Checked 16 October 2026
Where the facts about Merafong City come from
Every fact on the Merafong City page, with the sources we used. We save a copy of each source on the day we read it.
Back to the Merafong City page
Which party controls the council?
Dated reports
On the council's website, no date shown: Cllr Nozuko Best is Executive Mayor, according to the municipality's Executive Mayor page.
Merafong City Local Municipality. Page is undated.
Where to look: Council > Executive Mayor page, main text (undated, read 2026-10-18)
As of 19 May 2026: Nozuko Best, Merafong City mayor, was elected treasurer of the ANC's West Rand region in May 2026.
Sunday World. Published 19 May 2026.
Where to look: summary paragraph 2 ('New regional leadership that was elected included William Matsheke as chairperson (mayor of Rand West), Lucky Sele as deputy chairperson (mayor of Mogale City) ... Nozuko Best (Merafong City mayor) as treasurer')
As of 27 Nov 2025: After the 2021 election the ANC (27 of 55 seats) formed a coalition with the African Independent Congress. A coalition is a group of parties that run the council together. The ANC won an independent-held seat in 2022. So it went into a November 2025 by-election with a majority on its own. It kept ward 10.
Daily Maverick. Published 27 November 2025.
Where to look: Ward 10 (Khutsong East) Merafong section, paragraphs 'The ANC lost its outright majority in Merafong...' and 'The by-election: ...'
As of 14 Oct 2025: Nozuko Best is Executive Mayor of Merafong City.
Merafong City Local Municipality. Page is undated.
Where to look: cover page, 'Distribution' list: 'Executive Mayor: Ms. Nozuko Best' (report for quarter ending 30 Sep 2025; as_of = its stated 14 Oct 2025 reporting deadline)
As of 24 Sep 2025: Nozuko Best is Merafong's mayor. In September 2025 her office rejected protesters' calls for her resignation.
EWN. Published 24 September 2025.
Where to look: paragraphs 2-4
As of 27 Aug 2025: Nozuko Best is Executive Mayor of Merafong Local Municipality.
IOL. Published 27 August 2025.
Where to look: image caption; body paragraphs 2 and 4 ('Executive Mayor Cllr Nozuko Best')
As of 1 Dec 2022: The ANC won Merafong ward 4 in Khutsong in a by-election. An independent councillor had held the seat. This gave the ANC 28 of the 55 seats. That is a majority that lets the ANC lead the council without depending on another party.
Daily Maverick. Published 1 December 2022.
Where to look: Ward 4 (Khutsong Ext 3 Joe Slovo) in Merafong section, paragraphs beginning 'The win for the ANC gives it an outright majority' and 'The new council composition is'
As of 9 Nov 2021: Nozuko Best was elected to Merafong council in 2021 as an ANC PR councillor. A PR councillor holds a seat that a 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: Gauteng, GT484 - Merafong City, African National Congress, PR(2): BEST NOZUKO
How were the seats split?
The 2021 result
Who won the 55 seats in 2021.
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Page is undated.
Where to look: p. 3 of 3, seat table, Total Party Seats column
Every party
The seats now, by party (ward seats and party seats). African National Congress: 28 (22 ward, 6 party). Democratic Alliance: 9 (5 ward, 4 party). Economic Freedom Fighters: 9 (1 ward, 8 party). Freedom Front Plus: 4 (0 ward, 4 party). Merafong Agents of Change: 2 (0 ward, 2 party). African Independent Congress: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). Inkatha Freedom Party: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). United Democratic 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 55 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 Merafong City a qualified audit opinion 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)
Government stepped in
In July 2026, the Minister of Cooperative Governance told Parliament that the intervention at Merafong City is ongoing. It began in September 2022, under section 139(5) of the Constitution.
Department of Cooperative Governance. Published 3 July 2026.
Where to look: reply (a), table of municipalities under intervention, 'Merafong LM' row: type of intervention, date instituted, status Ongoing
In May 2025, Parliament's Budget Office described the recovery plan like this: "FRP is under implementation"
Parliamentary Budget Office. Published 1 May 2025.
Where to look: p. 10, Table 1 'Active municipal interventions and their performance', 'City of Merafong LM' row, FRP IMPLEMENTATION STATUS column
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