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.).
Sifiso Mngemezulu of the ANC is executive mayor (a mayor who makes many of the council's decisions). A provincial government list from October 2026 says so. That list spells the name 'Mngomezulu'. Mngemezulu was already executive mayor by 2024/25, according to the (Municipality The local government for your area. It looks after local services, such as water, rubbish removal and local roads. There are 257.) 2024/25 annual report. An EFF (Councillor A person elected to make decisions for a municipality, such as the budget and who the mayor is. Each one holds one seat.), P.C. Mahlaba, was speaker (the councillor who chairs council meetings). We found no official or major news source that states the terms of the arrangement or when it began. In 2021, no (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) won a majority of the 30 (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.). The ANC won 13. The Lekwa Community Forum (LCF) held the post of mayor from November 2021.
What the sources said, by date
As of 16 Oct 2026
Sifiso M. Mngomezulu is executive mayor.
This was true then. Newer rows above may change it.
As of 11 Mar 2026
Sifiso Mngemezulu is executive mayor. The municipality spells the name this way.
As of 9 Feb 2026
S. Mngemezulu was executive mayor and P.C. Mahlaba was speaker, according to the 2024/25 annual report. M.R. Motloung was whip of council. The report's councillor list shows Michael Sifiso Mngomezulu as an ANC councillor in Ward 1. It shows Phindile Cynthia Mahlaba as an EFF PR councillor (a seat a party gets from its list, to match its share of the votes).
As of 7 Jun 2025
Sifiso Mngemezulu is executive mayor of Lekwa.
As of 26 Oct 2023
After a 25 October 2023 by-election (a vote to fill one empty (Ward A small area inside a municipality. Each one elects one councillor.) seat), the council had 30 seats. The ANC had 13, the LCF 6, the DA 4, the EFF 3, FF Plus 2, an independent 1 and the ATM 1. The LCF held the post of mayor, with support from the DA, EFF and FF Plus. The DA had put forward a motion of no confidence (a council vote to remove the mayor or speaker) in the LCF mayor.
As of 22 Nov 2021
At the first council meeting after the 2021 election, LCF leader Louis Thabethe was elected mayor. Oliver Phiri (LCF) was elected speaker. The EFF's Dumisani Msibi became chief whip (the councillor who keeps a party's members voting together).
As of 9 Nov 2021
Michael Sifiso Mngemezulu was elected as an ANC (Ward councillor A person chosen by the voters of one ward to speak for that area on the council. You vote for them by name.) for Ward 1 in Lekwa in 2021.
How were the seats split?
Who holds the 30 (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 16 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. No party has that many. So parties must work together to 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.
- ANC13
- Lekwa Community Forum6
- DA4
- EFF3
- FF+2
- ATM1
Each dot is one seat. The dot with a ring is seat 16. That is how many seats one party needs to run the council alone. Each party shows in its own colour. One party has no colour on record, so it is 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 Lekwa 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 Lekwa is ongoing. It began in April 2021, 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: "The municipality is still financially distressed but demonstrates full commitment to the implementation of the FRP." FRP is short for financial recovery plan.
Department of Cooperative Governance, 3 July 2026
The Auditor-General found a going concern uncertainty at Lekwa in 2024-25, for the 10th year in a row.
This means there is serious doubt that the council can keep paying its bills and keep working.
Auditor-General of South Africa, 24 June 2026
Where do I vote, and who is my ward councillor?
Lekwa has 15 (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.