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Who runs Thembelihle?

M Visser (Siyathemba Community Movement) has been (Mayor The leader of the municipality. Councillors choose this person, not voters. So the seats each party wins decide who can lead.) of Thembelihle since Apr 2024. In 2021, no (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) 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 Thembelihle.

Checked 16 Oct 2026. Sourced, not yet reviewed.

Photo: Hopetown · Christopher Murphy, CC BY-SA 4.0

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.).

Marnus Visser of the Siyathemba Community Movement is mayor of Thembelihle, in Treasury records from 2025. The movement has 1 (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.). Visser became mayor in April 2024. Around 8 April 2024, a motion of no confidence removed EFF mayor Leonard Makenna. This is a council vote to remove a mayor or speaker. The Diamond Fields Advertiser reports who supported it. It says 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.) and one independent councillor did. In 2021, no (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) won more than half of the 11 seats. The ANC won 5 and the EFF won 3.

What the sources said, by date

  1. As of 16 Oct 2026

    Marnus Visser is Mayor/Executive Mayor (a mayor who makes many of the council's decisions), according to National Treasury's municipal officials data. This is an undated contact record.

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

    As of 31 Aug 2025

    M Visser was mayor in the year to 30 June 2025, 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.) audited financial statements (the accounts, checked by auditors).

  3. As of 12 Apr 2024

    Marnus 'Stan' Visser is a councillor for the Siyathemba Community Movement. Visser replaced EFF mayor Leonard Makenna. This came after a motion of no confidence. ANC councillors and one independent councillor backed the motion.

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How were the seats split?

Who holds the 11 (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 6 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.

  • ANC5
  • EFF3
  • DA1
  • Siyathemba Community Movement1
  • FF+1

Each dot is one seat. The dot with a ring is seat 6. 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.

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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 Thembelihle 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

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

Thembelihle has 6 (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.

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