Checked 16 October 2026
Where the facts about Thulamela come from
Every fact on the Thulamela 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 16 Oct 2026: The Thulamela Local Municipality's website names 'CLLR Rambuda A.S' as Mayor.
Thulamela Local Municipality. Page is undated.
Where to look: home page, under the welcome message; undated, as_of is the date read
As of 8 Apr 2025: The Thulamela 2023/24 annual report lists Cllr A.S. Rambuda as full-time Mayor and as chairperson of the executive committee. It also lists Rambuda as a PR councillor of the ANC. A PR councillor holds a seat a party gets from its list, to match its share of the votes.
National Treasury. Published 8 April 2025.
Where to look: Appendix A councillor attendance table (PDF page 160); executive committee table ('Cllr. Rambuda A.S - Mayor (Chairperson)')
As of 9 Nov 2021: Athongozwidivha Sarah Rambuda was elected to the Thulamela council in 2021 as an ANC PR councillor. Rambuda's ANC list number was 20.
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Published 9 November 2021.
Where to look: Limpopo, 'LIM343 - Thulamela' row: AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS PR(20) RAMBUDA ATHONGOZWIDIVHA SARAH
How were the seats split?
The 2021 result
Who won the 81 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: 71 (41 ward, 30 party). Economic Freedom Fighters: 4 (0 ward, 4 party). Democratic Alliance: 2 (0 ward, 2 party). African Christian Democratic Party: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). African People's Convention: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). International Revelation Congress: 1 (0 ward, 1 party). Pan Africanist Congress of Azania: 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 81 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 Thulamela 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)
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