Govan Mbeki Local Municipality

Govan Mbeki Municipality (Zulu: UMasipala wase Govan Mbeki; Afrikaans: Govan Mbeki Munisipaliteit), formerly the Highveld East Local Municipality, is a local municipality within the Gert Sibande District Municipality, in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Secunda is the seat of the municipality.

Govan Mbeki
Local municipality
Official seal of Govan Mbeki
Seal
Location in Mpumalanga
Location in Mpumalanga
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceMpumalanga
DistrictGert Sibande
SeatSecunda
Wards32
Government
[1]
 • TypeMunicipal council
 • MayorThandi Ngxonono
Area
 • Total2,955 km2 (1,141 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[2]
 • Total294,538
 • Density100/km2 (260/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
[2]
 • Black African80.5%
 • Coloured1.5%
 • Indian/Asian1.5%
 • White16.0%
First languages (2011)
[2]
 • Zulu47.4%
 • Afrikaans15.9%
 • Southern Ndebele7.7%
 • Sotho6.0%
 • Other23%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal codeMP307

Main places

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

PlaceCodeArea (km2)PopulationMost spoken language
Bethal80701101.508,512Afrikaans
Brendan Village807020.66277Afrikaans
Charl Cilliers807031.58210Zulu
Eendrag807041.85293Afrikaans
Embalenhle8070513.6391,751Zulu
eMzinoni807065.1931,012Zulu
Evander8070740.158,212Afrikaans
Highveld Ridge Mines8070971.84325Zulu
Kinross807103.994,906English
Leandra807111.599Zulu
Lebogang807123.8819,396Zulu
Leslie807132.08761Afrikaans
Leslie Gold Mines807140.190-
Mandela Section807150.231,083Xhosa
Milan Park807161.744,760Zulu
Secunda80717150.7126,125Afrikaans
Sorento Park807180.9512Afrikaans/Zulu
Trichardt807191.531,973Afrikaans
Remainder of the municipality807082,555.6822,132Zulu

Politics
Main article: Govan Mbeki Local Municipality elections

The municipal council consists of sixty-three members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Thirty-two councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in thirty-two wards, while the remaining thirty-one 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) lost its majority, but remained the largest party, winning twenty-six seats. The following table shows the results of the election.[4]

PartyWardListTotal
seats
Votes%SeatsVotes%Seats
African National Congress22,28740.312423,65241.83226
Democratic Alliance14,70726.60715,00726.541017
Economic Freedom Fighters10,83619.60011,39720.151313
Freedom Front Plus2,5384.5902,5364.4833
Azania Resident Party1,1542.0911,1742.0812
African Transformation Movement7481.3507151.2611
Independent candidates1,4502.6200
Inkatha Freedom Party4330.7807061.2511
7 other parties1,1352.0501,3602.4100
Total55,288100.003256,547100.003163
Valid votes55,28898.2156,54798.37
Invalid/blank votes1,0101.799361.63
Total votes56,298100.0057,483100.00
Registered voters/turnout141,05839.91141,05840.75

Corruption

After allegations of endemic corruption a forensic investigation was launched by the Department of Cooperative Governance (DCoG). The Section 106 forensic investigation report released in 2020 revealed extensive political interference in its administration.[5] The report revealed non-implementation of council resolutions, abuse of municipal property and assets, advertisement of tenders without following legislation and awarding of bursaries without following procedures. Senior positions were occupied by politically affiliated persons who lacked the minimum required qualifications or even a matric certificate. In addition several companies that got preferential treatment had senior politicians on their payroll. The senior politician and executive mayor, Ms Thandi Ngxonono, was implicated in the report and took special leave.[5]

References
  1. "Contact list: Executive Mayors". Government Communication & Information System. Archived from the original on 14 July 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  3. Lookup Tables - Statistics South Africa
  4. "Election Result Table for LGE2021 — Govan Mbeki". wikitable.frith.dev. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  5. Mathebula, Sifiso (30 October 2020). "Locals want Hawks to make arrests". ridgetimes.co.za. Ridge Times Hoëvelder / Highvelder. Retrieved 29 October 2020.

26°33′S 29°10′E

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