
TOP GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE INDEX POSITION FOR EKURHULENI
In a momentous achievement for the City of Ekurhuleni, the municipality has received a second place ranking in the country, and first place ranking in the Gauteng Province, in the 2024 Governance Performance Index (GPI) for Metropolitan Municipalities.
This distinguished position highlights the city’s unwavering dedication to governance excellence, leadership, and superior service delivery, establishing it as a front-runner among metropolitan municipalities across South Africa.
In the face of challenges brought on by a hung council since the 2016 local government elections, the administrative leadership of Ekurhuleni has showcased remarkable governance resilience, significantly bolstered by its innovative approach to systematic governance and responsive accountability.
“We are immensely proud of this achievement, which reflects our collective commitment to excellence and our resolve to continually elevate our city’s governance and service delivery standards,” reacted an impressed Dr Imogen Mashazi, the City Manager of Ekurhuleni.
“This accolade is not just a testament to our efforts but also a clarion call to persist in our quest for innovation, inclusivity, sustainability and service delivery excellence in every facet of our administration.”
The GPI 2024 meticulously conducted by Good Governance Africa, examines municipalities on various performance metrics. Ekurhuleni’s commendable performance, especially in Leadership & Management, speaks volumes of the municipality’s strategic management team and the administrative resilience that has been instrumental in securing this accolade.
“Our deepest appreciation goes out to the community, our dedicated workforce, and all stakeholders for their unwavering support and contributions towards realising Ekurhuleni’s vision of becoming a smart, creative and developmental city. Together, we pledge to aim higher and redefine benchmarks in governance and service provision in our city,” emphasises Dr Mashazi.
South Africa has eight metropolitan Municipalities; Buffalo City, the City of Cape Town, the City of Johannesburg, the City of Tshwane, the City of Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Mangaung, and Nelson Mandela Bay. Together, these municipalities govern areas inhabited by 40% of South Africa’s population,
highlighting their importance within South Africa’s system of local government.
Since the 2021 local government elections, most metropolitan municipalities have received significant media attention due to the political instability in many metropolitan councils. Specifically, attention has focused on events in the five metros with hung councils, especially those within the economically dominant Gauteng province, where no single party commands a majority in any of the province’s three metropolitan councils.
The story the GPI provides as it relates to metropolitan municipal performance is not solely negative. The generally effective governance present in Cape Town and Ekurhuleni is noteworthy.
The second-placed performance of Ekurhuleni is worth emphasizing because, like its Gauteng province peers, Ekurhuleni has had a hung council since the 2016 local government elections.
According to the GPI, one factor which likely influenced Ekurhuleni’s stronger performance in the GPI was the fact that between 2016 and 2021, the municipality was governed by a formal coalition agreement. To date, such agreements have been a rarity in municipal politics across South Africa, and it appears that Ekurhuleni benefitted from the presence of one. Unfortunately, the political leadership of Ekurhuleni opted not to continue with a formal coalition agreement following the 2021 local government elections.
“Potentially, this may have impacted aspects of Ekurhuleni’s audit outcomes within the yet-to-be-released 2022-23 AGSA MFMA Report,” reads the document.
“Nevertheless, the example of Ekurhuleni’s governance progress during the 2016 – 2021 period underscores the potential positive governance impact of establishing a framework for political parties in a coalition. This framework would ensure accountability to a defined consensus on maintaining a basic political administrative divide, as well as on matters concerning policy and political appointees at the municipal executive level,” concludes the report.