Ekurhuleni executive mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza said the metro was turning the corner in terms of good financial management as it had addressed a R2.1bn revenue shortfall, with the city’s bank balance having increased to more than R1.2bn.
The metro was also steaming ahead with efforts to restore service delivery across the municipality.
“When this administration took office, we inherited a substantial and complex challenge within our energy meter management, a historical revenue shortfall amounting to about R2.1bn,” the mayor said during a media briefing on Wednesday.
“This was as a result of mismanagement, stemming from inaccuracies and gaps in the meter reading and billing environment that had occurred from the abrupt takeover of the function by the ICT department. We did not shy away from this problem. We confronted it head-on.”
Ekurhuleni is a crucial industrial, manufacturing and logistics hub in Gauteng. OR Tambo International Airport, one of Africa’s largest airports, is situated in the municipality, which recorded a 36.9% unemployment rate in 2024.
The metro, which employs 21,447 workers, delivers services to 1.5-million households. It received an unqualified audit opinion with findings for its 2023/24 fiscal year. It has a budget of R65.5bn for 2025/26.
On Wednesday, Xhakaza said billing system issues had largely been resolved. The metro had launched what the mayor said was a “robust back-billing programme to ensure accountability and recover the funds rightfully owed to the city”.
“We are turning these bills into collected revenue that can be ploughed back into service delivery. So far, we have collected over R365m from these historical accounts. Out of a total identified value of about R2.1bn, we have to date successfully billed nearly R1.4bn,” he said.
Metro Service Snapshot
- Employees: 21,447
- Households Served: 1.5 million
- Audit Status (2023/24): Unqualified opinion with findings
- Budget (2025/26): R65.5 billion
“There is a further R761m that is in the process of being billed, after the necessary dispute and agreement period afforded to customers.”
Xhakaza said his multiparty administration would embark on a citywide revenue collection campaign aimed at collecting the outstanding R1bn, “which has already been billed”.
On the metro’s financial sustainability, Xhakaza said the city’s cash on hand had almost doubled, growing from 11 days in the previous year to 21 days for financial year 2024/25.
“Our bank balance has increased to over R1.2bn, a healthy improvement from R615m in the prior year.
“Furthermore, our investment balances have seen a remarkable increase, now standing at R672m, up from R245m. This turnaround has not gone unnoticed, it has been affirmed by the markets, culminating in a recent improvement in our city’s credit rating, which signals renewed investor confidence in Ekurhuleni.”
The city was fixing its roads and transport infrastructure, water and sanitation as well as waste management. It had also delivered 167 housing units and serviced 455 stands.
“A city that works is a city that is well-maintained. That is why this administration made a deliberate decision to prioritise the day-to-day services that matter most to you,” Xhakaza said.
“We increased the budget for repairs and maintenance by R400m, bringing our total investment in looking after our existing infrastructure to R3.1bn for the 2024 financial year.”
The mayor said “the picture I have painted today is one of a city on a positive trajectory. A city that is confronting its past challenges with honesty, managing its finances with prudence and accelerating service delivery with a clear sense of purpose.”
He said Ekurhuleni’s state of governance was “stable and our progress undeniable”.
“We are building a city that is resilient, responsive and reliable. Our work is far from over, but we move forward with a renewed sense of energy, driven by our promise to restore service delivery with agility, innovation and impact.”
However, the opposition DA was not convinced. Ekurhuleni caucus leader Brandon Pretorius said: “The reality in Ekurhuleni remains unchanged, and under Xhakaza’s ANC-EFF-ActionSA troika, the status quo of substandard governance will remain in place.
“The executive mayor states that of the missing R2.1bn, R1.4bn has been billed. Billed but not paid, this is not actual money, it’s a façade to make it seem like the matter is in hand — but who will chase up the money? Surely not the contractors who are to carry out the work of the city as they are owed well over R3bn.”
Pretorius said the city was in a “financially precarious position and this could not be sustained for much longer”.
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