Checked 16 October 2026
Where the facts about the City of Mbombela come from
Every fact on the City of Mbombela page, with the sources we used. We save a copy of each source on the day we read it.
Back to the City of Mbombela page
Which party controls the council?
Dated reports
On the council's website, no date shown: Cllr S.E. Makushe is shown as 'The Hon Executive Mayor' on the city's homepage.
City of Mbombela. Page is undated.
Where to look: welcome section beside the mayor's photo (undated, read 2026-10-18)
As of 16 Oct 2026: Sibongile E. Makushe is executive mayor.
Mpumalanga Provincial Government. Page is undated.
Where to look: Municipalities table (page 3 of 3), row 'City of Mbombela Local Municipality', column 'Executive mayor'. The table is undated (footer 'Copyright 2026'); it names mayors elected in late 2024, so it was updated no earlier than Nov 2024. Read 2026-10-16. Party not shown.
As of 23 Feb 2024: The city's councillor list of 23 February 2024 shows Sibongile Evelinah Makushe-Mazibuko as executive mayor. Makushe-Mazibuko is an ANC councillor in Ward 33. The list shows Mduduzi William Nkhata of the ANC as speaker (the councillor who chairs council meetings). It shows Meshack Enock Nsimbini of the ANC as chief whip (the councillor who keeps a party's members voting together).
City of Mbombela. Published 23 February 2024.
Where to look: entries 18, 62 and 69
How were the seats split?
The 2021 result
Who won the 90 seats in 2021.
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Page is undated.
Where to look: pp. 1-2 of 2, seat table, Total Party Seats column
Every party
The seats now, by party (ward seats and party seats). African National Congress: 59 (41 ward, 18 party). Economic Freedom Fighters: 14 (0 ward, 14 party). Democratic Alliance: 12 (4 ward, 8 party). Freedom Front Plus: 3 (0 ward, 3 party). African Christian Democratic Party: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). African Transformation 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 90 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 the City of Mbombela 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)
Doubt it can pay its bills
The Auditor-General found a going concern uncertainty at the City of Mbombela in 2024-25. It did not report one the year before.
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', Mpumalanga, 'City of Mbombela LM' row; p. 49 explains the measure
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