Checked 16 October 2026
Where the facts about Bitou come from
Every fact on the Bitou 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 21 Apr 2026: IOL reported in April 2026 that Bitou is one of 11 municipalities 'currently under' DA governance. The DA named Jessica Kamkam as its Bitou mayoral candidate.
Cape Argus. Published 21 April 2026.
Where to look: DA section (paragraphs 12-13): 'named candidates for 11 municipalities, all currently under its governance', followed by the list
As of 30 Jun 2025: Councillor J Kamkam, the DA's Ward 1 councillor, was executive mayor at 30 June 2025, in the post since 26 August 2024. NP Kolwapi was deputy executive mayor and MP Busakwe (AUF) was speaker. CN Terblanche (PDC) was executive mayor from 2 February to 26 August 2024. This is from the municipality's audited statements.
Bitou Local Municipality. Published 30 June 2025.
Where to look: General Information (pp. 1-2): 'Members of the Mayoral Committee' (current and previous 2024-2025) and 'Ward Councillors' table
As of 25 Aug 2024: Claude Terblanche (Plett Democratic Congress) was mayor of Bitou. A DA motion of no confidence (a council vote to remove the mayor or speaker) in him was postponed. The Ikhwezi Political Movement had left its coalition (a group of parties that run the council together), which was led by the ANC. It left to join a DA coalition.
Daily Maverick. Published 25 August 2024.
Where to look: paragraphs 10-11
As of 25 Sep 2021: The AUF has moved between the ANC and the DA.
Daily Maverick. Published 25 September 2021.
Where to look: paragraph 2
How were the seats split?
The 2021 result
Who won the 13 seats in 2021.
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Page is undated.
Where to look: p. 3 of 3, seat table, Total Party Seats column
Every party
The seats now, by party (ward seats and party seats). Democratic Alliance: 5 (3 ward, 2 party). African National Congress: 4 (3 ward, 1 party). Active United Front: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). Ikhwezi Political Movement: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). Patriotic Alliance: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). Plett Democratic Congress: 1 (1 ward, 0 party).
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 24 June 2026.
Where to look: winning party per ward for every by-election since 2021 (dashboard data files: MapsJason/2021/ByElections.js and LoadCouncillorsService); read 2026-10-18
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 9 November 2021.
Where to look: ward councillor rows for this council (party per ward elected in 2021)
The seats now
Who holds the 13 seats now, counted up to 24 Jun 2026. How we count: This is our own count, not an official IEC table. We start with the 2021 party seats from the IEC. Then we add the party that last won each ward, in 2021 or in a by-election. Party seats stay with their party, and councillors can't switch parties. So only ward by-elections change these totals. An empty seat is counted with the party that last held it. The IEC lists by-elections on 5 Oct 2022, but it does not show who won them. So any ward that changed hands that day is not counted.
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 24 June 2026.
Where to look: winning party per ward for every by-election since 2021 (dashboard data files: MapsJason/2021/ByElections.js and LoadCouncillorsService); read 2026-10-18
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 9 November 2021.
Where to look: ward councillor rows for this council (party per ward elected in 2021)
What the official records say
Audit result
The Auditor-General gave Bitou a qualified audit opinion for 2024-25. That is worse than in 2023-24, when it got an unqualified opinion with findings.
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)
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