The Makana municipality in South Africa's Eastern Cape province has faced significant challenges in delivering services to its residents, five years after the Makana Citizens Front (MCF) won five seats in the local council. In the 2021 municipal elections, the ANC secured 50.65% of the vote, while the MCF, a five-month-old civic movement, surprised the DA and EFF by winning five seats on the strength of a single promise: a different, more accountable way of governing.
One of the major challenges facing the municipality is the water crisis, which has been ongoing since the new council took office. Residents described the water supply as intermittent and chaotic, and the problem has not been resolved since. A Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs assessment in November 2022 described Makana as "dysfunctional and toxic", citing delays to the James Kleynhans Water Treatment Plant.
The municipality's electricity network has also been repeatedly targeted by cable theft and vandalism, causing widespread outages. In March 2025, a single incident saw multiple cables stolen in one night, with police confirming an investigation but no arrests made. By January 2026, DA Ward 8 Councillor Cary Clark described cable theft in her ward as an "almost daily occurrence", particularly in Sunnyside.
The Makhanda landfill site has been a longstanding crisis, with a 2015 High Court order finding the municipality in breach of environmental law. By 2020, the crisis had escalated, with a judge finding then mayor Mzukisi Mphalwa and municipal manager Moppo Mene in wilful contempt of court for ignoring that order. The landfill was outsourced in a R20-million contract in 2021, yet the site burned for five days in August 2023 in what was ruled an arson case.
The municipality's financial position has also deteriorated, with the Auditor-General issuing a disclaimer of opinion for the 2022/23 financial year, and again for 2023/24, citing a lack of proper financial records. By mid-2026, the scale of the problem became undeniable, with R613 million in accumulated historical unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
The council has twice tried, and twice failed, to remove Mayor Yandiswa Vara. In June 2023, the DA's motion, prompted by her handling of the water crisis, was defeated. In April 2025, the MCF tried again; Vara survived that vote 14 to 9, with the ANC and one independent backing her, and MCF and the DA voting against her.
The municipality's financial management system has also been criticised, with the contract having lapsed amid admitted "functional deficiencies". In July 2026, a National Treasury decision was made to withhold the municipality's equitable share allocation over persistent non-compliance.
Key points
- The Makana municipality faces crisis in water, electricity, landfill and finance.
- The municipality's financial position has deteriorated, with R613 million in accumulated historical unauthorised expenditure.
- The council has twice tried, and twice failed, to remove Mayor Yandiswa Vara.
