Sikhethasikhetha.co.za

Metropolitan municipalityEKU· Part of Gauteng

City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality

Executive mayor: Nkosindiphile Xhakaza; ANC
Wards: 112
Council seats: 224
Residents (Census 2022): 4 066 691

Who governs

Hung council led by an ANC-led coalition (with EFF support at times) under executive mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza; the metro has seen repeated coalition realignments since 2021.

ANCEFF

Mayor:en.wikipedia.org, 4 Sep 2026 Coalition:en.wikipedia.org

2021 local election result

ANC38.2% · 86 seats
DA28.7% · 65 seats
EFF13.6% · 31 seats
ActionSA6.6% · 15 seats
FF+3.3% · 8 seats
PA1.9% · 4 seats
IFP

All wards in Ekurhuleni112

The big issues

Electricity outages and substation failures
Ekurhuleni has become 'notorious for power outages', with failing infrastructure prompting oversight visits to central Germiston after repeated outages.
Xhakaza unveils R16.2bn IPP plan to reduce Ekurhuleni's reliance on Eskom, 14 May 2026
Germiston and Tembisa service-delivery protests
Residents in Tembisa and parts of the East Rand have staged protests over harsh credit control, electricity disconnections and service failures.
Tembisa protests escalate, DA accuses Ekurhuleni mayor of abusing powers, 23 Feb 2026
Billing disputes and credit control
Incorrect municipal bills, soaring electricity costs, smart meters and aggressive disconnections have driven community campaigns and protests, notably in Tembisa.
Tembisa Community Forum to tackle incorrect municipal bills, 27 Feb 2026
Waste collection backlogs

Municipal website Find your ward and voting station on the IEC site

Hung council led by an ANC-led coalition (with EFF support at times) under executive mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza.

Make your next question count.

Choose an issue and copy a clear question for your councillor. Nothing is sent for you.

What needs attention?Street or area (optional)

Hello. I would like an update on water supply in my area, Ekurhuleni. What is the reference number, which team is responsible, and when should residents expect the next update? Please also share any published repair plan or budget.

This draft stays in this page. Copying does not contact the council.

Take the quiz for Ekurhuleni

See which parties match your views on the issues facing Ekurhuleni.

Start the quiz

Your ward

Which ward are you in?

A ward is your part of the municipality, usually a few suburbs or a section of a township. You elect one councillor for it by name.

Ekurhuleni has 112 wards, numbered 1 to 112.

Or search by suburb or township

Don't know your ward?

The IEC tells you. Check your registration on elections.org.za, or SMS your ID number to 32810, or WhatsApp 0600 88 0000. Your voting station notice also shows it.

elections.org.za ↗

What a ward councillor actually does

Your ward councillor is your ward's voice in the municipal council. Under the Structures Act they represent residents in council, chair the ward committee, run public participation, and tell the community what council decided. The Code of Conduct says councillors must report back to their constituencies at least every quarter. They do not run departments, hire staff, award tenders or give instructions to officials; the Code forbids interfering in the administration, which is led by the municipal manager. Ward committees (sections 72 to 78 of the Structures Act) are the councillor as chair plus up to 10 community representatives who advise on the IDP, the budget and local service problems.

Can do: represent the ward in council, chair the ward committee, hold public meetings, take service complaints to the administration and track the response, give input on the IDP and budget.
Cannot do: employ people, allocate tenders or houses, appoint municipal staff, or directly instruct officials (SALGA, and Code of Conduct item on interference in administration).
Ward committee: councillor plus up to 10 members representing interests in the ward. It advises and communicates; it does not take municipal decisions.
COGTA: the ward committee is council's recognised consultative body for the ward, including on the IDP and the budget process.
Realistic expectations: regular report-back meetings, a working ward committee, complaints logged and followed up with the administration, and clear feedback on what was fixed and what was not.

Seven questions to ask a ward candidate

Ask candidates about the job they are actually applying for. These questions are grounded in the councillor Code of Conduct, the ward committee rules and SALGA's explainer, except where we mark them as our own suggestion.

1. If you are the sitting councillor, how many council and committee meetings did you miss in this term? (Code of Conduct: a councillor must attend every meeting, and missing three in a row means removal.)
2. Do you live in this ward? If not, how will you stay visible and reachable? (The law does not require a councillor to live in the ward, but SALGA says they must remain visible and accessible.)
3. How, and how often, will you report back to residents? (The Code requires a report-back to the constituency at least every quarter.)
4. What exactly will you do about the top three problems in this ward, and which of them can a councillor fix rather than escalate? (SALGA lists water cuts, refuse, sewer spills, potholes and streetlights as things to escalate through a councillor, while the administration does the work.)

