Kai !Garib Local Municipality
Kai !Garib Local Municipality is a local municipality in Northern Cape, covering 26 236 square kilometres. It falls within the ZF Mgcawu District Municipality. It takes in the towns and settlements of Eksteenskuil, Kakamas, Keimoes and Kenhardt.
Census 2022 counted 85 104 residents, making it the 10th most populous of the 31 municipalities in Northern Cape and 194th of 257 nationally. That works out to 3.2 people per square kilometre. The population is very sparsely distributed across a large area. There are 20 366 households, averaging 4.2 people each. 25.0% of residents are under 15 and 5.7% are over 65. Among residents aged 20 and over, 3.5% hold a higher education qualification and 4.4% have had no schooling.
The council has 19 seats across 5 parties, with ANC holding the largest share at 10 seats (52.6%). ANC governs the municipality. Mr MMM Matthys serves as executive mayor (ANC), and Mr Obakeng Isaacs is municipal manager.
On this site’s financial health measure, which weighs the Auditor-General’s opinion alongside operating margin, liquidity, cash cover and irregular spending, !Kai! Garib scores 14.1 out of 100 for 2024/25, a grade of F, described as critical. Its most recent audit outcome was recorded as “qualified audit”. In 2024/25 it reported R343.1 million in operating revenue against R576.7 million in expenditure, an operating deficit of R233.6 million. At the last census, 57.7% of households had piped water inside the dwelling, 91.8% used electricity for lighting and 49.7% had refuse removed weekly.
Council and management
Seats: Electoral Commission, 2021 local government elections
- ANC 10 52.6%
- HFTF 4 21.1%
- DA 3 15.8%
- EFF 1 5.3%
- VF PLUS 1 5.3%
Office bearers
Finances
National Treasury, audited outcomes
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUDIT OUTCOME | Qualified audit | Qualified audit | Qualified audit | Qualified audit | Qualified audit |
Financial performance
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Property rates | 30 328 | 30 037 | 34 383 | n/a | 21 441 |
| Service charges | 159 283 | 128 648 | 154 051 | n/a | 112 684 |
| Investment revenue | 85 | 59 | 49 | n/a | 140 |
| Transfers recognised - operational | 132 261 | 258 816 | 105 983 | n/a | 109 727 |
| Other own revenue | 21 117 | 27 133 | 14 124 | n/a | 7 526 |
| Total Revenue (excluding capital transfers and contributions) | 343 074 | 444 693 | 308 591 | n/a | 251 518 |
| Employee costs | 168 564 | 154 583 | 143 208 | n/a | 131 162 |
| Remuneration of councillors | 8 426 | 7 545 | 8 215 | n/a | 7 189 |
| Depreciation and amortisation | 34 946 | 35 639 | - | n/a | 34 503 |
| Finance charges | 77 118 | 45 756 | 0 | n/a | 20 159 |
| Inventory consumed and bulk purchases | 128 715 | 112 045 | 25 448 | n/a | 86 025 |
| Transfers and subsidies | - | - | - | n/a | - |
| Other expenditure | 158 890 | 193 930 | 73 257 | n/a | 120 504 |
| Total Expenditure | 576 660 | 549 498 | 250 129 | n/a | 399 542 |
| Surplus/(Deficit) | -233 586 | -104 805 | 58 463 | n/a | -148 024 |
| Transfers and subsidies - capital (monetary allocations) | 20 533 | 29 419 | 10 563 | n/a | 26 873 |
| Transfers and subsidies - capital (in-kind) | 3 | 1 014 | - | n/a | 54 |
| Surplus/(Deficit) after capital transfers & contributions | -213 050 | -74 372 | 69 025 | n/a | -121 096 |
| Share of surplus/(deficit) of associate | - | - | - | n/a | - |
| Surplus/(Deficit) for the year | -213 050 | -74 372 | 69 025 | n/a | -121 096 |
Capital expenditure & funds sources
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital expenditure | 25 138 | 29 961 | 41 903 | 29 711 | 11 828 |
| Transfers recognised - capital | 22 027 | 31 082 | 38 653 | 25 664 | 9 630 |
| Borrowing | - | - | - | - | - |
| Internally generated funds | 2 809 | 787 | 2 857 | 3 654 | 2 016 |
| Total sources of capital funds | 24 836 | 31 869 | 41 510 | 29 318 | 11 646 |
Financial position
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total current assets | 178 577 | 129 881 | 174 416 | 56 198 | 54 644 |
| Total non current assets | 934 190 | 944 486 | 998 036 | 981 607 | 970 550 |
| Total current liabilities | 844 185 | 677 349 | 824 976 | 755 196 | 603 097 |
| Total non current liabilities | 511 549 | 474 133 | 76 399 | 79 781 | 83 045 |
| Community wealth/Equity | -29 916 | -2 744 | 202 051 | 202 828 | 460 149 |
Cash flows
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net cash from (used) operating | -718 897 | 1 769 057 | 2 126 727 | - | 6 |
| Net cash from (used) investing | - | 13 006 | (7 629) | - | 7 743 |
| Net cash from (used) financing | - | - | - | - | - |
| Cash/cash equivalents at the year end | -716 839 | 1 782 601 | 2 120 001 | 902 | 8 509 |
Unauthorised, irregular, fruitless & wasteful expenditure
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unauthorised expenditure | 212 045 | 206 438 | 121 070 | 1 070 570 | 138 390 |
| Irregular expenditure | 7 935 | 9 119 | 69 613 | 85 693 | 116 154 |
