Mafube Local Municipality
Mafube is a Sesotho word meaning "dawning of the new day".
Main places
The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:
| Place | Code | Area (km) | Population | Most spoken language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornelia | 42001 | 1.95 | 1,502 | Sotho |
| Frankfort | 42002 | 32.64 | 1,900 | Zulu |
| Mafahlaneng | 42003 | 145.68 | 5,367 | Sotho |
| Namahadi | 42005 | 4.28 | 19,413 | Sotho |
| Ntshwanatsatsi | 42006 | 0.36 | 1,867 | Sotho |
| Qalabotjha | 42007 | 1.95 | 17,244 | Sotho |
| Villiers | 42008 | 24.27 | 984 | Zulu |
| Remainder of the municipality | 42004 | 4,371.52 | 9,363 | Sotho |
Politics
The municipal council consists of seventeen members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Nine councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in nine wards, while the remaining eight 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 reduced majority of ten seats on the council.
The following table shows the results of the election.
| Party | Ward | List | Total seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| African National Congress | 7,315 | 55.69 | 9 | 7,590 | 58.28 | 1 | 10 | |
| Economic Freedom Fighters | 1,708 | 13.00 | 0 | 2,036 | 15.63 | 3 | 3 | |
| Freedom Front Plus | 1,216 | 9.26 | 0 | 1,242 | 9.54 | 2 | 2 | |
| Democratic Alliance | 1,026 | 7.81 | 0 | 1,195 | 9.18 | 2 | 2 | |
| Independent candidates | 1,446 | 11.01 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 3 other parties | 424 | 3.23 | 0 | 960 | 7.37 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 13,135 | 100.00 | 9 | 13,023 | 100.00 | 8 | 17 | |
| Valid votes | 13,135 | 98.40 | 13,023 | 98.25 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 213 | 1.60 | 232 | 1.75 | ||||
| Total votes | 13,348 | 100.00 | 13,255 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 29,510 | 45.23 | 29,510 | 44.92 | ||||
Mismanagement
In 2015 the municipal manager, Nkabi Hlubi, allegedly awarded tenders to the value of R21 million to Pit Dog Trading. The latter company allegedly manipulated its tender grading and provided Hlubi with kickbacks of R1 million each time a municipal payment was made. Hlubi appeared in the Bloemfontein magistrate's court in 2021 on charges of fraud and corruption.
As of January 2024, the municipality is under administration, one of 32 in the country, and three in the Free State where the provincial executive has intervened due to maladministration
In September 2024, the Municipal Workers Retirement Fund took the municipality to court after the municipality had deducted close to R38 million from workers for pension fund contributions, but never paid this over to the pension fund. The court ordered the municipality to pay the outstanding pension fund money.
References
- ^ "Contact list: Executive Mayors". Government Communication & Information System. Archived from the original on 14 July 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
- ^ "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ^ "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ^ South African Languages - Place names
- ^ Lookup Tables - Statistics South Africa
- ^ "Election Result Table for LGE2021 — Mafube". wikitable.frith.dev. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
- ^ "Man het munisipaliteit glo uit miljoene bedrieg". maroelamedia.co.za. Maroela Media. 11 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
- ^ Thorne, Seth. "South Africa's 32 most 'dysfunctional' municipalities". Businesstech. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ https://www.iol.co.za/pretoria-news/news/who-took-the-money-free-state-municipality-faces-court-battle-over-missing-r38-million-pension-funds-bb194f45-0e81-49e4-94c6-93eee76278a7
- ^ "Court orders Mafube to pay pension fund R37m it owes". 15 September 2024.
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