By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) Ekurhuleni member Jongizizwe Dlabathi has resigned as the party’s regional secretary and as a Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC).
Fullview learnt that Dlabathi was not happy with the mayor’s unilateral decisions in the metro.
On Wednesday evening, mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza filled the three MMC positions, two that were rejected by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and one rejected by ActionSA, with all ANC councillors.
Now the mayoral committee is made up of a majority of ANC councillors and some from smaller parties.
The coalition government consists of the ANC, EFF, ActionSA and Patriotic Alliance, who together hold 136 of the 224 council seats.
In 2024, Xhakaza removed the EFF’s regional secretary-general, Nkululeko Dunga, from his role as MMC for finance in Ekurhuleni, citing “unforeseen misalignments”
The decision was a significant setback for the EFF, which managed the R51.2-billion municipal budget, and added to growing tensions in the Ekurhuleni coalition. Dunga was replaced by Dlabathi.
Xhakaza later removed the speaker, Nthabiseng Tshivhenga (also from EFF), and now two EFF MMCs. This led to the latter pulling out of the ANC-led governing coalition.
The EFF’s withdrawal from the coalition has thrown the city’s political landscape into uncertainty, with the council’s 224 seats divided among the ANC (86), the DA (65), the EFF (31), ActionSA (15), Freedom Front Plus (8), the IFP (2), the ACDP (2), and smaller parties sharing the remaining 10 seats.
The withdrawal of the EFF means the ANC-led coalition in Ekurhuleni no longer has a majority.
In his resignation letter, Dlabathi explained that stepping down was in the best interests of the ANC in the region and its smooth functioning.
“My resignation is effective from February 27. I request that I be granted time and space during this moment,” he wrote.
He said he had been humbled by the opportunity to serve and dispose of his skills and professional expertise in both the roles he had in the party and municipality.
Xhakaza appointed Nkgopotse Nsizwa Mekgwe as human settlements MMC, Siyabonga Mathews Moloi as MMC for community services, with economic infrastructure and development going to Dora Mlambo, who is also the speaker of the council.
Mlambo, has since resigned as speaker after being appointed as the MMC for economic infrastructure and development.
“I am now resigning as the speaker as I have been appointed as an MMC,” Mlambo said before a caucus meeting was called.
Mlambo was appointed as Ekurhuleni speaker on January 26 2026.
The City is expected to hold an extraordinary council sitting soon to elect a speaker of the council.
The coalition remains fragile, with Xhakaza’s political future increasingly uncertain. The EFF has made it clear that it will now sit on the opposition benches and is likely to support a motion of no confidence against him.