| Fruitless & wasteful expenditure | 37 981 | 35 089 | 59 649 | 157 393 | 13 304 |
Source: Audited Outcome A1 2026 Q1
People
Statistics South Africa, Census
| Measure | 2022 | 2016 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 85 104 | 68 929 | 65 869 |
Age structure
| Measure | 2022 | 2016 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population under 15 | 25.0% | 22.7% | 24.4% |
| Population 15 to 64 | 69.3% | 72.4% | 70.5% |
| Population over 65 | 5.7% | 4.8% | 5.1% |
Dependency ratio
| Measure | 2022 | 2016 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per 100 (15-64) | 44.3 | 38 | 41.9 |
Sex ratio
| Measure | 2022 | 2016 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Males per 100 females | 98.2 | 113.6 | 108.5 |
Population growth
| Measure | 2022 | 2016 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per annum | 2.5% | 1.0% | n/a |
Labour market
| Measure | 2022 | 2016 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate (official) | n/a | n/a | 10 |
| Youth unemployment rate (official) 15-34 | n/a | n/a | 10 |
Education (aged 20 +)
| Measure | 2022 | 2016 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No schooling | 4.4% | 5.6% | 9.0% |
| Matric | n/a | 20.9 | 15.5 |
| Higher education | 3.5% | 3.6% | 3.8% |
Household dynamics
| Measure | 2022 | 2016 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households | 20 366 | 23 017 | 16 703 |
| Average household size | 4.2 | 3 | 3.9 |
| Female headed households | n/a | 32.7 | 34.6 |
| Formal dwellings | 86.3% | 82.4% | 88.4% |
| Housing owned | n/a | 49.5 | 43.1 |
Household services
| Measure | 2022 | 2016 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flush toilet connected to sewerage | 77.2% | 59.6% | 72.0% |
| Weekly refuse removal | 49.7% | 53.4% | 53.8% |
| Piped water inside dwelling | 57.7% | 39.0% | 41.0% |
| Electricity for lighting | 91.8% | 82.0% | 87.4% |
Service delivery
National Treasury, non-financial census of municipalities
Water
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2019/20 | 2018/19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Does the municipality provide? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided | 7 928 | 7 928 | 7 928 | 7 928 | 7 928 |
| Number of domestic households/delivery points | 7 678 | 7 678 | 7 678 | 7 678 | 7 678 |
| Inside the yard | 7 678 | 7 678 | 7 678 | 7 678 | 7 678 |
| Less than 200m from yard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| More than 200m from yard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Domestic households with access to free basic service | 2 701 | 2 701 | 2 701 | 2 701 | 3 700 |
Electricity
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2019/20 | 2018/19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Does the municipality provide? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided | 8 258 | 8 053 | 8 053 | 8 053 | 8 009 |
| Domestic households with access to free basic service | 4 196 | 4 196 | 4 196 | 4 196 | 3 894 |
Sewerage and sanitation
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2019/20 | 2018/19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Does the municipality provide? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided | 5 554 | 5 554 | 5 554 | 5 554 | 5 554 |
| Flush toilet - public sewerage | 4 067 | 4 067 | 4 067 | 4 067 | 4 067 |
| Flush toilet - septic tank | 1 038 | 1 038 | 1 038 | 1 038 | 1 038 |
| Ventilated pit latrine | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bucket system | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Domestic households with access to free basic service | 2 363 | 2 363 | 2 363 | 2 363 | 2 318 |
Solid waste services
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2019/20 | 2018/19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Does the municipality provide? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Number of households and non-domestic customers to which provided | 6 456 | 6 456 | 6 456 | 6 456 | 6 456 |
| Domestic households with access to free basic service | 2 873 | 2 873 | 2 873 | 2 873 | 2 855 |
Staffing
National Treasury
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2019/20 | 2018/19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment Costs (R’000) | 143 208 | n/a | 131 162 | 119 636 | 108 967 |
| Remuneration of councillors (R’000) | 8 215 | n/a | 7 189 | 6 575 | 6 815 |
| Total Employee Positions | 401 | 401 | 388 | 545 | 482 |
| Total Vacant Employee Positions | 1 | 1 | 2 | 129 | 64 |
| Total Vacancy Percentage | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 23.7% | 13.3% |
| Managerial Positions – S54A and S56 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Vacant Managerial Positions – S54A and S56 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Managerial Positions - by organogram | 19 | 19 | 15 | 15 | 22 |
| Vacant Managerial Positions - by organogram | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
Published documents
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