Manufacturing in the district is dominated by the fabricated metal and the chemical sectors (Mittal Steel Company (previously ISCOR) and Sasol.

The local economy has been stagnating for a number of years, with a net loss in formal job opportunities.

[citation needed] Some of Sedibeng's natural resources are: In 2020 the Department of Cooperative Governance (DCoG) decided to act against council members who in 2018 approved a large raise in salary for their municipal manager Stanley Khanyile.

In 2020 Khanyile was shot and killed in Meyersdal, Alberton,[5] before he could appear on charges of fraud, theft and money laundering stemming from his term as the head of a department in the Eastern Cape.

In March 2024, facing a financial crisis, the council increased its capital budget by R700,000 to purchase a luxury car for the mayor, Lerato Maloka.