key to achieve stability, peace and development in both developed and developing countries. In recent times, however, trust in government declined and various efforts were undertaken to improve trust in government. Unfortunately these efforts did not emanate in improved performance, a factor leading towards the improvement of trust in governance, by local government in South Africa. Mechanisms such as leadership with emphasis on the characteristics of trusted leaders and the actions these leaders should take to encourage trust, will be discussed in this article. Apart from this, attention will be focused on the conceptualisation of trust in government, a review of local government in South Africa as well as determining local government performance to ascertain whether trust indeed decreased in this sphere of government in South Africa.