EFF changes tune on removal of Ekurhuleni mayor

The Economic Freedom Fighters will not support a motion to remove Ekurhuleni mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza, a member of the ANC, despite the EFF previously voicing concerns about his leadership.

The motion, filed two weeks ago by Independent Citizen Movement (ICM) councillor Joe Mojapelo and seconded by the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), accuses Xhakaza of financial mismanagement, leadership failures and ignoring council directives.

In a letter to council speaker Nthabiseng Tshivhenga, Mojapelo wrote that the city “urgently requires a capable and visionary executive mayor who prioritises good governance, financial prudence, and strategic leadership”.

“The city is currently facing severe challenges, including deteriorating service delivery, financial instability, and governance failures, which have worsened under the leadership of executive mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza,” Mojapelo stated.

He also cited the failure of the city’s revenue enhancement strategy, a R2 billion shortfall in debt collection and significant delays in budget approval that, he argued, compromised the city’s financial stability and ability to deliver services.

EFF Gauteng chairperson and former member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for finance, Nkululeko Dunga, acknowledged in an interview with Newzroom Afrika last week that many of Mojapelo’s concerns aligned with long-standing issues raised by the EFF.

“In the majority, all the concerns that they raise in their own motions have been consistently raised by the EFF itself,” Dunga said.

“The EFF at one stage took the finances of the city and we did extremely well even though we were met with counter-propaganda, but nothing has changed since the unceremonious removal of the EFF.”

Yet, speaking to the Mail & Guardian on Monday, Dunga said the EFF remained part of the city’s governing coalition and had not initiated internal processes to determine whether it would back the motion. “If the EFF did not find confidence in the mayor or the government itself, it would have recused itself from the government,” he said.

Tensions between the EFF and ANC in Gauteng have simmered for some time, with the EFF frequently threatening to leave the coalition if their demands were unmet.

In June 2024, EFF leader Julius Malema warned that if Xhakaza did not reinstate Dunga as finance MMC, the EFF would withdraw all its MMCs in metros where it shared governance with the ANC.

That ultimatum was never enforced. Instead, Dunga was replaced by ANC councillor Jongizizwe Dlabathi.

On Monday, Dlabathi said the EFF’s position remained unchanged. “As things stand, the EFF has not supported the motion as the parties have a working arrangement,” he told M&G.

He also confirmed that the motion would not be included in Thursday’s council meeting, because it had not been accepted by the programming committee.

“The motion was submitted by ICM, and the programming committee meeting last Thursday did not discuss it,” Dlabathi said.

“It is a motion that’s there, but it’s not going through the council. The motion will be spoken to in April, once the programming committee has accepted it. We must wait for programming to sit in and deliberate on whether it will form part of the April council meeting.”

Xhakaza dismissed the motion as a political ploy by marginal parties with limited influence. “This motion has been raised by a ‘one man’ party, who lobbied another ‘two man’ party,” he said, emphasising that bigger parties such as the ANC, EFF and ActionSA had not shown support for the effort.

“You need the DA [Democratic Alliance], you need the ANC which is the party I come from, you need the EFF which is the party that we are in an arrangement with,” he said. “You then have the fourth largest party, which is ActionSA, which is not part of this motion because they want us to formalise a working arrangement with them. We supported the election of their chairperson of finance in the February council, so you’ve got an ActionSA which is not on board. You have Freedom Front Plus which is also not on board.”

Xhakaza said if the motion had posed a credible threat, he would have postponed the upcoming State of the City address to deal with it first, as was the case with previous mayors Sivuyile Ngodwana and Tania Campbell.

He further alleged that Mojapelo’s motion was motivated by city officials seeking to avoid accountability after his administration uncovered a R2 billion shortfall. Xhakaza claimed that Mojapelo, who served as the city’s chief operating officer [COO] until his dismissal in 2019 over irregularities in a municipal project, was among those expected to account for the shortfall.

“It cannot be that one is suspended by the same council on the one hand, and on the other, the same person comes back as a lawmaker,” Xhakaza said. “You have got to question the credibility of the once-suspended COO of the city who has now turned into a politician.”

He added that he had formally requested a report from city officials regarding Mojapelo’s 2019 suspension following findings of maladministration by the Special Investigating Unit. “I’ve asked the officials to furnish me with a report of what happened to that suspension and whether the council was ever furnished with the report.”

Despite growing frustration from some quarters, the EFF’s refusal to support the motion effectively shields Xhakaza for now, with the matter postponed until at least April.