Sipho Radebe has been removed as Emfulen Mayor after the ANC said the municipality continues to struggle with basic services including water, refuse removal and infrastructure maintenance.
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The African National Congress (ANC) has recalled Emfuleni Mayor Sipho Radebe with immediate effect, citing governance failures and poor service delivery in the financially distressed municipality.
Radebe has served as the Mayor of the Emfuleni Local Municipality since November 2021.
In a statement, ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said the decision was taken by the party’s secretary-general Fikile Mbalula in line with ANC constitutional provisions and the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, following recommendations from provincial and regional structures in Gauteng.
Bhengu said the decision followed an assessment of the municipality’s performance, which identified ongoing failures in basic service delivery, including road maintenance, refuse removal, water provision and environmental management. She said these failures reflected the lived reality of residents in Sedibeng.
She added that concerns were also raised about the municipality’s participation in intergovernmental structures established to support service delivery.
Mbalula said the organisation deploys public representatives to serve communities and not to occupy office.
“The African National Congress does not deploy public representatives to occupy office; we deploy them to serve. Where the service falters, the Movement must act for the people. Today we have acted for the people of Emfuleni,” Mbalula said.
He said all councillors deployed after the 2021 local government elections signed a Pledge to Serve Better and a Contract of Deployment, which binds them to implement ANC policy and deliver services to residents.
Mbalula said the recall mechanism is provided for in both the ANC Constitution and the deployment contract when those commitments are not met.
Emfuleni Local Municipality has been under provincial intervention in terms of section 139 of the Constitution since 2018 and operates under a revised Financial Recovery Plan adopted in 2024.
The municipality reportedly owes around R7.1 billion to Eskom, along with significant arrears to Rand Water, while Auditor-General reports have repeatedly raised material findings.
The ANC said the challenges facing the municipality are not only due to resource constraints but also reflect failures in leadership and political will.
The party said the recall of the mayor does not trigger a by-election and does not affect the composition of the municipal council.
It added that it will ensure continuity of the Financial Recovery Plan, address Auditor-General findings, and restore coordination between the mayoral office and the service delivery war room.
The ANC said the move forms part of its 2026 programme of action, described as the “Year of Decisive Action to Fix Local Government and Transform the Economy,” ahead of the local government elections scheduled for 4 November 2026.
Mbalula said the party would not allow strategic municipalities to deteriorate further.
“In this Year of Decisive Action there can be no strategic municipality left to drift, and no mayor placed above the people he was sent to serve.
''The African National Congress is at work and the people of Emfuleni will feel that work in the condition of their roads, the cleanliness of their streets and the dignity of their daily lives,” he said.
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