Page Up and Page Down move to the next and the previous section.
The council's term is about to end because South Africa's five-year local government cycle is nearly complete. The current councils were elected on 1 November 2021, so their term ends on 1 November 2026. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced 4 November 2026 as the date of the Local Government Elections. The Electoral Commission has noted that this announcement is not the formal proclamation of the election date. The late-August recess therefore falls in the run-up to the poll. During this period, councils normally cut back their formal meetings.
Cape Town is a metropolitan municipality, and its voters receive two ballot papers: one for the ward councillor and one for the metropolitan proportional representation (PR) council. 55 political parties are contesting the elections in Cape Town. After the vote, councils elect mayors and other office-bearers once they are constituted. The Executive Mayor and the council committees would therefore be reconstituted after the election.
The question of who has oversight during a recess matters because councils make binding decisions on property rates, service tariffs, land-use planning, local economic development and community facilities. Under the Constitution, municipalities manage their own affairs, and all original municipal, legislative and executive powers are vested in the council. When the council and its committees are not sitting, delegated powers and urgent-matter procedures carry the load. This is why recess arrangements and the oversight bodies that remain active draw public attention.
