ANC defends Ekurhuleni budget as opposition parties criticise it

The ANC in Ekurhuleni has defended the city’s 2025/26 adjusted budget, saying it will help improve service delivery and support struggling households.

The budget was approved during a special council meeting in Germiston on Tuesday. The ANC said the adjustment budget will help the city focus on repairs and maintenance, complete unfinished projects and strengthen the municipality’s ability to deliver services.

“The adjusted budget reinforces the city’s commitment to reliable service delivery,” the party said in a statement.

The ANC highlighted the city’s debt write-off programme aimed at helping poor households. According to the party, the municipality wrote off more than R240m in debt for 223,918 approved and deemed indigent accounts.

Of that amount, R143.4m was written off for approved indigent households, while about R2.09m was written off for deemed indigent households.

The ANC said the programme was meant to help vulnerable residents who struggle to pay for municipal services.

The office of Ekurhuleni mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza also welcomed the approval of the adjustment budget and the revised Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plan.

According to the mayor’s office, the decision shows the council remains focused on governing and improving services for residents.

The adjustment budget increases the city’s operating revenue by R829.9m to R66.3bn, while operating expenditure increases by R784.8m to R65.6bn. The capital budget increased from R3.197bn to R3.355bn.

The mayor’s office said an additional R239m has been allocated to repairs and maintenance, increasing the budget to R4.379bn. The funding will support a rapid repairs and maintenance programme and strengthen the city’s “Fixing the Frontline” initiative aimed at improving municipal facilities and infrastructure.

Additional funds have also been allocated to key areas, including R113.1m for energy infrastructure through the Urban Development Funding Grant, R115m for ICT projects, R12m to address the ageing energy fleet, and R8m to procure graders for community services.

The city also increased its bursary budget by R8m to R15m.

“The approval of the adjustment budget by council today is a clear demonstration that Ekurhuleni is moving with purpose and stability,” said Xhakaza.

However, opposition parties criticised the budget and the ANC-led administration.

ActionSA rejected the adjusted budget, saying it does not address the city’s financial problems or service delivery challenges. The party said the budget fails to present a clear plan to fix Ekurhuleni’s financial crisis.

ActionSA Ekurhuleni caucus leader Xolani Khumalo also criticised the decision to reduce the insourcing of security guards and cleaners by 50%.

“The budget fails to show a clear plan to address the city’s financial crisis,” Khumalo said.

Meanwhile, the EFF in Gauteng said its caucus rejected the adjusted operating and capital budget.

The party said the budget exposed weak financial governance, unrealistic revenue projections and poor administrative planning within the municipality.

The EFF said revenue projections remained disconnected from the city’s actual collection performance, while departments continued to struggle with the implementation of key programmes.

The party said approving the budget would amount to endorsing poor governance and failing to protect the interests of the more than 3-million residents who rely on the municipality for basic services.

The EFF also accused the DA and ActionSA of engaging in what it called “political theatre” during the council sitting. The party said both opposition parties refused to participate in the formal voting process, which records council decisions.

This allowed them to claim they opposed the budget while avoiding having their positions officially recorded.

“The residents of Ekurhuleni deserve honest governance, credible financial planning and disciplined service delivery,” the party said.

The EFF added it would continue to oppose budgets that prioritise political interests over the needs of residents.

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