Checked 16 October 2026
Where the facts about Sundays River Valley come from
Every fact on the Sundays River Valley page, with the sources we used. We save a copy of each source on the day we read it.
Back to the Sundays River Valley page
Which party controls the council?
Dated reports
On the council's website, no date shown: Councillor Solethu Lucas is mayor of Sundays River Valley and was elected mayor in June 2023. The 16-seat council has 10 ANC, 4 DA, 1 EFF and 1 GOOD.
Sundays River Valley Local Municipality. Page is undated.
Where to look: Council section: mayor entry ('Hon. Mayor'), note that Cllr Lucas was elected Mayor in June 2023, and seats-per-party list
As of 5 Oct 2026: Daily Maverick describes the ANC as the dominant party in Sundays River Valley. The municipality is led by Mayor Solethu Lucas.
Daily Maverick. Published 5 October 2026.
Where to look: paragraph beginning 'The African National Congress (ANC) currently dominates the municipality, which is led by Mayor Solethu Lucas'
As of 14 Aug 2025: Councillor Solethu Lucas is mayor of Sundays River Valley, according to the council page, last updated in August 2025.
Sundays River Valley Local Municipality. Published 14 August 2025.
Where to look: Council section (mayor entry and seats-per-party list); page last modified 2025-08-14 according to the site's own page index (wp-json), read 2026-10-18
As of 9 Nov 2021: Solethu Lucas was elected in 2021 as an ANC PR member of the Sarah Baartman district council. A PR member has a seat that the party gets from its list, to match its share of the votes. Lucas is not on the 2021 Sundays River Valley list.
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 9 November 2021.
Where to look: Eastern Cape, DC10 Sarah Baartman, AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS PR(4), seat type DC 40%
How were the seats split?
The 2021 result
Who won the 16 seats in 2021.
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Page is undated.
Where to look: p. 1 of 2, seat table, Total Party Seats column
Every party
The seats now, by party (ward seats and party seats). African National Congress: 10 (7 ward, 3 party). Democratic Alliance: 4 (1 ward, 3 party). Economic Freedom Fighters: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). GOOD: 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 16 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 Sundays River Valley a disclaimer of 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)
Doubt it can pay its bills
The Auditor-General found a going concern uncertainty at Sundays River Valley in 2024-25, for the second 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', Eastern Cape, 'Sundays River Valley LM' row; p. 49 explains the measure
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