Inside the decay of Emfuleni: ANC pays price of non-delivery

The ANC has conceded that its shock loss of ward 28 in Emfuleni to the DA reflects both the consequences of service delivery failures and the electoral cost of its deteriorating relationship with its long-time alliance partner, the SACP.

The DA won the Evaton West ward by just eight votes, securing 1,001 votes against the ANC’s 993. The result marked a dramatic reversal from the 2021 local government elections, when the ANC won the ward with more than 50% of the vote while the DA secured just over 14%.

The setback has heightened concerns within the party ahead of November’s local government elections, particularly as the SACP’s independent participation in the by-election drew more than 60 votes — far exceeding the DA’s winning margin.

ANC deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane, who chairs the party’s elections committee, said the outcome confirmed the party’s forebodings about the risks of the SACP contesting elections independently.

“It confirms what we warned the SACP about,” Mokonyane said. “The difference in Emfuleni is eight votes, while the SACP received more than 60 votes. Finding an alternative like the SACP does harm.”

The result offers one of the clearest indications yet that tensions within the ANC-led alliance are beginning to have electoral consequences. ANC leaders fear the fragmentation of the alliance vote could hand opposition parties further victories in areas that have historically been party strongholds.

Residents say they have lost hope as road projects remain unfinished, water infrastructure is plagued by leaks and mountains of uncollected rubbish accumulate

However, Mokonyane acknowledged that the ANC’s own shortcomings contributed to the loss.

“We must increase voter turnout and improve service delivery,” she said, adding that the party could not ignore growing voter frustration with local government failures.

“The reason we said this is the year of fixing local government and transforming the economy had to do with issues of service delivery. That must not end in November; it must be sustainable,” she said.

A Sunday Times investigation drawing on municipal correspondence, council reports, legislative responses and interviews with residents shows that Emfuleni, the municipality under which Evaton West falls, has spent millions of rand to little visible effect — infrastructure projects are stalled and service delivery failures are mounting.

Residents say they have lost hope as road projects remain unfinished, water infrastructure is plagued by leaks and mountains of uncollected rubbish accumulate.

One glaring example is a road upgrade project on Nguna and U streets next to Zone 7 Stadium. In a 2020 written response to questions from the DA, Lebogang Maile, who was then Gauteng MEC for human settlements, urban planning, co-operative governance & traditional affairs, said the department had already spent more than R14.3m beyond the reported value of the contracts — and the project was only 85% complete.

At the time, work was expected to be completed during financial 2020.

But two years later, Maile painted a far bleaker picture.

What was originally reported as a R19.4m contract had ballooned to nearly R50m and the completion status had regressed from 85% to just 65%, with the project stalled due to a lack of funding. Municipal records show that R49.5m has been spent on the project to date.

When Sunday Times visited the area this week, the roads remained unfinished with sinkholes and sewage running down the street.

Another road project reflects similar disarray — documents from a council meeting in Vanderbijlpark in March reveal that the Kentucky Street contract is effectively stalled before construction has even begun. Although the project has officially been listed as active since January 2025 and carries a budget of more than R13.7m, only R425,205.16 has been spent.

We have lost hope. We don’t know what to do anymore because the roads, the potholes are terrible. When it’s raining, you can’t even walk, and we have schools around here. You can imagine for school kids, it’s horrible

—  Ntombi Khoza, resident

Council documents show that the design phase has not been completed and the tender process has not yet begun. While the original completion date was listed as this month, the revised completion date has simply been recorded as “N/A”.

For residents, roads are only one part of a much larger crisis.

Ntombi Khoza, who has lived in the area for more than a decade, says illegal dumping has become part of everyday life.

“We have lost hope. We don’t know what to do anymore because the roads, the potholes are terrible. When it’s raining, you can’t even walk, and we have schools around here. You can imagine for school kids, it’s horrible,” she said.

As residents navigate their way around piles of rubbish dumped on pavements, the smell of rotting waste hangs in the air. The roads themselves are riddled with potholes large enough to force motorists into oncoming traffic.

Official records show that between July 2021 and early 2026 the municipality spent R68.7m on 15 private refuse collection contractors. The records show that overtime payments within the refuse collection department totalled R31.97m during the period, while a further R13.1m was spent maintaining the municipality’s refuse collection fleet.

Another municipal response covering February and March 2026 showed that no private contractors were used for refuse collection during those two months. Instead, the municipality spent R15.8m on employee overtime.

The figure is striking because it exceeds the amount spent on private refuse contractors over the last financial year.

Emfuleni spokesperson Makhosonke Sangweni told the Sunday Times that the municipality has bought “more than 15” waste collection trucks and that it is waiting for the last 10 “in order to aggressively and regularly collect waste”.

Electricity is another major source of frustration for residents.

Sara Selepe said her family has spent years struggling to obtain a stable electricity supply after purchasing a stand in the area five years ago. The family discovered that proper processes were not followed in the sale of the stand, which created additional obstacles in obtaining municipal services.

While they had access to water, Selepe said they struggled to get electricity as they are in an area with no transformer. “We had to make a way and buy a transformer for ourselves just to get by.”

Sangweni said the Vaal Water Corp, a special purpose vehicle set by the municipality and Rand Water to take responsibility for water and sanitation infrastructure, will begin work on July 1. “We believe it will resolve all of our challenges.”