Holding the winner to account after 4 November

Go to ward committee and public meetings and ask for the quarterly report-back the Code of Conduct requires. Since November 2021 the Code sits in Schedule 7 of the Structures Act. It says a councillor must attend every council and committee meeting, is removed from office after missing three consecutive meetings, must disclose interests and withdraw from matters where they have one, may not be more than three months in arrears on municipal accounts, and may not interfere in the administration. If you think a councillor broke the Code, complain in writing to the Speaker, who must investigate, give the councillor a chance to reply, report to council in a public report and inform the MEC. Council can warn, reprimand or fine the councillor, or ask the MEC to suspend or remove them. For service failures, log a call with the metro call centre and keep the reference number, then give it to your councillor to follow up. If a ward seat becomes vacant, the MEC must call a by-election within 90 days.

Complaints about a councillor: Speaker's office. The Speaker's report on a breach is open to the public, and council can also set up a special committee to investigate.
Money oversight: every council must have a Municipal Public Accounts Committee (Structures Amendment Act 3 of 2021), and the Auditor-General reports on each municipality's audit outcome every year.
Service complaints: Johannesburg 0860 56 28 74 (0860 JOBURG), 24 hours; Tshwane 012 358 9999 or toll free 080 111 1556; Ekurhuleni 0860 543 000. Always get a reference number.

Why service delivery is about the whole council

Water, electricity, refuse and roads are delivered by the municipality's administration, working to a budget and an Integrated Development Plan that the whole council adopts, so a stable council majority and a capable administration matter more than any one councillor's ideology. The Auditor-General's 2023-24 report says the trend of poor audit outcomes continues and that many municipalities cannot produce credible financial and performance reports, so check your municipality's audit outcome and its finances on National Treasury's Municipal Money site before you vote.

The IDP and the annual budget are council decisions; ward committees and public meetings are where residents feed into them.
The record to check: the Auditor-General's MFMA report for your municipality, and Municipal Money (municipalmoney.gov.za) for income, spending and debt.

Sitting-councillor records use the 2021 ward set and include researched updates. A 2026 ward with the same number can cover a different area. Confirm your 2026 ward with the IEC.

What parties promise for Ekurhuleni

Specific to this municipality, in the party's own words, with the source. National slogans are left out.

African National Congress

Mayoral candidate: Nkosindiphile Xhakaza (incumbent executive mayor)

Roll out a R16.2bn Independent Power Producer programme (75 IPPs) - R10bn solar PV, R4bn waste-to-energy, R1bn gas - to diversify supply away from Eskom.Source 2026-05
Use the newly approved Escrow Account framework to unlock bankable private investment feeding electricity directly into Ekurhuleni's network.Source 2026-05
Save an estimated R200bn over 20 years on bulk electricity to shield residents from rising tariffs, while creating about 4,350 temporary and 650 permanent jobs.Source 2026-05
Settle the metro's Eskom debt: R1.7bn of the R3.4bn owed already paid, with the remaining balance to be settled over 18 months.Source 2026-05

Democratic Alliance

Mayoral candidate: Khathutshelo Rasilingwane

Conduct lifestyle and skills audits of senior managers, fast-track disciplinary action to fire officials who break the law, and blacklist corrupt companies from tenders.Source 2026-06
Prioritise and budget for water and electricity infrastructure maintenance to serve Ekurhuleni's 4.2 million residents and cut water and electricity losses.Source 2026-06
Fix the billing system to be fair and accurate, ringfence service revenues, improve refuse collection, repair broken streetlights and fill potholes.Source 2026-06
Root out corruption in the EMPD, introduce body cameras and rigorous vetting, equip officers, and work with neighbourhood watches and CPFs.Source 2026-06

Economic Freedom Fighters

Mayoral candidate: Nthabiseng Tshivhenga

Deploy former Ekurhuleni Speaker Nthabiseng Tshivhenga to restore stability, improve service delivery and prioritise the interests of residents.Source 2026-07
Advance clean governance, disciplined administration and developmental local government grounded in financial management and accountability.Source 2026-07

ActionSA

Mayoral candidate: Xolani Khumalo

Implement a 10-point plan to improve service delivery, fight crime and corruption, upgrade housing and infrastructure, and restore community-government trust.Source 2025-10
'Clean up the city and restore dignity', making Ekurhuleni an investable, reliable city that investors and residents can trust.Source 2025-10

Only pledges we could source are shown; a party with no entry may simply not have published a local plan yet.

City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality

Who governs

2021 local election result

The big issues

Electricity outages and substation failures

Germiston and Tembisa service-delivery protests

Billing disputes and credit control

Waste collection backlogs

Make your next question count.

Take the quiz for Ekurhuleni

Announced mayoral candidates

Coalition governance

Your ward

Which ward are you in?

The record

What parties promise for Ekurhuleni