Checked 16 October 2026
Where the facts about Kouga come from
Every fact on the Kouga 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: Councillor Hattingh Bornman is executive mayor of Kouga. Councillor Timothy Jantjes is deputy executive mayor, and Lorraine Maree is speaker (the councillor who chairs council meetings).
Kouga Local Municipality. Page is undated.
Where to look: Leadership page, top three entries; also https://www.kouga.gov.za/team/executive-mayor
As of 6 May 2026: Hattingh Bornman was mayor of Kouga in May 2026.
TimesLIVE. Published 6 May 2026.
Where to look: paragraph beginning 'Mayor Hattingh Bornman is on the ground'
As of 17 Apr 2026: The DA runs Kouga, and Hattingh Bornman is mayor.
Sunday Times. Published 17 April 2026.
Where to look: standfirst ('Kouga and Midvaal are the only municipalities run by the DA in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng') and paragraph after the photo ('Kouga mayor Hattingh Bornman')
As of 28 Jun 2023: Kouga mayor Horatio Hendricks (DA) resigned after accepting a seat as a member of the provincial legislature. Deputy mayor Hattingh Bornman stood in until the council elected a new mayor.
News24. Published 28 June 2023.
Where to look: paragraphs 1-2 (resignation, MPL) and 4 (Bornman acting); The Herald lead the same day also says 'DA member mayor Horatio Hendricks resigned this week' (https://theherald.co.za/politics/2023-06-28-kouga-council-set-to-elect-new-mayor/)
As of 9 Nov 2021: Chris Hattingh Bornman was elected as a DA PR councillor in Kouga in 2021. A PR councillor has a seat that the party gets from its list, to match its share of the votes.
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 9 November 2021.
Where to look: Eastern Cape, EC108 Kouga, DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE PR(3)
How were the seats split?
The 2021 result
Who won the 30 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). Democratic Alliance: 16 (9 ward, 7 party). African National Congress: 11 (6 ward, 5 party). Economic Freedom Fighters: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). Patriotic Alliance: 1 (0 ward, 1 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 30 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 Kouga a clean audit (unqualified with no 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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