Emalahleni Local Municipality

Executive mayor: Vusi Julius Nhlapho; ANC
Wards: 34
Council seats: 68
Residents (Census 2022): 434 522

Who governs

ANC majority (35 of 68 seats)

ANC

Mayor:highveldchronicle.co.za, Sep 2026 Coalition:en.wikipedia.org

2021 local election result

ANC50.8% · 35 seats
EFF20.8% · 14 seats
DA18.3% · 13 seats
FF+5.5% · 4 seats
AIC1.1% · 1 seats
ACDP0.9% · 1 seats

Announced mayoral candidates

The big issues

Eskom debt of more than R9.9bn and threatened cut-offs
Emalahleni is Eskom's largest municipal debtor (R9.9bn at November 2024; the FF+ put it above R12bn by mid-2026) and the Mpumalanga executive council has directed it and other defaulting municipalities to agree credible repayment plans as Eskom threatens to switch off supply.
Mpumalanga municipalities ordered to pay Eskom debt (SABC News), 27 Feb 2026
Daily water outages, ~50% water losses and a week-long shutdown
Residents face frequent dry taps and low pressure; the municipality ran a planned seven-day water shutdown from 29 June to 5 July 2026 for maintenance on the main command reservoir, dam and treatment plant, while opposition parties say nearly half of treated water is lost to leak
eMalahleni water shutdown progresses as repairs advance (Witbank News), 1 Jul 2026
R650m High Court fine for years of raw sewage spills
In November 2025 the Mpumalanga High Court fined the municipality a record R650m after it pleaded guilty to letting raw sewage flow from broken sewers into Witbank Dam, the Steenkoolspruit, Klein Olifants and Olifants rivers between March 2019 and March 2025.

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

ANC majority (35 of 68 seats).

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What needs attention?Street or area (optional)

Hello. I would like an update on water supply in my area, eMalahleni. 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.

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Your ward

We have not loaded ward councillors for eMalahleni yet. Use the IEC lookup for now.

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.

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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.

Emalahleni Local Municipality

Who governs

2021 local election result

Announced mayoral candidates

The big issues

Eskom debt of more than R9.9bn and threatened cut-offs

Daily water outages, ~50% water losses and a week-long shutdown

R650m High Court fine for years of raw sewage spills

Make your next question count.

Take the quiz for eMalahleni

Sinkholes and collapsing roads in a mining town

Audit findings, provincial intervention and 30% electricity losses

Your ward

What parties promise for eMalahleni