Checked 16 October 2026
Where the facts about Amathole come from
Every fact on the Amathole page, with the sources we used. We save a copy of each source on the day we read it.
Which party controls the council?
Dated reports
As of 27 Jul 2026: Anele Ntsangani, mayor of Amathole District Municipality, gave the state of the district address in Stutterheim in July 2026.
Daily Dispatch. Published 27 July 2026.
Where to look: lead photo caption ('Amathole District Municipality mayor Anele Ntsangani during the state of the district address in Stutterheim on Friday'); body paywalled
As of 11 Dec 2025: A. Ntsangani is executive mayor of Amathole District Municipality. O. Mgunculu is speaker (the councillor who chairs council meetings), and N. Rulashe is chief whip (a councillor who helps organise the party's members).
Amathole District Municipality. Published 11 December 2025.
Where to look: p. 4, General Information ('Executive Mayor : Ntsangani, A')
As of 24 May 2023: Anele Ntsangani was re-elected mayor of Amathole District Municipality at a special council meeting.
Daily Dispatch. Published 24 May 2023.
Where to look: standfirst (body paywalled)
As of 9 Nov 2021: Anele Winifred Ntsangani was elected as an ANC PR councillor in Raymond Mhlaba in 2021. A PR councillor has a seat that the party gets from its list, to match its share of the votes.
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 9 November 2021.
Where to look: Eastern Cape, EC129 Raymond Mhlaba, AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS PR(8)
How were the seats split?
The 2021 result
Who won the 19 seats in 2021.
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Page is undated.
Where to look: p. 1 of 2, seat table, Total Party Seats column
Every party
The seats voters choose directly, by party. African National Congress: 14. Economic Freedom Fighters: 2. African Transformation Movement: 1. Democratic Alliance: 1. United Democratic Movement: 1.
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Page is undated.
Where to look: p. 1 of 2, seat table, Total Party Seats column
What the official records say
Audit result
The Auditor-General gave the Amathole district council a qualified audit opinion for 2024-25. It got the same result in 2023-24.
Auditor-General of South Africa. Published 24 June 2026.
Where to look: 'Audit outcome for 2024-25' box and the change from 2023-24 under it (audit of separate financial statements, finalised by 30 April 2026)
Government stepped in
In July 2026, the Minister of Cooperative Governance told Parliament that the intervention at the Amathole district council is ongoing. It began in January 2021, under section 139(5) of the Constitution.
Department of Cooperative Governance. Published 3 July 2026.
Where to look: reply (a), table of municipalities under intervention, 'Amathole DM' row: type of intervention, date instituted, status Ongoing
In May 2025, Parliament's Budget Office described the recovery plan like this: "The municipality is implementing the FRP with good reported progress."
Parliamentary Budget Office. Published 1 May 2025.
Where to look: p. 9, Table 1 'Active municipal interventions and their performance', 'Amathole DM' row, FRP IMPLEMENTATION STATUS column
Doubt it can pay its bills
The Auditor-General found a going concern uncertainty at the Amathole district council in 2024-25, for the ninth year in a row.
Auditor-General of South Africa. Published 24 June 2026.
Where to look: p. 50 (PDF page 54), 'Sixty-two municipalities with going concern uncertainty and consecutive years in this position', Eastern Cape, 'Amatole DM' row; p. 49 explains the measure
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