Opposition Rejects Ekurhuleni Budget Again
A unified coalition of opposition parties has successfully blocked the City of Ekurhuleni's proposed 2026/2027 annual budget for an unprecedented fourth consecutive time.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), ActionSA, and the Freedom Front Plus voted together in council to defeat the fiscal plan put forward by the minority African National Congress administration.
DA caucus leader, Brandon Pretorius, issued this statement while strongly condemning the executive for failing to implement vital amendments that would safeguard vulnerable residents from aggressive tariff hikes.
“The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni has once again rejected the ANC's budget after the governing party arrogantly re-tabled the very same budget it presented last week,” Pretorius claims.
He explained that the governing party missed a golden opportunity to modernise crumbling infrastructure and categorise funds for essential municipal services like streetlights and potholes.
“The ANC-led coalition in Ekurhuleni has failed to present a budget that prioritises the interests of residents,” Pretorius added.
ActionSA’s Xolani Khumalo expressed deep disappointment at the ongoing administrative gridlock but maintained that opposition parties could not compromise on community welfare.
Khumalo’s party demanded absolute clarity regarding municipal worker insourcing timelines and a total freeze on unjustified local tariff hikes before offering any legislative support.
“Given the coalition’s failure to incorporate these demands into the final budget, we cannot, in good conscience, support a budget that does not serve the people of Ekurhuleni,” said the Action SA mayoral candidate.
He added that passing an unamended budget would merely normalise institutional decay and financial mismanagement across the East Rand.
The unified opposition bloc maintained that the executive must learn to open transparent dialogues with rival caucuses when managing a minority governance structure.
Freedom Front Plus spokesperson, Denise Janse van Rensburg, cautioned that the municipality is operating on highly precarious financial projections that fail to reflect actual economic realities.
She highlighted that forcing residents to bear steep utility increases while the city loses billions to technical distribution leaks is entirely unacceptable.
“The budget is based on unrealistic assumptions, including a collection rate of 90%, a projected surplus of R1,523-billion and proposed bridging finance of R500-million,” Janse van Rensburg said.
The ongoing political stalemate reflects deep structural disagreements over revenue collection targets and local accountability mechanisms.
Council members have repeatedly stressed that a sustainable recovery requires a complete overhaul of the current administrative priorities.
A critical statutory deadline of 30 June 2026 now looms over the local council, leaving the metro with very little time to reorganise its financial strategy.
If the executive fails to adjust the framework and successfully re-table it, the provincial government may be forced to intervene directly.
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