Mkhondo
Local municipality
Official seal of Mkhondo
Seal
Location in Mpumalanga
Location in Mpumalanga
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceMpumalanga
DistrictGert Sibande
SeatPiet Retief
Wards19
Government
[1]
 • TypeMunicipal council
 • MayorNgelosi Ndlovu
Area
 • Total4,882 km2 (1,885 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[2]
 • Total171,982
 • Density35/km2 (91/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
[2]
 • Black African94.7%
 • Coloured0.5%
 • Indian/Asian0.8%
 • White3.7%
First languages (2011)
[2]
 • Zulu89.1%
 • Afrikaans3.5%
 • English2.4%
 • Swazi1.8%
 • Other3.2%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal codeMP303

Mkhondo Municipality (Zulu: UMasipala wase Mkhondo) is a local municipality within the Gert Sibande District Municipality, in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Piet Retief is the seat of the municipality.

Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:[3]

Place Code Area (km2) Population Most spoken language
Amsterdam 80301 4.36 1,452 Swati
Dirkiesdorp 80302 3.30 523 Zulu
Driefontein 80303 53.65 15,319 Zulu
Ethandakukhanya 80304 8.49 24,867 Zulu
KwaNgema 80305 12.13 1,003 Zulu
KwaThandeka 80306 2.91 5,085 Zulu
Ngema 80308 86.10 3,539 Zulu
Piet Retief 80309 55.41 13,052 Zulu
Shabalala 80310 13.71 807 Zulu
Remainder of the municipality 80307 4,628.84 77,246 Zulu

Politics

Main article: Mkhondo Local Municipality elections

The municipal council consists of thirty-eight members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Nineteen councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in nineteen wards, while the remaining nineteen are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received. In the election of 1 November 2021 the African National Congress (ANC) won a majority of twenty-one seats on the council.

The following table shows the results of the election.[4]

PartyWardListTotal
seats
Votes%SeatsVotes%Seats
African National Congress15,04350.571617,04857.52521
Economic Freedom Fighters4,94416.6205,85619.7677
Democratic Alliance2,6348.8513,11510.5134
Independent candidates4,47315.0422
Inkatha Freedom Party8122.7301,1143.7611
Freedom Front Plus7962.6801,0273.4711
African Transformation Movement4781.6106702.2611
National Freedom Party2280.7703931.3311
2 other parties3411.1504131.3900
Total29,749100.001929,636100.001938
Valid votes29,74997.8829,63696.23
Invalid/blank votes6452.121,1603.77
Total votes30,394100.0030,796100.00
Registered voters/turnout70,52243.1070,52243.67

Political assassinations

The municipality was described as "the epicentre of political assassinations" after a number of assassinations. In 2022, Sbonelo Mthembu accused former mayor Vusi Motha of having assassinated African National Congress regional secretary Gert Sibande. Mthembu himself was later assassinated. Motha stated that he had intended to sue Mthembu for defamation.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Mkhondo Local Municipality - Council & Management". municipalities.co.za. Retrieved 2024-01-08.
  2. ^ a b c "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  3. ^ Lookup Tables - Statistics South Africa
  4. ^ "Election Result Table for LGE2021 — Mkhondo". wikitable.frith.dev. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  5. ^ Yende, Sizwe sama. "Mkhondo: Mpumalanga's new epicentre of political assassinations". City Press. Retrieved 2024-01-08.

External links

26°33′S 29°10′E / 26.550°S 29.167°E / -26.550; 29.167

Municipalities of Mpumalanga
Municipalities and communities of Gert Sibande District Municipality, Mpumalanga
Category