Mantsopa Municipality (Sotho: Masepala wa Mantsopa) is a local municipality within the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa.
Mantsopa | |
|---|---|
 Seal | |
.svg) Location in the Free State | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Free State |
| District | Thabo Mofutsanyane |
| Seat | Ladybrand |
| Wards | 9 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal council |
| • Mayor | Mamsie Tsoene (ANC) |
| Area | |
• Total | 4,291 km2 (1,657 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[2] | |
• Total | 51,056 |
| • Density | 12/km2 (31/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 88.4% |
| • Coloured | 3.9% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.6% |
| • White | 6.6% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Sotho | 82.1% |
| • Afrikaans | 9.8% |
| • English | 4.1% |
| • Sign language | 1.4% |
| • Other | 2.6% |
| Time zone | UTC 2 (SAST) |
| Municipal code | FS196 |
Origin of the name
editBasotho prophet 'Mantsopa Makhetha[4] was a cousin to King Moshoeshoe I, who banished her from the Kingdom when he suspected that her powers were greater than his. When she arrived at Modderpoort there were no houses and, according to legend, she stayed in a cave. In 1886 a group of men called The Brotherhood of St Augustine arrived at Modderpoort, and 'Mantsopa accommodated them in her cave. The missionaries decided to stay and they turned the cave into a chapel. 'Mantsopa later joined the church and was baptised and given the name Anna. 'Mantsopa's grave continues to be visited and offerings are still placed on or near it.[5]
Main places
editThe 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:[6]
| Place | Code | Area (km2) | Population | Most spoken language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borwa | 40601 | 0.42 | 3,294 | Sotho |
| Dipeleng | 40602 | 0.15 | 822 | Sotho |
| Excelsior | 40603 | 11.37 | 485 | Afrikaans |
| Hobhouse | 40604 | 11.79 | 2,589 | Sotho |
| Ladybrand | 40605 | 43.05 | 4,214 | Afrikaans |
| Mahalatswetsa | 40606 | 1.64 | 4,881 | Sotho |
| Manyatseng | 40608 | 2.64 | 14,177 | Sotho |
| Thaba Phatswa | 40609 | 2.17 | 434 | Afrikaans |
| Thusanong | 40610 | 0.56 | 2,989 | Sotho |
| Tweespruit | 40611 | 3.04 | 1,056 | Sotho |
| Remainder of the municipality | 40607 | 4,213.08 | 20,377 | Sotho |
Politics
editThe municipal council consists of eighteen members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Nine councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in nine wards, while the remaining nine 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 eleven seats on the council.
The following table shows the results of the election.[7]
| Party | Ward | List | Total seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| African National Congress | 7,285 | 58.96 | 8 | 7,374 | 60.23 | 3 | 11 | |
| Democratic Alliance | 2,959 | 23.95 | 1 | 2,925 | 23.89 | 3 | 4 | |
| Economic Freedom Fighters | 1,225 | 9.91 | 0 | 1,241 | 10.14 | 2 | 2 | |
| Congress of the People | 360 | 2.91 | 0 | 321 | 2.62 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent candidates | 186 | 1.51 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 5 other parties | 341 | 2.76 | 0 | 383 | 3.13 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 12,356 | 100.00 | 9 | 12,244 | 100.00 | 9 | 18 | |
| Valid votes | 12,356 | 98.52 | 12,244 | 98.51 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 185 | 1.48 | 185 | 1.49 | ||||
| Total votes | 12,541 | 100.00 | 12,429 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 27,612 | 45.42 | 27,612 | 45.01 | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Contact list: Executive Mayors". Government Communication & Information System. Archived from the original on 14 July 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
- ^ a b "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ^ "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- ^ "Mantsopa Makhetha". 6 September 2019.
- ^ South African Languages: Place names
- ^ Lookup Tables - Statistics South Africa[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Election Result Table for LGE2021 — Mantsopa". wikitable.frith.dev. Retrieved 2023-10-28.