Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality (Northern Sotho: Mmasepala wa Lepelle-Nkumpi) is a local municipality within the Capricorn District Municipality, in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The seat is Lebowakgomo.
Lepelle-Nkumpi | |
|---|---|
 Seal | |
.svg) Location in Limpopo | |
| Coordinates: 24°15′S 29°40′E / 24.250°S 29.667°E | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Limpopo |
| District | Capricorn |
| Seat | Lebowakgomo |
| Wards | 29 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal council |
| • Mayor | Meriam Molala |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3,463 km2 (1,337 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[2] | |
| • Total | 230,350 |
| • Density | 67/km2 (170/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 99.6% |
| • Coloured | 0.1% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.1% |
| • White | 0.1% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Northern Sotho | 86.9% |
| • Southern Ndebele | 4.6% |
| • Tsonga | 3.8% |
| • Other | 4.7% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Municipal code | LIM355 |
Main places
The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:[3]
| Place | Code | Area (km2) | Population | Most spoken language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bakgaga Ba Mphahlele | 91301 | 591.16 | 71,646 | Northern Sotho |
| Batau Ba Seloane | 91302 | 96.24 | 6,457 | Northern Sotho |
| Ditlou Ntshong | 91303 | 85.16 | 5,334 | Northern Sotho |
| Lebowakgomo | 91304 | 183.46 | 26,190 | Northern Sotho |
| Mafefe | 91306 | 364.67 | 11,312 | Northern Soth |
| Mathabatha | 91307 | 0.34 | 444 | Northern Sotho |
| Mokerong | 91308 | 0.79 | 1,573 | Northern Sotho |
| Ndlovu | 91309 | 1.67 | 1,878 | Southern Ndebele |
| Thabamoopo | 91310 | 239.51 | 6,438 | Northern Sotho |
| Zebediela Part 1 | 91311 | 502.15 | 95,107 | Northern Sotho |
| Zebediela Part 2 | 91312 | 1.41 | 179 | Northern Sotho |
| Remainder of the municipality | 91305 | 1,388.22 | 1,402 | Northern Sotho |
Politics
The municipal council consists of sixty members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Thirty councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in thirty wards, while the remaining thirty 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 forty seats on the council.The following table shows the results of the election.[4]
| Party | Ward | List | Total seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| African National Congress | 28,292 | 61.41 | 30 | 29,871 | 65.95 | 10 | 40 | |
| Economic Freedom Fighters | 8,025 | 17.42 | 0 | 8,781 | 19.39 | 12 | 12 | |
| Defenders of the People | 2,789 | 6.05 | 0 | 2,903 | 6.41 | 4 | 4 | |
| Independent candidates | 3,931 | 8.53 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Democratic Alliance | 1,284 | 2.79 | 0 | 1,387 | 3.06 | 2 | 2 | |
| Magoshi Swaranang Movement | 399 | 0.87 | 0 | 476 | 1.05 | 1 | 1 | |
| Lebowakgomo Civic Organization | 264 | 0.57 | 0 | 436 | 0.96 | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 other parties | 1,090 | 2.37 | 0 | 1,442 | 3.18 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 46,074 | 100.00 | 30 | 45,296 | 100.00 | 30 | 60 | |
| Valid votes | 46,074 | 98.02 | 45,296 | 96.90 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 930 | 1.98 | 1,447 | 3.10 | ||||
| Total votes | 47,004 | 100.00 | 46,743 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 108,738 | 43.23 | 108,738 | 42.99 | ||||
Corruption
In late 2023, Thabo Ben Mothogoane, the municipality's former municipal manager, and Rosina Mangaka Ngoveni, the former chief financial officer, were arrested in connection with the fraud at VBS Bank[5]