Checked 16 October 2026
Where the facts about Enoch Mgijima come from
Every fact on the Enoch Mgijima page, with the sources we used. We save a copy of each source on the day we read it.
Back to the Enoch Mgijima page
Which party controls the council?
Dated reports
On the council's website, no date shown: Councillor Madoda Papiyana is executive mayor of Enoch Mgijima.
Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality. Page is undated.
Where to look: home page, welcome message signature ('Cllr. Madoda Papiyana, Executive Mayor')
As of 31 Jul 2026: The Chris Hani District put out a news item in July 2026. It names Councillor Madoda Papiyana as executive mayor of Enoch Mgijima.
Chris Hani District Municipality. Page is undated.
Where to look: home page news item (image upload July 2026): 'CHDM Executive Mayor, Cllr Lusanda Sizani and EMLM Executive Cllr Madoda Papiyana visited Zulukama'
As of 8 Jan 2026: M. Papiyana is listed as executive mayor in Enoch Mgijima's audited financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2025.
Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality. Published 8 January 2026.
Where to look: p. 1, General Information ('Executive Mayor ... M Papiyana'; Speaker Cllr N Nqabisa)
As of 13 Jul 2025: The Minister of Cooperative Governance said Enoch Mgijima has been under national intervention since 28 April 2022. This means national government has stepped in. It is under section 139(7) of the Constitution. National government chose not to close the council down early.
Daily Maverick. Published 13 July 2025.
Where to look: paragraphs 19-21 (intervention since 28 April 2022; Cabinet representative and support team deployed Oct 2024) and 23 (decision against dissolving the council)
As of 1 May 2025: Parliament's Budget Office has a list of municipal interventions that are still active. Enoch Mgijima is on it. The list shows the intervention from 2022/23, December 2022. A financial recovery plan is being carried out. This is a plan to fix the council's finances.
Parliamentary Budget Office. Published 1 May 2025.
Where to look: p. 9, Table 1 'Active municipal interventions and their performance', Enoch Mgijima LM row
As of 9 Dec 2022: Madoda Papiyana (ANC) was elected executive mayor of Enoch Mgijima on 8 December 2022. This was at a special council meeting. It came after the former mayor, Thembeka Bunu, resigned.
News24. Published 9 December 2022.
Where to look: paragraphs 1-2 ('the ANC's Madoda Papiyana as the mayor of the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality') and 4-5 (elected at a special council meeting on Thursday, after the resignation of former mayor Thembeka Bunu earlier that day)
How were the seats split?
The 2021 result
Who won the 68 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). African National Congress: 44 (32 ward, 12 party). Democratic Alliance: 7 (1 ward, 6 party). Economic Freedom Fighters: 6 (0 ward, 6 party). The Independents: 5 (0 ward, 5 party). Independent South African National Civic Organisation: 2 (0 ward, 2 party). African Transformation Movement: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). Patriotic Alliance: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). United Democratic Movement: 1 (0 ward, 1 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 68 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 Enoch Mgijima 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 Enoch Mgijima is ongoing. It began in April 2022, under section 139(7) of the Constitution.
Department of Cooperative Governance. Published 3 July 2026.
Where to look: reply (a), table of municipalities under intervention, 'Enoch Mgijima LM' row: type of intervention, date instituted, status Ongoing
In May 2025, Parliament's Budget Office described the recovery plan like this: "FRP is implemented, but progress is slow due to lacking skills"
Parliamentary Budget Office. Published 1 May 2025.
Where to look: p. 9, Table 1 'Active municipal interventions and their performance', 'Enoch Mgijima LM' row, FRP IMPLEMENTATION STATUS column
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