City of Ekurhuleni council speaker Dora Mlambo resigned on Thursday, a day after the ANC councillor was appointed political head for economic infrastructure and development, throwing a spanner in the works and forcing a scheduled council meeting to be postponed.
Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza also named Nkgopotse Nsizwa Mekgwe as the member of the mayoral committee (MMC) responsible for human settlements and Siyabonga Moloi as MMC for community safety.
With the three additional appointments, the ANC holds eight key portfolios, including finance, utility services and roads and transport, in the 10-member mayoral cabinet.
The EFF, whose presence was diminished from five portfolios to two, turned down an invitation from Xhakaza to join his mayoral committee, and ActionSA, which was offered one position, also declined.
This spurred Xhakaza to give the EFF and ActionSA 12 hours to join the mayoral committee after they failed to attend a scheduled swearing-in ceremony last Wednesday following a late-night cabinet reshuffle announced last week.
There has been growing tension between Xhakaza and the EFF. In June 2024, the mayor fired EFF Gauteng chair Nkululeko Dunga as finance MMC, replacing him with ANC Ekurhuleni regional secretary Jongizizwe Dlabathi, who retained his position during the reshuffle on Tuesday night.
The EFF was also unhappy when the ANC successfully fielded its councillor Mlambo after the EFF’s Nthabiseng Tshivhenga resigned as speaker in December 2025. The EFF believed it was entitled to reclaim the position.
EFF leader Julius Malema has accused Xhakaza of going rogue and trying to push his party out of the metro, saying the red berets will reconsider its support for the ANC in Gauteng, in which premier Panyaza Lesufi governs through a minority government reliant on EFF support, among other parties.
Acting mayoral spokesperson Ramatolo Tlotleng said the three appointments reinforced the metro’s governance capacity by ensuring “all portfolios are fully constituted, enabling accelerated service delivery, strengthened oversight and enhanced accountability to residents”.
“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.”
Xhakaza expressed full confidence in the three ANC MMCs and “called on them to discharge their responsibilities with diligence, integrity and an unwavering commitment to serve the people of the city”.
In a scheduled council meeting on Thursday, the EFF councillors burst into the chambers singing songs and questioning the metro leadership’s governing capabilities.
Shortly after Mlambo announced her resignation as council speaker, a caucus meeting of the chief whips represented in council was called to deliberate on the matter.
Announcing the way forward, whip of council Pelisa Nkunjana said city manager Kagiso Lerutla would convene the meeting at a later date.
Xhakaza’s cabinet reshuffle was viewed by analysts as opening the door to fresh coalition instability and further destabilising governance in the metro regarded as SA’s manufacturing heartland ahead of municipal elections later this year.
The Ekurhuleni council has 224 seats, with the ANC holding 86, the DA 65, EFF 31, ActionSA 15, Freedom Front Plus 8, IFP 2, ACDP 2 and other smaller parties jointly holding 10 seats.
While the ANC leads with 86 seats, it falls short of the requisite 113 to govern alone. The present coalition is made up of the ANC, EFF, ActionSA and PA, totalling 136 seats.
Control of the Ekurhuleni metro has changed hands from coalitions led by the ANC to the DA, AIC and back to the ANC since 2016 due to what has been attributed to the instability of coalitions.
mkentanel@businessday.co.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.