The report looked at how eights mayors are received by the public.
Data EQ has released its findings on South Africa’s most-liked and least-liked mayor, based on public sentiment.
The South African Mayors Report looked at gathered public opinions from the country’s largest cities.
Data EQ is a company that provides software and services to analyse unstructured customer data. The company uses the concept of applying emotional intelligence to data analytics.
The report released on Friday named Nasiphi Moya, mayor of the City of Tshwane, as the best and Nkosindiphile Xhakaza of the City of Ekurhuleni as the worst.
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Data gathered from online
According to the report, data was gathered from 707 723 mentions from X, Facebook, and online press about the mayors. It is noted that posts from the Mayors’ or their offices’ accounts were not labelled for sentiment, therefore not included in the data. The information were gathered from 1 February to 31 July 2025.
“The role of the mayor online is uniquely exposed. Public discourse frequently extends beyond service delivery into personal critique of integrity, leadership, and accountability,” read the report.
“Public platforms such as social media and online news provide a critical lens into these dynamics. They capture citizen sentiment in real time, highlight the themes shaping reputation, and signal where visible action or transparent communication can restore confidence in leadership.”
Eight mayors evaluated
The report looked at how eight mayors are received by the public.
The mayors are Moya of City of Tshwane, Xhakaza of City of Ekurhuleni, Geordin Hill-Lewis of City of Cape Town, Babalwa Lobishe of Nelson Mandela Bay, Gregory Nthatisi of Mangaung, Dada Morero of City of Joburg, Cyril Xaba of eThekwini, and Princess Faku of Buffalo City.
It was found that there is a lot of public frustration centred on governance and delivery failures. Dissatisfaction with water, electricity, roads, and waste was underpinned by corruption allegations, financial mismanagement, and distrust in leadership
Moya is the only mayor out of the eight that received positive sentiment from the public due to her “recognition for visible service delivery and debt recovery.” She received a sentiment of 8%, while the rest of the seven mayors received negative sentiments.
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Worst performing
Hill-Lewis of the City of Cape Town received the lowest negative sentiment of -5%. Although he received a negative sentiment, he joins Moya as a top-performing mayor, according to the report.
The ones who sit at the bottom of the barrel as the worst performing mayors are Xhakaza of the City of Ekurhuleni and Morero of the City of Joburg.
Xhakaza received a sentiment of -50%. The report said “negativity was driven by allegations of nepotism, corruption, and incompetence”.
Morero received a sentiment of -41%. The report found widespread dissatisfaction with service delivery and governance.
Leadership and corruption concerns
The report found that for several mayors, more than half of the negative conversations targeted their credibility and integrity, with questions around alleged corruption, rather than service delivery performance.
Nthatisi of Mangaung received the highest personal critique at 78%, while he received a public sentiment of -32%. He received the highest critique due to “dishonesty over Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) payments and state-funded trip”.
Personal critique refers to attacks on a mayor’s character, conduct, or political behaviour (e.g., corruption, incompetence, motions of no confidence). This can co-occur with service delivery issues, particularly when the mayor is criticised as a result or in combination with them.
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How others are viewed
Lobishe of Nelson Mandela Bay received 63% personal critique due to financial mismanagement and unauthorised expenditure. Followed by Faku of Buffalo City with 57%, as the report found that her leadership is questioned through a motion of no confidence.
Morero of the City of Joburg received 55% due to governance failures and a motion of no confidence. Xhakaza of the City of Ekurhuleni received 51% because of nepotism, corruption allegations and mismanagement.
Positive and negative conversations around the public
The report found that positive conversations around the public focused on leadership, community engagement, and opportunities for residents. While the negative focused on governance failures and poor service delivery.
In positive conversations about the City of Tshwane, its mayor is mostly recognised for visible delivery and a strong work ethic. Followed by the City of Cape Town for job opportunities, highlighted as a way to empower youth and support for elderly residents facing rising electricity costs.
City of Joburg is also included in the positive conversations for the scrapping of electricity tariff hikes and commitments to improve delivery, noted positively. However, the municipality is also featured in negative conversations, alongside the City of eThekwini, over burst pipes, water shortages, and pothole-ridden roads.
City of Ekurhuleni is in the negative because of allegations of nepotism eroded trust. Nelson Mandela Bay is because of financial mismanagement, including the attempted R3.2 billion unauthorised expenditure write-off.
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