Take the quizFind your voting station Check you’re registered
Election day Wed 4 Nov
Take the quiz

Who runs Makana?

Yandiswa Vara (ANC) is (Mayor The leader of the municipality. Councillors choose this person, not voters. So the seats each party wins decide who can lead.) of Makana, as of 1 Apr 2026. In 2021, the ANC won more than half of the (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.) in Makana.

Checked 16 Oct 2026. Sourced, not yet reviewed.

Photo: Makhanda · Unknown author, via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

Checked 16 Oct 2026. Sourced, not yet reviewed.

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.).

Yandiswa Vara is executive mayor (a mayor who makes many of the council's decisions) of Makana, according to the 2024/25 annual report (April 2026). Vara was elected as an ANC (Councillor A person elected to make decisions for a municipality, such as the budget and who the mayor is. Each one holds one seat.) in 2021. The ANC has 14 of the 27 (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.), which is more than half. The seat numbers in the annual report match the (IEC The Electoral Commission of South Africa. It runs elections. It is independent, so it does not take orders from the government or any party.) count from 2021. The report also lists the DA with 5, the Makana Citizens Front with 5, the EFF with 2 and one independent. In 2021, the ANC won 14 of the 27 seats.

What the sources said, by date

  1. As of 1 Apr 2026

    Yandiswa Vara is executive mayor (a mayor who makes many of the council's decisions) of Makana. The council has 27 seats. The ANC has 14, the DA 5, the Makana Citizens Front 5, the EFF 2 and one independent.

  2. This was true then. Newer rows above may change it.

    As of 9 Nov 2021

    Yandiswa Portia Vara was elected as an ANC PR councillor in Makana in 2021. A PR councillor has a seat that the (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) gets from its list, to match its share of the votes.

View sources (opens in a new tab)

How were the seats split?

Who holds the 27 (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 14 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 14, 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.

  • ANC14
  • DA5
  • Makana Citizens Front5
  • EFF2

Each dot is one seat. The dot with a ring is seat 14. 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.

View sources (opens in a new tab)

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 Makana a disclaimer of opinion for 2024-25. It got the same result in 2023-24.

This means it could not show proof for most of the amounts in its accounts, so the Auditor-General could not judge them.

Auditor-General of South Africa, 24 June 2026

In July 2026, the Minister of Cooperative Governance told Parliament that the intervention at Makana is ongoing. It began in 2019, under section 139(5) of the Constitution.

This means the province stepped in 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: "Current FRP reviewed for improved focus: under implementation" FRP is short for financial recovery plan.

Department of Cooperative Governance, 3 July 2026

The Auditor-General found a going concern uncertainty at Makana in 2024-25, for the ninth 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

View sources (opens in a new tab)

Where do I vote, and who is my ward councillor?

Makana has 14 (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 quiz
See your ballot

Find your town to see your ward, your voting station and every name on your papers.

Or check with the IEC

Spotted a mistake? Report a mistake. Every change is logged on the Corrections page.