Checked 16 October 2026
Where the facts about Karoo Hoogland come from
Every fact on the Karoo Hoogland page, with the sources we used. We save a copy of each source on the day we read it.
Back to the Karoo Hoogland page
Which party controls the council?
Dated reports
On the council's website, no date shown: VT Opperman of the ANC, Ward 2, has been mayor since 3 June 2026, according to the municipality's council page. EC Oliphant of the ANC, Ward 6, has been speaker since 28 May 2026. The page also lists earlier mayors. JJ van der Colff of the DA was mayor from 19 Nov 2025 to 28 May 2026. AS Mietas of the PA was mayor from 13 Jun to 19 Nov 2025. JE Davids of the ANC was mayor from 17 Jan to 13 Jun 2025.
Karoo Hoogland Local Municipality. Page is undated.
Where to look: Mayor and Speaker history list at top of page; councillor entries for VT Opperman ('Political Affiliation: ANC ... Elected as Mayor on 3 June 2026'), EC Oliphant, JJ van der Colff (DA), AS Mietas (PA), JE Davids (ANC); undated, read 2026-10-18
On the council's website, no date shown: The same council page lists 11 councillors: ANC 5, PA 3, DA 2 and FF+ 1. We counted these line by line.
Karoo Hoogland Local Municipality. Page is undated.
Where to look: councillor entries, 'Political Affiliation' lines; undated, read 2026-10-18
As of 31 Aug 2025: AS Mietas was mayor and VT Opperman was speaker, according to the municipality's audited financial statements for the year to 30 June 2025. Audited means the accounts were checked by auditors.
National Treasury. Published 31 August 2025.
Where to look: p. 3, Accounting Officer's Report, section 5 (council members): 'AS Mietas - Mayor', 'VT Opperman - Speaker'; approved 31 Aug 2025 (p. 2)
As of 29 May 2025: After the 2021 election, the ANC formed a coalition (a group of parties that run the council together) with the PA to govern Karoo Hoogland. The ANC had 5 of the 11 seats.
Daily Maverick. Published 29 May 2025.
Where to look: Ward 4 (Sutherland) section, 4th paragraph ('The ANC formed a coalition with the PA to govern the Karoo Hoogland')
As of 29 May 2025: The PA won Ward 4 in Sutherland from the ANC in a by-election on 28 May 2025. So the ANC lost its majority. It now holds 5 of the 11 seats.
Daily Maverick. Published 29 May 2025.
Where to look: Ward 4 (Sutherland) section, paragraphs 'The PA beat the ANC by 35 votes' and 'This historic win for the PA means that the ANC have lost its outright majority'
As of 5 Dec 2024: The ANC won Ward 1 in Williston from the DA in a by-election (a vote to fill one empty ward seat) on 4 December 2024. This gave the ANC 6 of the 11 seats. The seats were then ANC 6, DA 2, PA 2 and FF+ 1.
Daily Maverick. Published 5 December 2024.
Where to look: Ward 1 (Williston) Karoo Hoogland section, paragraphs 'This means it wins outright control' and 'The new council composition is'
How were the seats split?
The 2021 result
Who won the 11 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 now, by party (ward seats and party seats). African National Congress: 5 (3 ward, 2 party). Patriotic Alliance: 3 (1 ward, 2 party). Democratic Alliance: 2 (2 ward, 0 party). Freedom Front Plus: 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 11 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 Karoo Hoogland an unqualified audit opinion with findings for 2024-25. That is better than in 2023-24, when it got a qualified opinion.
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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