uMhlabuyalingana | |
|---|---|
 Seal | |
.svg) Location of UMhlabuyalingana Local Municipality within KwaZulu-Natal | |
| Coordinates:27°1′S32°44′E / 27.017°S 32.733°E /-27.017; 32.733 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | KwaZulu-Natal |
| District | uMkhanyakude |
| Seat | Kwangwanase |
| Wards | 17 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal council |
| • Mayor | D. A. Ncube |
| Area | |
• Total | 3,964 km2 (1,531 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[2] | |
• Total | 156,736 |
| • Density | 39.54/km2 (102.4/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup(2011) | |
| • Black African | 99.3% |
| • Coloured | 0.1% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.1% |
| • White | 0.3% |
| First languages(2011) | |
| • Zulu | 95.7% |
| • English | 1.2% |
| • Southern Ndebele | 1.0% |
| • Other | 2.1% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Municipal code | KZN271 |
uMhlabuyalingana Municipality (Zulu:UMasipala wakwa Mhlabuyalingana) is alocal municipality within theuMkhanyakude District Municipality, in the northeastern part of theKwaZulu-Natal province ofSouth Africa. The municipality is one of the poorest in the country. It encompasses aWorld Heritage Site and several areas under environmental protection.[4] Areas of conservation and environmental interest within or adjacent to the uMhlabuyalingana area include theTembe Elephant Park,iSimangaliso Wetland Park (a World Heritage Site), theSuni-Ridge Sand Forest Park, and thePhongolo Nature Reserve.
The municipality was approximately 98% rural in 2001, with a population of 140,963 inhabitants according toStatistics South Africa. The municipality is made up of at least 99% Black South Africans, most of whom areisiZulu-speaking. The population is very young: 44% were younger than 15, and 77% were younger than 35 years old. Because of its youth, the population is particularly vulnerable to the impact ofHIV/AIDS.[4] Towns and major settlement nodes in the area includeEmanguzi,Mbazwana,Kwangwanase,Maputa,Mboza,Mseleni andSkhemelele.
On 8 April2009, theInkatha Freedom Party (IFP), which controls the municipality, summoned its entire caucus to a meeting aimed at determining the veracity of reports alleging more than R3,000,000 (US$403,390) in funds unaccounted for. ProfessorThemba Msimang, chairman of the party's Policy Oversight Committee (POC), and also current chair of South Africa'sHeraldry Council, called for uMhlabuyalingana to accept aforensic audit. According to an IFP press release, Msimang stated that the party was "highly agitated" by the reports, "not simply because of the implication of corruption but also because it transgressed everything the party stands for... We will have to await the process that entails the municipality's council calling for such a forensic audit. I can assure you, though, our party will get to the bottom of this, and, if heads have to roll, so be it: they will."[5]
The2001 census divided the municipality into the followingmain places:[6]
| Place | Code | Area (km2) | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mabaso | 53201 | 543.41 | 19,398 |
| Manukuza/Jobe | 53202 | 20.79 | 314 |
| Mashabane | 53203 | 708.01 | 26,620 |
| Ndumu Game Reserve | 53204 | 13.69 | 6 |
| Tembe Elephant Reserve | 53206 | 275.27 | 36 |
| Tembe | 53205 | 1,909.15 | 79,111 |
| Zikhali/Mbila | 53207 | 202.24 | 15,489 |
The municipal council consists of thirty-nine members elected bymixed-member proportional representation. Twenty councillors are elected byfirst-past-the-post voting in twentywards, while the remaining nineteen are chosen fromparty lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received.
In theelection of 1 November 2021 theAfrican National Congress (ANC) lost its majority, winning a plurality of eighteen seats on the council.
| Party | Ward | List | Total seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| African National Congress | 21,619 | 44.95 | 12 | 21,884 | 46.34 | 6 | 18 | |
| Inkatha Freedom Party | 16,667 | 34.65 | 8 | 17,849 | 37.79 | 7 | 15 | |
| Economic Freedom Fighters | 2,078 | 4.32 | 0 | 2,167 | 4.59 | 2 | 2 | |
| Independent candidates | 2,950 | 6.13 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Abahlali Base Mkhanyakude Movement | 1,042 | 2.17 | 0 | 1,113 | 2.36 | 1 | 1 | |
| Democratic Alliance | 888 | 1.85 | 0 | 951 | 2.01 | 1 | 1 | |
| National Freedom Party | 724 | 1.51 | 0 | 728 | 1.54 | 1 | 1 | |
| African Christian Democratic Party | 641 | 1.33 | 0 | 699 | 1.48 | 1 | 1 | |
| Abantu Batho Congress | 590 | 1.23 | 0 | 616 | 1.30 | 0 | 0 | |
| African Independent Congress | 535 | 1.11 | 0 | 654 | 1.38 | 0 | 0 | |
| Justice and Employment Party | 121 | 0.25 | 0 | 208 | 0.44 | 0 | 0 | |
| Black First Land First | 82 | 0.17 | 0 | 94 | 0.20 | 0 | 0 | |
| United Christian Democratic Party | 73 | 0.15 | 0 | 53 | 0.11 | 0 | 0 | |
| African Transformation Movement | 51 | 0.11 | 0 | 69 | 0.15 | 0 | 0 | |
| People's Freedom Party | 20 | 0.04 | 0 | 72 | 0.15 | 0 | 0 | |
| African People's Movement | 12 | 0.02 | 0 | 45 | 0.10 | 0 | 0 | |
| Umnotho Democratic Front | 5 | 0.01 | 0 | 26 | 0.06 | 0 | 0 | |
| Zulu Royal Property | 1 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 48,099 | 100.00 | 20 | 47,228 | 100.00 | 19 | 39 | |
| Valid votes | 48,099 | 97.54 | 47,228 | 97.06 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,212 | 2.46 | 1,429 | 2.94 | ||||
| Total votes | 49,311 | 100.00 | 48,657 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 85,431 | 57.72 | 85,431 | 56.95 | ||||
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