Tensions are deepening between the ANC and EFF in Gauteng, as Ekurhuleni mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza snubbed the EFF, leaving them completely out of his mayoral committee.
On Wednesday evening, Xhakaza filled the three posts in the mayoral committee that were rejected by the EFF and ActionSA. Now the mayoral committee is made up of a majority of ANC councillors and some from smaller parties.
He appointed Nkgopotse Nsizwa Mekgwe to the portfolio of Human Settlements, Siyabonga Mathews Moloi to the portfolio of Community Services, and Dora Mlambo to the portfolio of Economic Infrastructure and Development. They are all from the ANC.
‘Accelerated service delivery’
The mayor’s spokesperson, Ramatolo Tlotleng, said the mayor has expressed full confidence in the appointed MMCs and has called on them to discharge their responsibilities with diligence, integrity and an unwavering commitment to serve the people of the city.
“These appointments reinforce the City’s governance capacity by ensuring that all portfolios are fully constituted, enabling accelerated service delivery, strengthened oversight, and enhanced accountability to residents,” said Tlotleng.
“They further reflect a considered and inclusive process designed to consolidate collective leadership, promote institutional stability, and ensure the effective execution of the City’s developmental mandate. This shall further strengthen the Ekurhuleni Government of Local Unity (EGLU), which is anchored on the principle of broad inclusivity of organisations.”
Meanwhile, the City of Ekurhuleni is expected to also hold an extraordinary council sitting soon to elect a speaker of the council. The municipality has not had a speaker of council since Nthabiseng Tshivhenga, of the EFF, resigned late last year.
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EFF reacts to the changes
The EFF’s provincial chairperson in Gauteng, Nkululeko Dunga, says these changes to the mayoral committee will not contribute to service delivery. He bemoaned the mayor’s removal of “award-winning” EFF mayoral committee members.
“To make such drastic changes, hours before the council is due to vote for the adjusted budget in the city reveals the character of a mayor who is unperturbed by the lived reality of thousands in the City of Ekurhuleni and whose sole interest and mandate is to demonstrate a self-professed sense of power and invincibility at the expense of a stable and functioning municipality,” he said.
What does the future look like for this relationship
Theo Neethling, a political analyst from the University of Free State (UFS), told The Citizen that developments between the ANC and EFF in Ekurhuleni could also disturb relations between the ANC and the EFF at a provincial level and possibly, in other municipalities where the ANC needs the EFF to govern.
“Although the ANC governs the province, it relies formally or informally on support from smaller parties in councils and legislative processes. The EFF’s warning that it will cripple the ANC signals a willingness to use institutional leverage rather than rhetoric alone.
“When the ANC premier tables the Gauteng provincial budget, it is likely to face a highly contentious and politicised process due to the breakdown in cooperation with the EFF.”
Neethling said the following outcomes are possible:
- The ANC can expect strong EFF opposition, including possible rejection of the budget, calls for amendments and procedural disruptions in the legislature.
- The EFF is likely to use the budget debate to challenge the ANC’s governing legitimacy, linking provincial spending plans to governance failures in Gauteng municipalities.
- Even if the budget ultimately passes, it will probably do so under strain, with delays, intense debate and public confrontation rather than smooth consensus.
- The standoff increases the risk of budgetary uncertainty, which may affect planning, implementation timelines, and investor confidence in Gauteng.
- The EFF, withdrawing support from the ANC coalition, could be a strategic move to weaken the ANC politically, especially in Gauteng, a key electoral battleground.
- Losing EFF cooperation could have serious consequences for the ANC in the upcoming elections.
“In short, the budget tabling can become a flashpoint for political brinkmanship, signalling fragile governance rather than immediate collapse, but clearly exposing the ANC’s vulnerability without EFF cooperation,” he said.
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