Which party controls the council?
Voters choose the (Council The group of elected people who make decisions for a municipality. They pass its budget and choose the mayor.). The council chooses the (Mayor The leader of the municipality. Councillors choose this person, not voters. So the seats each party wins decide who can lead.).
Madoda Papiyana (ANC) is executive mayor of Enoch Mgijima, as named in July 2026. This is a mayor who makes many of the council's decisions. Papiyana was elected executive mayor on 8 December 2022. The ANC has had a majority since 2021. In 2021, the ANC won 44 of the 68 (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.). In April 2022, the ANC lost a (Ward A small area inside a municipality. Each one elects one councillor.) to an independent. The ANC won it back in November 2022. The ANC kept the seat in the December 2024 by-election. A by-election is a vote to fill one empty ward seat. Since 28 April 2022, the council has been under a national intervention. This means the government steps in to run the council's affairs. It is under section 139(7) of the Constitution. The Minister said this, as reported by Daily Maverick (July 2025). The council was not closed down early. Residents wanted it closed down early. They took this to the Constitutional Court. We did not find the outcome.
What the sources said, by date
On the council's website, no date shown
(Councillor A person elected to make decisions for a municipality, such as the budget and who the mayor is. Each one holds one seat.) Madoda Papiyana is executive mayor of Enoch Mgijima.
As of 31 Jul 2026
The Chris Hani District put out a news item in July 2026. It names Councillor Madoda Papiyana as executive mayor of Enoch Mgijima.
This was true then. Newer rows above may change it.
As of 8 Jan 2026
M. Papiyana is listed as executive mayor in Enoch Mgijima's audited financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2025.
As of 13 Jul 2025
The Minister of Cooperative Governance said Enoch Mgijima has been under national intervention since 28 April 2022. This means national government has stepped in. It is under section 139(7) of the Constitution. National government chose not to close the council down early.
As of 1 May 2025
(Parliament South Africa's national law-makers, in Cape Town. It has two parts, the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces.) Budget Office has a list of municipal interventions that are still active. Enoch Mgijima is on it. The list shows the intervention from 2022/23, December 2022. A financial recovery plan is being carried out. This is a plan to fix the council's finances.
As of 9 Dec 2022
Madoda Papiyana (ANC) was elected executive mayor of Enoch Mgijima on 8 December 2022. This was at a special council meeting. It came after the former mayor, Thembeka Bunu, resigned.
How were the seats split?
Who holds the 68 (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.) now, counted up to 24 Jun 2026. A (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) needs 35 seats to run the (Council The group of elected people who make decisions for a municipality. They pass its budget and choose the mayor.) on its own. The ANC has 44, so it can choose the (Mayor The leader of the municipality. Councillors choose this person, not voters. So the seats each party wins decide who can lead.) and pass the budget on its own.
- ANC44
- DA7
- EFF6
- The Independents5
- Independent South African National Civic Organisation2
- ATM1
- 2 other parties2
Each dot is one seat. The dot with a ring is seat 35. That is how many seats one party needs to run the council alone. Each party shows in its own colour. Grey dots are the 2 other parties, with 1 seat each. 2 parties have no colour on record, so they are grey too.
What has the council done?
We have not checked any claims about this (Council The group of elected people who make decisions for a municipality. They pass its budget and choose the mayor.) yet. That is not a mark for or against it.
Core servicesWater, lights, rubbish and roads: what your council runs.No checks yet
Housing and landHouses, informal settlements and title deeds.No checks yet
Safety and jobsCrime, metro police and work in your area.No checks yet
Governance and moneyCorruption, audits and budgets: how your council uses your money.No checks yet
What the official records say
From the Auditor-General and the national government. Every council gets the same checks. A council that is not on a list shows no row.
The Auditor-General gave Enoch Mgijima a qualified audit opinion for 2024-25. It got the same result in 2023-24.
This means some parts of its accounts had big mistakes, or it could not show proof for some amounts.
Auditor-General of South Africa, 24 June 2026
In July 2026, the Minister of Cooperative Governance told Parliament that the intervention at Enoch Mgijima is ongoing. It began in April 2022, under section 139(7) of the Constitution.
This means the national government stepped in, in place of the province, because the council was in a serious money crisis. The council must follow a plan to fix its finances (a financial recovery plan).
In May 2025, Parliament's Budget Office described the recovery plan like this: "FRP is implemented, but progress is slow due to lacking skills" FRP is short for financial recovery plan.
Department of Cooperative Governance, 3 July 2026
Where do I vote, and who is my ward councillor?
Enoch Mgijima has 34 (Ward A small area inside a municipality. Each one elects one councillor.). You can only vote at the (Voting station The place where you vote, often a school or a hall. You can only vote at the one where you are registered.) where you are (Registered Your name is on the voters' roll. Registration for this election closed on 7 August 2026.).
Pick what matters to you and see which parties promised it, with a link to where it said so.
Take the quizFind your town to see your ward, your voting station and every name on your papers.
Or check with the IEC
- Who is my ward councillor now?IEC lookup. Shows your ward and who represents it now. (IEC website)
- Voting station finderIEC map. Find the station where you are registered. (IEC website)
Spotted a mistake? Report a mistake. Every change is logged on the Corrections page.