City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality and City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality are both metropolitan municipalities, which makes them directly comparable: each holds the full set of municipal powers, with no district municipality above it. This puts them side by side on the figures they report to National Treasury and to Statistics South Africa.
The basics
| Measure | City of Johannesburg | City of Ekurhuleni |
|---|---|---|
| Province | Gauteng | Gauteng |
| MDB code | JHB | EKU |
| Population | 4 803 262 | 4 066 691 |
| Households | 1 841 917 | 1 421 003 |
| Area | 1 643 km2 | 1 976 km2 |
| People per km2 | 2 923.5 | 2 058.0 |
| Council seats | 270 | 224 |
| Governing party | ANC/EFF/PA Coalition | ANC/EFF/AIC Coalition |
| Executive mayor | Dada Morero | Nkosindiphile Xhakaza |
Money
| Measure | City of Johannesburg | City of Ekurhuleni |
|---|---|---|
| Financial health grade | E | E |
| Score out of 100 | 38.9 (stronger) | 38.7 |
| Audit outcome | Qualified audit | Qualified audit |
| Operating revenue | R76.9 billion | R54.7 billion |
| Operating expenditure | R79.5 billion | R57.3 billion |
| Operating margin | -3.4% (stronger) | -4.8% |
| Current ratio | 0.65:1 | 0.69:1 (stronger) |
| Months of cash | 1.5 (stronger) | -3.4 |
| Irregular spending | 6.0% | 0.2% (stronger) |
Household services
| Service | City of Johannesburg | City of Ekurhuleni |
|---|---|---|
| Piped water inside dwelling | 77.1% (stronger) | 73.8% |
| Flush toilet connected to sewerage | 93.0% (stronger) | 91.2% |
| Electricity for lighting | 94.1% (stronger) | 93.1% |
| Weekly refuse removal | 90.5% (stronger) | 88.6% |
| Formal dwellings | 89.8% (stronger) | 88.2% |
People
| Measure | City of Johannesburg | City of Ekurhuleni |
|---|---|---|
| Population under 15 | 21.9% | 22.1% |
| Population over 65 | 5.0% | 5.0% |
| Higher education, aged 20 and over | 15.0% | 13.9% |
| No schooling, aged 20 and over | 3.5% | 4.2% |
How to read this
Rand amounts are not marked stronger or weaker, because the larger municipality will always spend more and that says nothing about how well it is run. The judgements above are made only on ratios and percentages, which are comparable regardless of size.
The financial health grade measures financial management, not service delivery. A municipality can score well on one and modestly on the other, which is why both appear here.
Put these two, or any others, side by side yourself in the comparison tool, or read the full City of Johannesburg and City of Ekurhuleni profiles.
Figures on this page come from National Treasury, Statistics South Africa and the Auditor-General, as set out in the sources and methodology. Read the methodology