While the ANC-EFF coalition in Ekurhuleni fights, insourcing and the residents get left behind
31 May 2023
ActionSA is concerned that while the ANC-EFF coalition fights over details contained in the City of Ekurhuleni’s budgetary framework, the urgent need to provide dignity to the city’s employees through insourcing and service delivery to the residents continues to decline.
Since the ANC-EFF was elected into government in Ekurhuleni, proxy mayor Sivuyile Ngodwana struggled to appoint a mayoral committee due to ongoing coalition squabbles. This past week, the ANC and EFF had a very public falling out with the ANC promising to write off R20 billion debt from rates and taxes – a move the EFF strongly objected to.
While these coalition partners publicly contradict each other, the residents of Ekurhuleni continue to suffer with residents of Kwathema storming a customer care centre on Tuesday after experiencing a three-week-long power outage.
ActionSA believes that urgent leadership is necessary to stabilise the situation in Ekurhuleni and uncomfortable decisions will have to be made as the city is on a slippery slope towards becoming finically unsustainable.
The ANC-EFF budget introduced last week works on the assumption that the city will have a collection rate of 90%, this as the city is currently struggling to reach a 84% collection rate which led to severe budget cuts in the past.
The ANC’s proposed R20 billion debt write-off will further complicate the city’s already ailing finances, while residents buckle under the proposed above-inflation increase of nearly 12%.
Meanwhile, the city has made little to no progress with insourcing, despite an investigation being tabled to council. Our city’s employees simply cannot be continually let down in this regard.
ActionSA, a party committed to ethical leadership and good governance, will continue to lobby the ANC-EFF coalition to put their differences aside, insource our essential city employees and deliver better services to the people. The residents of Ekurhuleni deserve better.
Issued by Michael Basch, ActionSA COE Caucus Chairperson, 31 May 2023
