Checked 16 October 2026
Where the facts about Rand West City come from
Every fact on the Rand West City page, with the sources we used. We save a copy of each source on the day we read it.
Back to the Rand West City page
Which party controls the council?
Dated reports
On the council's website, no date shown: The national government contact directory lists Cllr William Matsheke as Executive Mayor of Rand West City Local Municipality.
South African Government. Page is undated.
Where to look: Contact directory entry, 'Executive Mayor' field (undated, read 2026-10-18)
As of 19 May 2026: William Matsheke, mayor of Rand West, was elected chairperson 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 26 Feb 2026: West Rand District council minutes of 26 February 2026 mention 'The Executive Mayor of Rand West City Local Municipality, Cllr William Mathafeni'.
West Rand District Municipality. Published 30 April 2026.
Where to look: minutes of the 26 Feb 2026 ordinary council meeting, Speaker's acknowledgements (surname spelt differently from the AFS)
As of 31 Aug 2025: Cllr W. Matsheke was executive mayor and Cllr N. Molatlhegi was deputy executive mayor. Cllr S. Moumakwe was speaker (the councillor who chairs council meetings). This is from the audited 2024/25 annual financial statements.
National Treasury. Published 31 August 2025.
Where to look: General Information, office-bearers and Mayoral Committee list (parties not shown)
As of 2 Jun 2022: The EFF won ward 29 in Bekkersdal from the ANC. After that, the ANC had 31 seats, the DA 16, the EFF 12, FF+ 3 and the PA 2. Azapo, the RPP, the AIC, the IFP and the ACDP had 1 each. The PA and AIC work with the ANC and hold mayoral committee posts. The ANC needed the backing of the RPP or Azapo to keep control.
Daily Maverick. Published 2 June 2022.
Where to look: Ward 29 (Bekkersdal, Holomisa) section, last two paragraphs ('The new Rand West City council composition is...', 'The PA and AIC work with the ANC...')
How were the seats split?
The 2021 result
Who won the 69 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: 31 (26 ward, 5 party). Democratic Alliance: 16 (8 ward, 8 party). Economic Freedom Fighters: 12 (1 ward, 11 party). Freedom Front Plus: 3 (0 ward, 3 party). Patriotic Alliance: 2 (0 ward, 2 party). African Christian Democratic Party: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). African Independent Congress: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). Azanian People's Organisation: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). Inkatha Freedom Party: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). Randfontein Peoples Party: 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 69 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 Rand West City 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 Rand West City 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', Gauteng, 'Rand West LM' row; p. 49 explains the measure
Nothing matches. Try another word.