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In South Africa, a local municipality (Tswana : mmasepalaselegae; Sotho : masepala wa lehae; Northern Sotho : mmasepala wa selegae; Afrikaans : plaaslike munisipaliteit; Zulu : umasipala wendawo; Southern Ndebele : umasipaladi wendawo; Xhosa : umasipala wengingqi; Swazi : masipaladi wasekhaya; Venda : masipalawapo; Tsonga : masipala wa muganga) or Category B municipality is a type of municipality that serves as the third, and most local, tier of local government. Each district municipality is divided into a number of local municipalities, and responsibility for municipal affairs is divided between the district and local municipalities. There are 205 local municipalities in South Africa.
A local municipality may include rural areas as well as one or more towns or small cities. In larger urban areas there are no district or local municipalities, and a metropolitan municipality is responsible for all municipal affairs.
A local municipality is governed by a municipal council elected by voters resident in the municipality on the basis of mixed-member proportional representation. The municipal area is divided into wards, the number of which depends on the population of the municipality. At local elections the voters have three ballot papers: one to vote for a candidate for ward councillor, one to vote for a party for the council of the local municipality, and one to vote for a party for the council of the district municipality. The ward councillors are directly elected by first-past-the-post voting. An equal number of PR (proportional representation) councillors are chosen from party lists in such a way that the total representation of each party on the council (including ward councillors) is proportional to the share of the vote that that party received.
There are three different systems by which the executive government of the municipality may be structured. In the plenary system, executive powers are vested in the full council, and the mayor is chairperson of the council. In the collective system, executive powers are vested in an executive committee elected by the council. In this system, the members of the executive committee are drawn from all parties in proportion to their representation on the council, and the mayor is chairperson of the executive committee. In the mayoral system, executive powers are vested in a mayor elected by the council. Mayors may delegate particular responsibilities to an appointed committee.
The Constitution defines the areas and topics for which municipal governments are responsible. National legislation divides this responsibility between the district municipalities and the local municipalities.
For analytical and statistical purposes, local municipalities are classified into four categories: [1] [2]
Class | Description | Number (2022) |
---|---|---|
B1 | Secondary cities, local municipalities with the largest budgets. | 19 |
B2 | Local municipalities with a large town as core. | 26 |
B3 | Local municipalities with small towns, with a relatively small population and significant proportion of urban population but with no large town as core. | 99 |
B4 | Local municipalities that are mainly rural with communal tenure and with, at most, one or two small towns in their area. | 61 |
For census and statistical purposes, local municipalities are divided into "Main Places". These generally correspond to towns, small cities, boroughs of large cities, villages or tribal areas also known as townships. [3] Those areas that do not fall within any of the above are incorporated in a main place named for the municipality. [4]
Emalahleni Municipality is a local municipality within the Nkangala District Municipality, in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. eMalahleni is a Nguni word meaning place of coal.
Moretele Municipality is a local municipality within the Bojanala Platinum District Municipality, in the North West province of South Africa. As of 2011, its population was approximately 180,000, a majority of whom speak Setswana as a first language.
Midvaal Municipality is a local municipality within the Sedibeng District Municipality, in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The municipality's name references its geographical location in-between the Johannesburg and East Rand areas and the Vaal and Vereeniging areas.
Mogale City Local Municipality is a local municipality within the West Rand District Municipality, in the Gauteng province of South Africa.
Dipaleseng Municipality is a local municipality within the Gert Sibande District Municipality, in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Balfour is the seat of the municipality.
Lesedi Municipality is a local municipality within the Sedibeng District Municipality, in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Heidelberg is the seat of the municipality. During the first war of independence, Heidelberg served as capital of the South African Republic, from 1880 to 1883.
Bela-Bela Municipality is a local municipality within the Waterberg District Municipality, in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The seat is Bela-Bela. The municipality lies north of Hammanskraal. It is the only municipality in South Africa that straddles 4 provinces.
Mogalakwena Municipality is a local municipality within the Waterberg District Municipality, in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The seat is Mokopane.
Greater Letaba Municipality is a local municipality within the Mopani District Municipality, in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The seat is Modjadjiskloof.
Steve Tshwete Municipality, formerly Middelburg Municipality, is a local municipality within the Nkangala District Municipality, in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. The seat is Middelburg. The local municipality was one of the four to have passed the 2009-10 audit by the Auditor-General of South Africa, who deemed it to have a clean administration.
Thembisile Hani Municipality is a local municipality within the Nkangala District Municipality, in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. It is a semi-urban local municipality consisting of 57 villages within which there are 5 established townships.
Moqhaka Municipality is a local municipality within the Fezile Dabi District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa. In 2001, the population was 267,881 with a total area of 7925 km². The seat is Kroonstad. Moqhaka is the Sesotho word for "crown".
Maluti-a-Phofung Municipality is a local municipality within the Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa. It encompasses substantially all of the former bantustan of QwaQwa, except for the small enclave at Botshabelo. The population is almost entirely Basotho. The municipality is named after the Drakensberg mountains. The peak is known as the Sentinel, which is called Phofung in Sesotho.
Tswelopele Municipality is a local municipality within the Lejweleputswa District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa. Tswelopele is a Sesotho word meaning "progress".
Phumelela Municipality is a local municipality within the Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa. Phumelela means "to succeed" in isiZulu.
Setsoto Municipality is a local municipality within the Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa. Setsoto is a Sesotho word meaning "beauty". The seat is Ficksburg. Other towns include Senekal, Clocolan and Marquard. The municipality is rich in agriculture and is known for producing cherries.
Mafube Municipality is a local municipality within the Fezile Dabi District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa.
Nala Municipality is a local municipality within the Lejweleputswa District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa. Nala is a Sesotho word meaning "affluence or plenty". It is derived from the maize belt and economic prosperity of the area. The municipality serves the community in and around Bothaville, Kgotsong, Wesselsbron and Monyakeng.
Masilonyana Municipality is a local municipality within the Lejweleputswa District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa. Masilonyana is a Setswana word meaning "freedom".
Mohokare Municipality is a local municipality within the Xhariep District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa. Mohokare is the Sesotho word for the Caledon River, which runs through the municipality.