Bloemfontein, also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongside the legislative capital Cape Town and administrative capital Pretoria, although the highest court in South Africa, the Constitutional Court, has been in Johannesburg since 1994.
The Sotho, also known as the Basotho, are a Sotho-Tswana ethnic group native to Southern Africa. They primarily inhabit the regions of Lesotho and South Africa.
The Free State, formerly known as the Orange Free State, is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Boer republic called the Orange Free State and later the Orange Free State Province.
Local government in South Africa consists of municipalities of various types. The largest metropolitan areas are governed by metropolitan municipalities, while the rest of the country is divided into counties called district municipalities, each of which consists of several boroughs called local municipalities. Since the boundary reform at the time of the municipal election of 3 August 2016 there are eight metropolitan municipalities, 44 district municipalities and 205 local municipalities.
In South Africa, a metropolitan municipality or Category A municipality is a municipality which executes all the functions of local government for a city or conurbation. This is by contrast to areas which are primarily rural, where the local government is divided into district municipalities and local municipalities.
Thaba 'Nchu, also known as Blesberg, is a town in Free State, South Africa, 63 km east of Bloemfontein and 17 km east of Botshabelo. The population is largely made up of Tswana and Sotho people. The town was settled in December 1833 and officially established in 1873. The town grew larger following the 1913 Natives' Land Act that declared the area a homeland for the Tswana people.
The Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality is one of the 5 districts of the Free State province of South Africa. The seat is Witsieshoek. As of 2011, a majority of its 725,932 residents spoke Sesotho. The district code is DC19
The Lejweleputswa District Municipality is one of the 5 districts of the Free State province of South Africa. The seat of the municipality is Welkom. As of 2011, a majority of its 657,019 residents speak Sotho. The district code is DC18. Lejweleputswa is a Sesotho word meaning "grey rock".
The Xhariep District Municipality is one of the 5 districts of the Free State province of South Africa. The municipality is the largest in the Free State geographically and is known for its vast land. It is home to the largest dam in the county, the Gariep Dam, and has two mines, situated in Jagersfontein and Koffiefontein. The natural resources and the geographical position of the municipality make it a site with good potential for investment and development. The seat is Trompsburg. As of 2011, the largest language group is Sotho who make up 45.3% of the total population of 146,259. The district code is DC16.
Thaba Bosiu is a constituency and sandstone plateau with an area of approximately 2 km2 (0.77 sq mi) and a height of 1,804 meters above sea level. It is located between the Orange and Caledon Rivers in the Maseru District of Lesotho, 24 km east of the country's capital Maseru. It was once the capital of Lesotho, having been King Moshoeshoe's stronghold.
The Diocese of the Free State is a diocese in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.
The Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality which governs Bloemfontein and surrounding towns in the Free State province of South Africa. Mangaung is a Sesotho word meaning "place of cheetahs", as it was not uncommon for the Basotho to name warrior regiments after ferocious animals.
Dihlabeng Municipality is a local municipality within the Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa. It was established after the first general local government elections on 5 December 2000, which heralded the final phase of local government reform as envisaged in 1994 at the onset of the process of democratisation and the end of apartheid. The seat is Bethlehem.
Naledi Local Municipality was a local municipality in the Free State province in South Africa. On 3 August 2016 it was disestablished and merged into the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality. The name Naledi is a Sesotho word meaning "a star". The principal towns in the area of the disestablished municipality are Dewetsdorp and Wepener.
Tseki is a town in Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality in the Free State province of South Africa. It is one of the oldest kasis in Qwaqwa (Phuthaditjhaba). Together with Thaba Bosiu, Bolata, Makwane, Puelong and Thaba Ntsho they were the first places where people settled when Qwaqwa was first formed by the apartheid government.
Thaba Phatswa is a town in Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality in the Free State province of South Africa.
The R702 is a regional route in South Africa that connects Bloemfontein with the Lesotho border at Van Rooyen's Gate via Dewetsdorp and Wepener.
Walton Zacharias Fenyang was a South African politician. He was a central figure of the political establishment of Thaba Nchu as an independent reserve in South Africa. He was one of the Barolong members of the Thaba Nchu board.
Thabo Manyoni is a South African politician who was the Mayor of Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality from 2011 to 2016. He represented his party, the African National Congress (ANC), in the Free State Executive Council from 2009 to 2011 and in the National Assembly from 2016 to 2017. He was Deputy Provincial Chairperson of the ANC's Free State branch from 2008 to 2017. He was also Chairperson of the South African Local Government Association from 2011 to 2016 and in 2019 he was appointed to a five-year term as Chairperson of South Africa's Municipal Demarcation Board.
