uMhlathuze Local Municipality

uMhlathuze Local Municipality is an administrative area in the King Cetshwayo District Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The municipality is named after the Mhlatuze River.[4]

uMhlathuze
Official seal of uMhlathuze
Location in KwaZulu-Natal
Location in KwaZulu-Natal
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceKwaZulu-Natal
DistrictKing Cetshwayo
SeatRichards Bay
Wards30
Government
  TypeMunicipal council
  MayorXolani Ngwezi[2] (IFP)
Area
  Total793 km2 (306 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[3]
  Total334,459
  Density420/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
  Black African87.7%
  Coloured0.9%
  Indian/Asian3.8%
  White7.3%
First languages (2011)
  Zulu81.3%
  English9.7%
  Afrikaans5.1%
  Southern Ndebele1.2%
  Other2.7%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal codeKZN282

The municipality was enlarged at the time of the South African municipal election, 2016 when part of the disbanded Ntambanana Local Municipality was merged into it.[5]

Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:[6]

PlaceCodeArea (km2)Population
Bejani5380112.824,654
Dube5380253.9552,239
Empangeni5380314.0013,306
Esikhawini538045.9032,437
Khoza5380514.3224,172
Kwambonambi Forest Reserve5380656.58117
Mkhwanazi5380766.2922,758
Nkwanazi5380831.8625,780
Nseleni538091.308,873
Richards Bay Part 15381075.8030,605
Richards Bay Part 2538110.42382
Richards Bay Part 35381221.1913,865
Umlalazi Nature Reserve5381427.89347
Vulindlela538152.444,044
Zungu/Madlebe5381671.0648,977
Remainder of the municipality53813339.736,630

Politics

The municipal council consists of sixty-seven members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Thirty-four councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in thirty-four wards, while the remaining thirty-three are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received.

In the 2021 South African municipal elections the African National Congress (ANC) lost its majority, winning a plurality of twenty-seven seats on the council. The following table shows the results of the election.[7]

PartyWardListTotal
seats
Votes%SeatsVotes%Seats
African National Congress33,82740.332032,39638.67727
Inkatha Freedom Party28,71434.231029,30334.981323
Democratic Alliance9,88911.7949,85411.7648
Economic Freedom Fighters7,6279.0907,7689.2766
National Freedom Party7710.9207600.9111
African Christian Democratic Party7130.8507290.8711
Freedom Front Plus5410.6406080.7311
African Independent Congress270.0308761.0500
Abantu Batho Congress3020.3602890.3400
African People's Movement3000.3602860.3400
Justice and Employment Party2400.2903160.3800
Independent candidates4460.5300
South Africa Vuka Movement1970.2301660.2000
United Christian Democratic Party1180.140790.0900
Black First Land First740.0901010.1200
African Transformation Movement450.0501230.1500
United Independent Movement110.010910.1100
Congregational Christian Unity400.050290.0300
Total83,882100.003483,774100.003367
Valid votes83,88298.7183,77498.64
Invalid/blank votes1,0921.291,1591.36
Total votes84,974100.0084,933100.00
Registered voters/turnout192,91644.05192,91644.03

By-elections

The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period from the election in November 2021.

DateWardParty of the previous councillorParty of the newly elected councillor
14 September 2022[8] 12 African National Congress Inkatha Freedom Party

The by-election took place after the African National Congress (ANC) representative, facing community pressure, resigned. With the victory, the Inkatha Freedom Party solidified its coalition hold on council.[9]

References

  1. "Contact list: Executive Mayors". Government Communication & Information System. Archived from the original on 14 July 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  2. "City of uMhlathuze elects new mayor". Zululand Observer. 2021-12-10. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  3. "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  4. South African Languages - Place names
  5. "Ntambanana municipality to dissolve in September". Zululand Observer. 22 April 2016.
  6. Lookup Tables - Statistics South Africa
  7. "Election Result Table for LGE2021 — uMhlathuze". wikitable.frith.dev. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  8. "Municipal By-elections results - Electoral Commission of South Africa". results.elections.org.za. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
  9. Sussman, Wayne (2022-09-15). "SEPTEMBER BY-ELECTIONS: DA triumphs in Prince Albert nail-biter while IFP bucks trend to shock ANC in KZN". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 2022-09-15.

28°45′S 31°54′E

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