Political parties decline top positions in major South African metro

Both ActionSA and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have declined their positions in the reshuffled Ekurhuleni mayoral committee, saying they refuse to support the ANC’s management of the metro any longer. 

With immediate effect from Tuesday, African National Congress (ANC) Ekurhuleni Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza announced a reshuffle of his mayoral committee.

In the reshuffle, the ANC would keep its 6 seats, holding the portfolios of Metro Operations and maintenance, Roads and Transport, Community Safety, Finance and Strategy.

The EFF lost two seats in the reorganisation, going from 4 to 2. The party’s members were removed from the portfolios of Community Services and Human Settlements.

Two of its members, however, Leshaka Manamela and Thembi Msane, were appointed to the portfolios of Human Settlements and Infrastructure and Economic Development.

The metro’s coalition under the plans announced by the mayor would make it an ANC-EFF-ActionSA-PA-NFP coalition. 

Previously, it was governed by an ANC-EFF-AIC coalition. The reshuffling is part of wider efforts to address current issues with governance breakdowns, misconduct and service delivery failures. 

However, after the announcement was made revealing the new appointments, after what the mayor said involved “extensive consultation with the multi-party organisations represented in council”, both ActionSA and the EFF have rejected the new posts. 

‘We won’t report to criminals’ – ActionSA

ActionSA’s Ekurhuleni Mayoral Candidate Xolani Khumalo was appointed to the portfolio of Community Services and By Law Enforcement.

ActionSA party leader Herman Mashaba has called the announcement a “false media statement” and said that it “does not reflect any engagement or agreement involving ActionSA.”

This has followed repeated unsuccessful attempts by the mayor to solicit ActionSA’s participation in his administration, Mashaba explained. 

“I have consistently made it clear that we will not join his failing government and have rejected every personal and formal approach made to us,” he said. 

“We will not lend credibility to an administration that has overseen the lawless deterioration of service delivery that continues to cripple the city.”

The party plans to clear out the rot of corruption and restore governance in the city when it secures a majority vote from residents in the upcoming local government elections, Mashaba said. 

National Chairperson of ActionSA, Michael Beaumont, added that Khumalo was appointed to by laws and not safety. “So the mayor wanted to relegate Xolani to a writer of fines, nto a fighter of crime,” he said. 

He added that Khumalo cannot fight crime while reporting to the bosses of the criminals, referring to the ANC administration. 

“For the war on crime to be won, Xolani must lead government after the local elections this year, not take instructions from those implicated in criminal wrongdoing,” he said. 

‘The ANC behaves like it governs alone’ – EFF

On the other hand, the EFF took issue with the mayor’s removal of the EFF’s MMCs, Bridget Thusi and Kgopello Hollo, arguing that both were performing well in their portfolios and “have been of exemplary service to the people of Ekurhuleni.”

The party said this follows a greater trend. In 2024, the EFF MMC of Finance, Nkululeko Dunga, was unfairly removed, and most recently, the ANC has refused to fill the vacancy of the speaker of council with an EFF member, after the EFF removed the speaker. 

The party called the reshuffling an attempt to constitute a mayoral committee with fewer EFF councillors. 

“The EFF informs the people of Ekurhuleni, Gauteng and South Africa, that we have declined the offer to form part of the Mayoral Committee and the City of Ekurhuleni and we will humbly and gracefully accept our role in the opposition benches,” the EFF said. 

Party leader Julius Malema has previously said that the ANC has disrespected the EFF in Ekurhuleni and “behaves as if it governs alone.” He said the party will support any motion of no confidence against any ANC premier or mayor in Gauteng going forward.

The EFF and ActionSA are the third and fourth largest parties in the council, respectively, and are key to upholding the current coalition, as the ANC has 86 seats, falling short of the requisite 113 needed to govern.