Checked 16 October 2026
Where the facts about !Kheis come from
Every fact on the !Kheis 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 30 Jun 2025: Councillor D Jacobs was executive mayor of !Kheis at 30 June 2025, the audited financial statements (the accounts, checked by auditors) say. An executive mayor is a mayor who makes many of the council's decisions. Councillor A Ludick was speaker and Councillor J Lodewyk was chief whip (the councillor who organises a party's councillors).
!Kheis Local Municipality. Published 1 April 2026.
Where to look: General Information, council members table (11 names, no parties)
As of 30 Jun 2025: D. Jacobs was mayor and A. Ludick was speaker from December 2024, the audited financial statements for the year to 30 June 2025 show. R. Christie was mayor and K. Esau was speaker before them. Both held office until November 2024.
!Kheis Local Municipality. Published 1 April 2026.
Where to look: note 25 Remuneration of councillors, 25.1 Executive Mayor/Mayor ('Cllr. D. Jacobs (December 2024 - June 2025)', 'Cllr. R. Christie (July 2024 - November 2024)') and 25.2 Speaker ('Cllr. A Ludick (December 2024 - June 2025)', 'Cllr. K. Esau (July 2024 - November 2024)')
As of 10 Oct 2024: The ANC won Ward 6 in Groblershoop from the DA in a by-election (a vote to fill one empty ward seat) on 9 October 2024. This gave the ANC 6 of the 11 seats and a majority on the council.
Daily Maverick. Published 10 October 2024.
Where to look: Groblershoop (Ward 6) section: result line, and paragraph beginning 'The by-election win gives it six of the 11 seats'
As of 10 Oct 2024: After the by-election, the ANC was expected to elect a mayor and a speaker from its own councillors. They would replace the DA mayor and an independent speaker. These two had led a coalition (a group of parties that run the council together) since 2021.
Daily Maverick. Published 10 October 2024.
Where to look: Groblershoop (Ward 6) section, paragraph beginning 'The ANC will now take over !Kheis'
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. 2 of 2, seat table, Total Party Seats column
Every party
The seats now, by party (ward seats and party seats). African National Congress: 6 (4 ward, 2 party). Congress of the People: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). Democratic Alliance: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). Economic Freedom Fighters: 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 !Kheis a qualified audit opinion for 2024-25. That is better than in 2023-24, when it got a disclaimer of 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)
Doubt it can pay its bills
The Auditor-General found a going concern uncertainty at !Kheis 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', Northern Cape, '!Kheis LM' row; p. 49 explains the measure
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