EMFULENI, GAUTENG — The arrest of seven Emfuleni municipal employees allegedly involved in an unlawful power reconnection scheme has sparked renewed demands for a complete political leadership overhaul. Solomon Chabalala, the Democratic Alliance’s Gauteng Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) and Emfuleni mayoral candidate, stated that the arrests underscore a severe lack of political will to ensure the municipality functions optimally.
Five of the suspects were apprehended on Friday during a political task team operation in Vanderbijlpark, with two additional arrests made the following day. The employees allegedly posed as municipal officials, charging defaulting clients fees for illegal electricity reconnections.
Chabalala emphasized that this scheme is a symptom of entrenched corruption that has plagued the municipality for years. He noted that Emfuleni currently owes Eskom approximately R8 billion, largely because stolen electricity prevents the municipality from recouping the costs of the power it purchases. This financial drain has directly contributed to ongoing, systemic failures in repairing roads, sewage, sanitation, and water supply services.
When questioned about the root causes of this criminality, Chabalala pointed to a consistent failure by the political leadership to implement consequence management, exercise proper oversight, or establish internal controls. This lack of accountability has allegedly allowed employees to collude with residents and service providers to loot municipal resources. The spokesperson also highlighted a disturbing trend of unresolved murders and killings linked to individuals associated with municipal corruption.
Despite the DA opening multiple criminal cases with law enforcement agencies, Chabalala expressed frustration over the lack of progress. He argued that local police have shown little appetite for holding perpetrators accountable, often leaving it to specialized law enforcement units to intervene and make arrests.
The recent transition in mayoral leadership to Executive Mayor Hassan Mako has not yielded improvements, according to Chabalala. He reminded the public that Mako served as the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Finance from 2021 until recently, a period during which the municipality’s financial resources deteriorated further. Millions of Rands continue to be spent without tangible service delivery benefits for residents.
A major point of contention is the municipality’s heavy reliance on external service providers for basic administrative functions. Chabalala revealed that the revenue department alone employs over 12 service providers, who are paid millions of Rands monthly for tasks as simple as calling residents for meter readings. He urged the municipality to build internal capacity to stop this financial bleeding and redirect funds toward genuine service delivery and debt reduction.
Addressing provincial intervention, Chabalala dismissed suggestions that recent administrative changes have been effective. He referenced recent statements by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, who admitted to running out of ideas to fix the municipality and blamed factionalism within the local political leadership for paralyzing its functions.
Chabalala concluded that the only viable solution to save Emfuleni from collapse is a decisive change in political leadership, asserting that the municipality cannot prosper under its current governance. Further insights are expected following upcoming discussions with Fikile, the local secretary-general of the ANC, regarding strategies to address the deep-seated corruption crippling the municipality.
