Checked 16 October 2026
Where the facts about Phokwane come from
Every fact on the Phokwane 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 11 Feb 2026: The council had 19 councillors: ANC 9, EFF 5, DA 2, F4SD 1, PSDF 1 and FF+ 1, according to the draft 2024/25 annual report. Willem Harmse of the ANC, Ward 5, was mayor. Goitsemodimo Halter of the EFF was speaker. Halter was a PR councillor (a seat a party gets from its list, to match its share of the votes). The report lists an executive committee of Harmse, Janki of the EFF and Pitso of the F4SD.
Phokwane Local Municipality. Published 11 February 2026.
Where to look: Chapter 2, 2.1 Political Governance (p. 29: party totals and EXCO); Political Structure (p. 30); Councillors table with party column (pp. 31-32). Date is the Treasury upload date
As of 30 Jun 2024: W Harmse was mayor from 1 September 2023, after TB Afrika, who is listed for 1 July to 31 August 2023. Before that, W Harmse was speaker, up to 31 August 2023. This is from the audited financial statements (the accounts, checked by auditors) for the year to 30 June 2024.
Phokwane Local Municipality. Published 31 January 2025.
Where to look: General Information, p. 1 (office-bearers with dates; 17 councillors listed, no parties)
How were the seats split?
The 2021 result
Who won the 19 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: 9 (9 ward, 0 party). Economic Freedom Fighters: 5 (1 ward, 4 party). Democratic Alliance: 2 (0 ward, 2 party). Forum 4 Service Delivery: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). Phokwane Service Delivery Forum: 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 19 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 Phokwane 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 Phokwane is ongoing. It began in July 2020, 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, 'Phokwane LM' row: type of intervention, date instituted, status Ongoing
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