Nketoana

The Nketoana Municipality is situated within the Thabo Mafutsanyana District Municpality in the Eastern Free State. It comprises of Reitz, Petsana, PetrusSteyn, Mamafubedu, Lindley, Ntha, Arlington and Leretswana.

The municipality is 54km from Bethlehem, 240km from Johannesburg and 60 km from the N3 road. The main economic activities in the area are agriculture and retail businesses.

Nketoana Local Municipality is named after the Leibenbergsvlei River, which is Nketoana in Sesotho. The highest population density is found in the Reitz/Petsana area. The municipality accommodates approximately 60�324 people and covers an area of 5�611km2. In terms of enumeration area (EA) types, 74% of the population lives in formal residences.

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Maluti a Phofung

Maluti-A-Phofung local municipality is situated in the Free State. Maluti-A-Phofung is a local municipality and was established on 5 December 2001, and comprises of four former TLC local authorities, which are Qwaqwa Rural, Phuthaditjhaba, Harrismith and Kestell. The municipality is comprised of 35 wards and covers approximately 4�421 km2 in extent. Phuthaditjhaba is the urban centre of Qwaqwa and serves as the administrative head office of Maluti-A-Phofung municipality. Surrounding Phuthaditjhaba are the rural villages of Qwaqwa, established on tribal land administered by the Department of Land Affairs. Harrismith is a service center for the surrounding rural areas and a trading belt serving the national road, N3, which links the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. Harrismith is surrounded by Tshiame located 12 km to the west and Intabazwe, which is located 1,5 km to the north. The town is an economic hub for people living in Tshiame, Intabazwe and Qwaqwa. Kestell is a service center for the surrounding agricultural oriented rural area, with Tlholong as the township. Kestell is situated along the N5 road that links Harrismith with Bethlehem. The rural areas of Maluti-A-Phofung comprise commercial farms and major nature conservation centres such as Qwaqwa National Park, Platberg, Sterkfontein Dam and the Maluti Mountain Range. The area is not only a tourist attraction destination, but also makes a big contribution in generating gross agricultural income for the whole of the province and is also highly regarded for its beef production.read more »

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Phumelela

The Phumelela Local Municipality forms part of the Thabo Mofutsanyane District. The local municipality area measures 8�183 km2 in extend and comprises of the following towns:Vrede, Warden and Memel, as well as a part of the former Riemland and Drakensberg TRCs. The terrain indicates that the most eastern part of Phumelela, including Memel and a stretch of ground towards the north-west, consists of low mountains. The Warden and Vrede areas are strongly undulating, irregular land. The whole Phumelela local municipality grounds fall in the Vaal River catchment�s drainage region.

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Emnambithi/Ladysmith

Emnambithi-Ladysmith Local Municipality forms part of the Uthukela District Municipality, with Ladysmith, Ezakheni, Steadville and Colenso/Nkanyezi as main urban areas. Ladysmith is the primary urban area, located along the N11 national route, 20 kilometres off the N3 national route. The priority development issues for Emnambithi-Ladysmith Local Municipality are physical infrastructure and services; social development and services; economic development; land reform, etc. Urban areas have far more services than rural ones but a much smaller population, indicating a clear imbalance in service provision. The Driefontein Complex has been identified as an area for priority spending. It has the highest population concentration but the lowest service standards.

(Source: http://www.ladysmith.co.za)

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Imbabazane

Imbabazane Local Municipality is located at the foothills of the Central Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Park (World Heritage Site), and is situated between Okhahlamba, Umtshezi and Mooi-Mpofana Municipalities. The majority of the population of Imbabazane Municipality resides in rural villages scattered throughout the municipal area, particularly in traditional authority areas.

Estcourt is the closest urban centre to Imbabazane, and serves as a regional shopping and service centre offering specialist services including medical, education and manufacturing.

Many of the government departments serving Imbabazane have regional offices located in Estcourt. Ladysmith is the main regional shopping and services centre and boasts a healthy industrial centre that continues to expand. Estcourt and Ladysmith are the main employment centres for Imbabazane.

Imbabazane does not have a well-defined settlement pattern, which along with poor municipal capacity has inhibited service delivery.

(Source: www.localgovernment.co.za)

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