Johnathan Paoli
The DA helped the ANC-led Ekurhuleni administration avert a budget crisis on Tuesday, backing the metro’s R71 billion spending plan after months of political deadlock and days before the city risked provincial intervention.
The special council sitting marked the fifth attempt to pass the budget after four previous efforts failed, with executive mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza warning ahead of the vote that the municipality could not enter the new financial year without an adopted budget.
“This goes a long way really to ensure that there’s continued service delivery to our people, that is not just a service delivery, but it is impactful to our people. So, we want to report that out of the council, 16 political parties that are represented, we consulted widely and 15 political parties actually agreed that this budget is responsive,” Xhakaza said.
The breakthrough followed negotiations between the ANC and the Democratic Alliance, with the opposition party agreeing to support the budget after securing several amendments and commitments aimed at improving service delivery and strengthening financial oversight.
Speaking after the vote, DA Gauteng leader and federal chairperson Solly Msimanga said the party had entered negotiations focused on achieving practical gains for residents rather than political advantage.
“Unfortunately, the only people that came around the table with us were the ANC and we did engage the ANC and say: ‘How do we then get wins?’ This is what the ANC has agreed to; they have put it in black and white. We have now signed off on that,” he said.
ActionSA, the Freedom Front Plus and the Inkatha Freedom Party also supported the decision.
Among the key concessions secured by the DA is the introduction of a monthly public reporting mechanism designed to monitor service delivery performance across the metro.
The reports are intended to enable residents and councillors to track progress, identify shortcomings and hold the administration accountable.
The agreement also seeks to reduce expenditure on non-essential items. According to the DA, restrictions will be introduced on spending related to luxury vehicles, travel, accommodation and the use of consultants, with greater emphasis placed on infrastructure investment and basic municipal services.
Msimanga said resources would instead be directed towards improving water provision, electricity supply, sanitation, refuse removal and the maintenance of municipal infrastructure.
He said stronger financial oversight mechanisms formed part of the negotiated agreement and that the revised budget redirects significant funding towards frontline services.
According to the DA, more than R100 million has been reallocated to projects focused on improving service delivery, while R40 million has been shifted from a legacy project to support core municipal functions.
The party also highlighted reductions in contracted services expenditure, saying spending in that category had been cut from R7.9 billion to between R7.4 billion and R7.5 billion.
At the same time, the municipality’s maintenance budget has increased from R4.2 billion to R4.6 billion, a move the DA believes will assist in addressing deteriorating infrastructure across the metro.
Msimanga stressed that the party’s support should not be interpreted as the beginning of a political coalition or an attempt to secure positions within the municipal administration.
“We are supporting this budget not because we want positions; none of the DA members will be taking any. We are seeking victory for the people of Ekurhuleni,” he said.
He said the DA would closely monitor whether the ANC administration implements the commitments made during the negotiations.
The party intends to track spending and performance in areas including infrastructure maintenance, road repairs, restoration of street lighting and the delivery of basic municipal services over the coming months.
While acknowledging that not every proposal put forward during negotiations had been accepted, Msimanga said the final agreement represented a significant improvement on previous versions of the budget.
“It may not be 100% of what is needed but we have certainly achieved progress for residents,” he said.
Before councillors voted, MMC for Finance Jongizizwe Dlabathi expressed confidence that political parties would reach consensus after months of uncertainty surrounding the city’s financial planning process.
However, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) maintained its opposition to the budget.
“The reality is that the budget adopted today is substantially the same budget that both the DA and ActionSA rejected three times. What has changed is not the content of the budget but the political calculations of those who have now chosen to support it,” EFF Gauteng provincial spokesperson Nkululeko Dunga said.
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