ActionSA calls for urgent intervention in Emfuleni municipality crisis

The Star

26-05-2025

Masabata Mkwananzi | Published 4 hours ago
ActionSA has ramped up pressure on Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Finance MEC Jacob Mamabolo, demanding that Emfuleni Local Municipality be placed under mandatory administration.
The party said years of financial mismanagement, collapsing infrastructure, and failed service delivery have pushed the municipality beyond the point of recovery without urgent national intervention.
"It is now imperative that the Gauteng Provincial Government invoke Section 139(5) of the Constitution and place Emfuleni Local Municipality under mandatory administration, with the full oversight of National Treasury."
ActionSA Gauteng provincial chairperson, Funzi Ngobeni MPL, has criticised the ongoing oversight failures in Emfuleni, warning that years of ineffective and incomplete interventions under Section 139(1)(b) have allowed the municipality to slide into what he described as a 'full-blown crisis.'
Ngobeni stressed that Emfuleni's dire financial state is undeniable, citing the municipality's R7.1 billion debt to Eskom and mounting arrears with Rand Water as key indicators of its insolvency.
He added that massive service delivery failures, including 62% water losses and 22% electricity losses — amounting to over R750 million in annual lost revenue — have left basic services out of reach for many residents.
'Ongoing sewer spillages, neglected infrastructure, and collapsed waste management systems have turned essential services into a luxury most communities can no longer count on,' Ngobeni added.
Ngobeni further pointed to the ongoing sanitation crisis at the Ramaphosa informal settlement as a glaring example of Emfuleni's collapse.
'The fact that portable toilets have gone unserviced for more than four months is not just unacceptable — it should be the final straw…this level of neglect underscores why urgent intervention through Section 139(5) is no longer optional but absolutely necessary.
'Despite Premier Lesufi's belated instruction to the Gauteng Human Settlements Department to resolve the matter, it is clear that without intentional, decisive provincial intervention, residents will continue to suffer. Emfuleni's failure to provide basic sanitation is not confined to one settlement – it is a systemic, recurring feature of a municipality in collapse,' he said.
Previously placed under administration due to chronic service delivery failures, Emfuleni Local Municipality remains in disarray.
Ngobeni has slammed the earlier Section 139(1)(b) intervention, terminated in 2022, as a 'disastrous failure.' The party argued that the measure merely offered a façade of oversight while allowing Emfuleni's political leadership to retain control over the budget and continue with unchecked, irresponsible spending.
"The situation has now escalated beyond discretionary oversight. ActionSA, therefore, supports the immediate implementation of a financial recovery plan in terms of Section 139(5), which would transfer financial control to National Treasury and impose mandatory reforms," he said.
Ngobeni stated that ActionSA has formally submitted a proposal to the Gauteng Legislature's COGTA Committee, urging the Portfolio Committee and Premier Panyaza Lesufi to act swiftly. He said the municipality's dire financial state requires immediate fiscal control by the National Treasury to enforce a funded and credible budget capable of addressing years of financial mismanagement.
'An immediate fiscal control by National Treasury to enforce a funded and credible budget, aggressive debt recovery aligned with Eskom's debt relief framework, and prioritised infrastructure restoration in water, electricity, and sanitation,' said Ngobeni.
He further added that stabilising the municipality's leadership is also crucial to turning things around.
'Appointing a permanent Municipal Manager and Chief Financial Officer without delay is vital to restoring governance and accountability in Emfuleni.'
ActionSA is not the only political party placing pressure on the embattled Emfuleni Local Municipality.
As previously reported by The Star , the Democratic Alliance (DA) has also taken decisive action by referring the municipality to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). The DA is calling for a full investigation, citing long-standing and severe service delivery failures.
According to the party, these failures have subjected residents to inhumane living conditions, effectively violating their constitutional rights to basic services such as clean water, adequate sanitation, and a safe and healthy environment.
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