National ANC orders Jongizizwe Dlabathi back to Ekurhuleni as council fights continue

Two weeks after stepping down as Ekurhuleni’s mayoral committee member (MMC) for finance and strategy, Jongizizwe Dlabathi will return to his position following an intervention by the ANC’s National Executive Committee, but tensions in the council persist.

ANC chief whip Pelisa Nkunjana confirmed to Daily Maverick on the sidelines of a council meeting on Tuesday, 10 March 2026 that the party’s national leadership had summoned regional officials to a meeting in which they stressed the need for unity and continuity, and instructing that Dlabathi be reinstated immediately.

Dlabathi followed the instruction and attended the council meeting, although not in his official position yet since he needs to be sworn in first.

Dlabathi had occupied the position just more than a year before he resigned. Before that the position was held by the EFF’s Nkululeko Dunga, who was fired by Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza because of “unforeseen misalignments”.

Before Dunga’s axing, the red berets and ANC co-governed the metro, but the relationship broke down later, negatively affecting service delivery.

Dlabathi also resigned as the party’s regional secretary. While he did not detail the reasons for his resignation, he is said to have had a number of differences with Xhakaza over the running of the City.

Xhakaza’s future?

Tensions are not only brewing in the council, but also within the ANC itself where it seems there are now two factions – one that believes Xhakaza should mend relations with the red berets and one that believes the party should rather govern without a majority, an ANC insider suggested.

Daily Maverick understands that several political parties are now mulling a motion of no confidence against Xhakaza. The EFF has already indicated it would vote in favour of such a move.

Speaking to the Mail & Guardian, Dunga, the EFF’s Gauteng leader, said the mayor must go.

“Our position is very clear: Xhakaza must go. We cannot continue to stabilise a municipality that is led by someone we do not trust. If the ANC is serious about restoring cooperation in Ekurhuleni, they must remove him,” Dunga said.

This would not be the first such motion he has faced. In March 2025, the Independent Citizens Movement tabled a motion against him, accusing him of failing to improve the municipality. It was withdrawn at the last minute.

Resuhffle ramifacations

Xhakaza’s fight with the EFF intensified recently when he reshuffled his mayoral team, attempting to include ActionSA, during which the EFF’s share of MMC positions was cut from four to two.

Both the EFF and ActionSA publicly rejected the offer to serve in Xhakaza’s administration, leaving three MMC posts vacant.

Dlabathi had told Daily Maverick that ActionSA’s withdrawal was “unfortunate” but the EFF’s, on the other hand, was rather expected given their ongoing differences.

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Dlabathi was at pains to explain what had happened and defended Xhakaza’s decision to reduce the EFF’s representation in the mayoral team, arguing that the party had “always been overrepresented” in the executive.

But when the mayor appointed three new MMCs (human settlements: Nkgopotse Mekgwe; community services: Siyabonga Moloi; and economic infrastructure and development: Dora Mlambo), Dlabathi tendered his resignation from both his City and ANC posts.

On that particular day, 26 February 2026, the council descended into chaos over the appointment of the MMCs and was left without a speaker following Mlambo’s appointment.

At the same time, residents across Ekurhuleni are struggling with failing municipal services. Water cuts that last for days, electricity outages, uncollected rubbish, broken traffic lights and overgrown public spaces have become part of everyday life.

Recently, in areas like Bedfordview, Benoni and Etwatwa, residents have gone without running water for days. In Germiston, Kempton Park and Tembisa they have experienced repeated power outages. These service failures have left residents frustrated, questioning whether the City’s leadership can deliver on its promises.

Adjustment budget

One of the most important items on the agenda at Tuesday’s council meeting was the adoption of the 2025/26 adjustment budget which could not be dealt with previously because council proceedings had come to an abrupt end.

The budget was eventually passed after councillors voted using the yes/no (or “for” and “against”) voting system after nearly eight hours of council proceedings, much to the disappointment of the EFF and the DA.

In a statement, Dlabathi, in his capacity as regional secretary, welcomed the adoption of the budget, which he said had been adopted by an overwhelming majority.

“At its core, the adjusted budget reinforces the City’s commitment to sustainable and reliable service delivery. It prioritises the scaling-up of repairs and maintenance, the completion of unfinished projects and the strengthening of internal municipal capacity to ensure a more responsive and capable City of Ekurhuleni,” he said.

DA finance spokesperson Fanyana Nkosi rejected what he called a reactive adjustment budget that would not add value to the lives of Ekurhuleni residents.

“Across the City, service delivery is collapsing because the initial budget, which this adjustment budget seeks to tweak, was flawed from the outset,” Nkosi said.

ActionSA caucus leader and mayoral candidate Xolani Khumalo also criticised the budget, which, among other things, halved the insourcing of security guards and cleaners.

“The budget does not clearly explain how the City plans to solve its financial problems,” Khumalo said.

The EFF echoed those sentiments: “The budget presented in [council] today reflects a municipality struggling with financial credibility and administrative discipline. Revenue projections remain increasingly detached from the City’s actual collection performance, while departments continue to demonstrate weak operational readiness and inconsistent implementation of key programmes.” DM