JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng — As South Africa’s November local government elections draw near, the City of Ekurhuleni — one of Gauteng’s three metropolitan municipalities — finds itself at the center of an intense debate over governance, basic service delivery, and years of political turmoil that have left residents demanding accountability at the ballot box.
The metro’s current five-year political term has been anything but stable. It opened under a DA-led coalition that the ANC-led administration has since branded the municipality’s “barren years.” During that turbulent stretch, the mayoral chain changed hands three times, passing from Tania Campbell to Sivuyile Ngodwana and ultimately to Nkosindiphile Xhakaza. The coalition eventually fractured when the ANC and EFF parted ways, leaving the city to operate under a minority government.
Miyelani Mkhabela, Chief Economist at Antswisa Capital Partners, said the revolving door of leadership has had a corrosive effect on the metro’s ability to govern effectively.
“The changes that have happened in terms of leadership and coalitions have frustrated the administration,” Mkhabela said. “When you look at leadership itself, there must be a structure in leadership, and what has happened over the past 10 to 15 years is there hasn’t been structure. That opens a can of worms in multiple things — from strategy to implementation. These organizations are not used to working together. They are fighting to lead the municipality, and that is causing problems for society.”
Madlanga Commission Exposes Governance Lapses
As the political infighting began to settle, deeper governance problems surfaced at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry. Among the most striking revelations was an alleged unlawful memorandum of understanding that reportedly allowed pirate vehicles belonging to businessman Vusumuzi “Cat” Matlala to be fitted with blue lights — a privilege typically reserved for law enforcement.
The matter was brought before the Ekurhuleni council and triggered disciplinary proceedings against several senior officials, including the deputy chief of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD).
Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza acknowledged that the coalition era left lasting damage that extends well beyond politics.
“The barren years came not only with regressions in terms of service delivery, but what is glaring now before Madlanga are some of the governance lapses in the EMPD and the transport department,” Xhakaza said. “Once HR is involved and once legal is involved, critical functions like the EMPD are affected. The city for years was known for back-to-back clean audits, and there has been a regression in that area as well.”
Residents Take Road Repairs Into Their Own Hands
Beyond the corridors of power, everyday life in Ekurhuleni reflects the consequences of years of underinvestment. Service delivery lobby group Better Bedfordview has been vocal about deteriorating road conditions and unreliable water supply, arguing that failing infrastructure is hurting both residents and local businesses while threatening the long-term sustainability of municipal services.
Marina Constas, Chairperson of Better Bedfordview, said the community has been forced to step in where the municipality has fallen short.
“Better Bedfordview as an organization has had to raise money every month to fix potholes,” Constas said. “Council have only come now, in the last two weeks, to look at repairing the roads. But the fact of the matter is our roads need resurfacing. Fixing potholes is just a quick fix. We need trucks out to resurface our roads, particularly on our main routes, otherwise you’re going to face this problem all the time.”
Water Infrastructure Backlog Under Pressure
Water supply remains another flashpoint. Residents across parts of the metro have endured shortages and interruptions, raising serious questions about the city’s aging infrastructure and its capacity to deliver a reliable supply — particularly as summer approaches.
Xhakaza said the administration is working to close an infrastructure gap that worsened during the coalition years, with a focus on high-lying areas that are most vulnerable to supply disruptions.
“There are high-lying areas like Bedfordview where some of these projects are incomplete — there are 29 reservoirs out of an entire project of 39, and some of these reservoirs during the barren years were not commissioned,” Xhakaza said. “In the Tembisa area and the high-lying sections of Leeuwkop, we had to build a tower, but that tower was not commissioned. That is why there was an outcry. We moved in and commissioned that tower. Today, if there is a heatwave tomorrow, those communities are ready for summer and excessive consumption. You are not going to have one community isolated because we have been able to put up the right infrastructure. In Bedfordview, we have now completed the Signal Hill tower.”
A Defining Moment for Ekurhuleni Voters
With the local government elections fast approaching, the intertwined challenges of governance reform, infrastructure renewal, and reliable service delivery are expected to dominate campaign discourse across the metro. For Ekurhuleni’s residents, the November vote represents a critical opportunity to weigh competing party plans and decide whether the current administration’s recovery efforts are enough — or whether it is time for a new direction.
