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.).
Cllr I.L. Shabalala is mayor, 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 and financial statements. Shabalala's first names are Innocent Lindokuhle. Shabalala was elected as an IFP (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. In 2021, the IFP won 19 of the 37 (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.), which is a majority. No by-election (a vote to fill one empty (Ward A small area inside a municipality. Each one elects one councillor.) seat) since then has changed this.
What the sources said, by date
On the council's website, no date shown
Cllr I.L. Shabalala is mayor, according to the municipality's website. It says the IFP won a majority of 19 seats in the November 2021 election.
As of 31 Aug 2025
In the financial year to 30 June 2025, Cllr I.L. Shabalala was mayor of Nquthu. M.R. Ngobese was deputy mayor and N.M. Buthelezi was speaker (the councillor who chairs council meetings).
This was true then. Newer rows above may change it.
As of 30 Jun 2025
The Nquthu 2024-25 annual report names Cllr I.L. Shabalala as mayor. Its MPAC (the Municipal Public Accounts Committee) table shows five IFP members, three ANC, one EFF and one ABC.
As of 9 Nov 2021
Innocent Lindokuhle Shabalala was elected in Nquthu in 2021. Shabalala was an IFP PR councillor (a seat from the (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) list, to match its share of the votes). Shabalala was list number 1.
How were the seats split?
Who holds the 37 (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 19 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 IFP has 19, 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.
- IFP19
- ANC14
- Abantu Batho Congress3
- EFF1
Each dot is one seat. The dot with a ring is seat 19. 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 Nquthu an unqualified audit opinion with findings for 2024-25. It got the same result in 2023-24.
This means its accounts were right, but the Auditor-General found other problems, such as broken laws or weak reports on its work.
Auditor-General of South Africa, 24 June 2026
Where do I vote, and who is my ward councillor?
Nquthu has 19 (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.