Gamagara Local Municipality

Gamagara Local Municipality is an administrative area in the John Taolo Gaetsewe District of the Northern Cape in South Africa.

Gamagara
Local municipality
Seal
Location in the Northern Cape
Coordinates: 27°40′S 23°00′E
Country	South Africa
Province	Northern Cape
District	John Taolo Gaetsewe
Seat	Kathu
Wards	7
Government [1]
• Type	Municipal council
• Mayor	James Molodi Rakoi
Area
• Total	2,619 km^2 (1,011 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[2]
• Total	41,617
• Density	16/km^2 (41/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [2]
• Black African	55.0%
• Coloured	28.7%
• Indian/Asian	0.6%
• White	14.0%
First languages (2011) [3]
• Afrikaans	53.9%
• Tswana	33.7%
• English	3.6%
• Sotho	1.4%
• Other	7.4%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal code	NC453

The name Gamogara is of Setswana origin. The municipality is named after a dry river which was in turn named after a man called Mogara of the Makwere clan (Batlhaping). During the early days of exploration, Mogara was the first person to settle in this part of the country. After 1887, the area became dominated by white farmers who then changed the name as they were unable to pronounce it correctly. Hence it was called Gamagara instead of Gamogara. The name is derived from a dry river that ran from Dibeng to join the Kuruman (Segonyana) river at Dikgatlong tsa ga Kganyile. Incidentally this is the route the Ba ga Motlhware followed on their way to their headquarters, Maje a Mokhothu (Langeberg).[4]

Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:[5]

Place	Code	Area (km^2)	Population
Dibeng	32401	8.58	4,023
Dingleton	32402	1.56	2,866
Ditloung	31903	0.62	3,044
Kathu	32404	8.53	8,247
Olifantshoek	31907	3.51	3,985
Remainder of the municipality	32403	2,449.38	1,048

Politics

The municipal council consists of thirteen members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Seven councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in seven wards, while the remaining six 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 3 August 2016 the African National Congress (ANC) won a majority of seven seats on the council. The following table shows the results of the election.[6][7]

Party		Votes				Seats
		Ward	List	Total	%	Ward	List	Total
	African National Congress	5,736	6,035	11,771	48.7	4	3	7
	Democratic Alliance	4,103	4,608	8,711	36.0	3	2	5
	Economic Freedom Fighters	709	724	1,433	5.9	0	1	1
	Independent	1,164	–	1,164	4.8	0	–	0
	Freedom Front Plus	273	311	584	2.4	0	0	0
	Gamagara Community Forum	116	198	314	1.3	0	0	0
	Congress of the People	65	137	202	0.8	0	0	0
Total		12,166	12,013	24,179	100.0	7	6	13
Spoilt votes		378	436	814

References

1. "Contact list: Executive Mayors". Government Communication & Information System. Archived from the original on 14 July 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
2. "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
3. "Statistics by place". Statistics South Africa. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
4. South African Languages - Place names
5. Lookup Tables - Statistics South Africa
6. "Results Summary – All Ballots: Gamagara" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
7. "Seat Calculation Detail: Gamagara" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 26 June 2017.

External links

• Official website