Checked 16 October 2026
Where the facts about iLembe come from
Every fact on the iLembe 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
On the council's website, no date shown: Cllr Thobani Philani Shandu is mayor and Cllr Gabangane James Van Whye is deputy mayor, National Treasury's municipal officials list says. Cllr Sphesihle Zulu is speaker of iLembe (the speaker is the councillor who chairs council meetings).
National Treasury. Page is undated.
Where to look: Officials list, Mayor/Executive Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Speaker rows (undated, read 2026-10-18)
As of 16 Oct 2026: The iLembe District Municipality's mayor page names Cllr T.P Shandu as mayor. The page does not state the party.
iLembe District Municipality. Page is undated.
Where to look: mayor profile, caption under the photo (page undated; accessed 2026-10-16)
As of 30 Jan 2026: A district news item dated 30 January 2026 says Mayor Cllr Thobani Shandu presented the 2025/26 mid-year budget and performance assessment.
iLembe District Municipality. Published 30 January 2026.
Where to look: First paragraph
As of 9 Nov 2021: In 2021, Thobani Philani Shandu and Gabangani James Van Whye were elected as ANC councillors to the iLembe District Council. Shandu was number 4 on the PR list (parties get PR seats from this list, to match their share of the votes). Van Whye was number 2. The directly elected seats make up 40% of the council's seats.
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 9 November 2021.
Where to look: DC29 - iLembe rows, AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS, PR(2) and PR(4), DC 40%
How were the seats split?
The 2021 result
Who won the 14 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: 7. Inkatha Freedom Party: 3. ActionSA: 1. Democratic Alliance: 1. Economic Freedom Fighters: 1. Independent Alliance: 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 iLembe district council an unqualified audit opinion with findings 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)
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