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 »

---

Mantsopa

Mantsopa Local Municipality is situated in the Eastern Free State and covers an area of 345 square kilometres. The five towns situated in Mantsopa are Ladybrand, Hob House, Tweespruit, Thaba-Phatswa and Excelsior.  Mantsopa Local Municipality was established on 5 December 2000 and is comprised of the previous areas of jurisdiction of Tweespruit Transitional Local Council (TLC), Ladybrand TLC, Hobhouse TLC, Excelsior TLC, ThabaPatchoa TLC and Maluti Transitional Rural Council. It forms part of the Eastern Free State and falls within the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipal area. It borders the Kingdom of Lesotho in the East, Mangaung Local Municipality to the west, Naledi Local Municipality to the south and Masilonyana and Setsoto to the north. The area is accessible via the N8 and R26 roads which traverse the area. A railway line that runs along these routes services the area.

read more »

---

uMshwathi

uMshwathi Municipality is situated within uMgungundlovu District Municipality immediately adjacent to Pietermaritzburg. uMshwathi comprises of four major urban centres (New Hanover, Wartburg, Dalton and Cool Air) as well as the rural residential settlements of Swayimane, Mpolweni, Thokozani and Ozwathini. uMshwathi covers an area of about 1 811 km². Economic development opportunities at uMshwathi include the rehabilitation and development of the towns, middle and high-income housing projects as well as development of a road corridor linking the N2 and N3 by traversing the municipality.The importance of agriculture in uMshwathi cannot be overemphasized. Sugar cane is the predominant agricultural pursuit. Manufacturing activities are mainly related to agricultural processing activities, notably sugar and timber processing activities.read more »

---

Impendle

Impendle  local Municipality is located on the south western boundary of the uMgungundlovu District, and shares a boundary with the Sisonke District to the south and the KwaSani Municipality, which includes towns such as Underberg  and Himeville. To the north is the uMngeni which is closely tied to Impendle in terms of agriculture and potential tourism (Midlands Meander), and to east the Msunduzi Municipality which is the capital of the province and the economic hub of the District. To the west is District Management areas of the Drakensberg that fall under the Transfrontier Development Initiative related to the World Heritage Site. (uMgnugndlovu District Municipality IDP 2012/13).

read more »

---

Richmond

Richmond Municipality is situated south of Msunduzi, west of Mkhambathini and the Sisonke District in the south west. Richmond enjoys a competitive advantage in the field of agriculture that contributes to more than 50% of the gross geographic product and employment in the area. Historically, Richmond was one of the main destinations of the Bhambatha Rebellion and the Byrne Settlers. For tourists the local museum, the old court building and the prison are great attractions, while the Umkomaas River is a popular venue for white river rafting (uMgungundlovu District Municipality IDP 2012/13).read more »

---