EAST LONDON, Tuesday 6 October 2026 — The African Transformation Movement has formally asked Buffalo City council speaker Humphrey Maxhegwana to investigate allegations that publicly funded jobs and municipal resources were used to advance ANC political interests, expanding its complaint to cover all 50 wards in the metro less than a month before the local government elections.
The complaint, which ATM national spokesperson Zama Ntshona says was received by the speaker on Monday, asks for an independent investigation into Expanded Public Works Programme appointments, municipal assets and infrastructure and whether political actors improperly influenced who benefited from publicly funded opportunities.
Executive Mayor Princess Faku, several ANC ward candidates and councillors are among those whose involvement or records the ATM wants examined.
The allegations have not been established as fact, and there has been no finding that Faku, the African National Congress or any of the named individuals improperly used municipal resources.
Complaint expands across all 50 wards
The latest submission expands earlier allegations concerning individual wards and the municipality’s EPWP programme into a metro-wide request for investigation.
The ATM says community members have supplied lists of people who allegedly received municipal employment opportunities and wants those names checked against recruitment, appointment, payroll, attendance and EPWP records.
The party has stressed that appearing on one of the lists does not mean a beneficiary committed wrongdoing.
Instead, it wants investigators to determine who identified or recommended beneficiaries, who approved appointments, which budgets funded the positions and whether political allegiance played any role.
The complaint specifically asks investigators to examine appointments and deployments made during September.
A municipal directive dated 13 August required activities and deployments in an affected part of the EPWP programme to end by 31 August while a review and approval process was conducted.
Buffalo City has previously said that directive applied to part of the programme rather than the entire metro-wide EPWP operation.
The ATM now wants the municipality to establish which projects were affected, which remained authorised after 31 August and who approved subsequent appointments.
ANC candidates and councillor named in submission
Among those named in the complaint is ANC Ward 39 candidate Odwa Sheshegu.
The ATM wants investigators to determine whether Sheshegu or ANC branch secretary Siya Mpetsheni played any role in identifying, recommending or facilitating people for publicly funded employment opportunities.
Ward 39 councillor Lunga Gqola is also referred to after the ATM said he told the party he was not involved in allocating the jobs and did not know how the opportunities were being distributed.
The party argues that his account raises questions about who controlled the process if the sitting councillor was not involved.
ANC Ward 22 candidate Sandile Mqwashini is separately named, with the ATM asking whether he had any municipal authority to identify or recommend beneficiaries.
The complaint also raises allegations concerning Ward 23 councillor Simbongile Sydwell Gulwa and about 200 employment opportunities said to be associated with that ward.
The ATM wants the municipality to disclose the programme involved, its budget, appointment authority, beneficiary lists and any communications involving Gulwa.
None of the allegations against the candidates or councillors has been proven.
Mayor’s vehicle records requested
The submission also introduces a more recent allegation involving Faku and a municipal vehicle.
The ATM alleges that a branded Buffalo City vehicle was used during a 3 October visit to the Slimela voting district in eMalambeni involving Faku and Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina.
It wants the municipality to obtain the vehicle’s register, logbook, trip authority, fuel records, driver information and GPS data, where available, to determine its official purpose.
The ATM also wants photographs, video and the programme for the event examined to establish whether party-political campaigning occurred while the vehicle was being used.
The party has asked that Faku be given an opportunity to explain the vehicle’s use and provide any relevant authorisation.
Ownership and use of the vehicle in the circumstances alleged by the ATM have not independently been established.
Other parties have raised EPWP concerns
The dispute over Buffalo City’s EPWP programme predates the latest ATM submission.
The DA previously called for an investigation into allegations of political interference after the August directive affecting part of the programme.
The UDM has also approached the Electoral Commission of South Africa, the council speaker and the Eastern Cape cooperative governance MEC over separate allegations involving employment opportunities and political support.
The IEC confirmed receiving the UDM complaint and was examining it, according to African Times.
The ATM had previously alleged that some of its volunteers were offered municipal employment after being encouraged to switch their political support.
The Citizen reported those allegations on 25 September, with Ntshona claiming some volunteers subsequently obtained EPWP positions.
At that stage, the ANC’s Eastern Cape structures referred requests for comment to the party’s Buffalo City region and no substantive response was reported.
Buffalo City has previously rejected allegations that EPWP opportunities were distributed according to political affiliation.
Speaker asked to preserve records
The ATM’s latest request goes beyond asking the council to investigate individual appointments.
It wants relevant employment, payroll, financial, communication, vehicle and infrastructure records preserved while the allegations are investigated.
The party is also seeking a formal reference number, details of the investigation process and a timeframe from the speaker.
If evidence of electoral violations, financial misconduct, corruption or criminal conduct emerges, the ATM wants it referred to the appropriate authorities.
Buffalo City is one of the metropolitan municipalities being closely contested ahead of the 4 November election.
The ANC currently controls the metro but polling published during the campaign has indicated that retaining an outright majority is not guaranteed, increasing the significance of disputes involving municipal resources during the final weeks before voting.
No finding has been made against the ANC, Faku or any other person named in the ATM submission.
The immediate next step is whether Maxhegwana initiates the requested investigation, refers the complaint to an existing council oversight mechanism or rejects the ATM’s request.
