Ubuntu Local Municipality

Ubuntu Local Municipality is a local municipality in the Pixley ka Seme District Municipality of the Northern Cape province of South Africa.

Ubuntu
Local municipality
Location in the Northern Cape
Coordinates: 31°20′S 23°00′E
Country	South Africa
Province	Northern Cape
District	Pixley ka Seme
Seat	Victoria West
Wards	4
Government [1]
• Type	Municipal council
• Mayor	Amelia Kweleta (ANC)
Area
• Total	20,389 km^2 (7,872 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[2]
• Total	18,601
• Density	0.91/km^2 (2.4/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [2]
• Black African	21.3%
• Coloured	69.8%
• Indian/Asian	0.5%
• White	7.6%
First languages (2011) [3]
• Afrikaans	82.7%
• Xhosa	12.5%
• English	1.8%
• Other	3%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal code	NC071

Its seat is Victoria West; other towns in the municipality are Richmond, Loxton and two small railway villages Hutchinson and Merriman.

Main places

The 2011 census divided the municipality into the following main places:[4]

Place	Code	Area (km^2)	Population	Most spoken language
Hutchinson	369007	2.0	367	Afrikaans
Loxton	369006	77.6	1,053	Afrikaans
Merriman	369001	0.5	78	Afrikaans
Richmond	369003	82.7	3,793	Afrikaans
Sabelo	369004	0.4	1,329	Xhosa
Victoria West	369005	78.9	8,254	Afrikaans
Remainder	369002	20,147.1	3,727	Afrikaans
Total		20,389.2	18,601	Afrikaans

Criticism

The Ubuntu Municipality has been criticised for illegal traffic fines and harassing motorists.[5][6]

Politics

The municipal council consists of seven members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Four councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in four wards, while the remaining three 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 no party obtained a majority on the council; the Democratic Alliance (DA) formed a coalition with two independents to govern the municipality.

The following table shows the results of the 2016 election.[7][8]

Party		Votes				Seats
		Ward	List	Total	%	Ward	List	Total
	African National Congress	2,547	2,758	5,305	42.0	1	2	3
	Democratic Alliance	1,717	2,222	3,939	31.2	1	1	2
	Independent	1,736	–	1,736	13.8	2	–	2
	Congress of the People	78	825	903	7.2	0	0	0
	Economic Freedom Fighters	205	329	534	4.2	0	0	0
	Freedom Front Plus	69	134	203	1.6	0	0	0
Total		6,352	6,268	12,620	100.0	4	3	7
Spoilt votes		156	243	399

In August 2017 the ANC took over the council after the DA-Independent coalition collapsed. One of the independent councillors joined with the ANC in a vote of no confidence in the independent mayor. The two DA councillors abstained. ANC councillor Amelia Kweleta was then elected mayor.[9]

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. "Ubuntu Local Municipality". Census 2011.
5. "Money-grubbing municipalities". News24.com. 2010-01-11. Retrieved 2015-06-17.
6. Lunga Biyela (2010-09-01). "Officials harass drivers over paid fines". News24. Retrieved 2015-06-17.
7. "Results Summary – All Ballots: Ubuntu" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
8. "Seat Calculation Detail: Ubuntu" (PDF). Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
9. Norma, Wildenboer (21 August 2017). "ANC back in control in Ubuntu - DFA". Diamond Fields Advertiser. Retrieved 23 August 2017.

External links

• http://www.ubuntu.gov.za/