Dihlabeng

The Dihlabeng Local Municipality is situated within the boundaries of the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality in the eastern Free State.The geographical area consists of the towns Bethlehem, Clarens, Fouriesburg, Paul Roux and Rosendal. The principal economic activities within the municipality are dominated by farming (29,4%) and private businesses (17,2%). At approximately 15% and 11% respectively, social services and trade operations are also relatively high economic activities. It has arguably some of the best tourism centres and facilities in the eastern Free State.

Cities/Towns: Bethlehem, Clarens, Fouriesburg, Golden Gate Highlands National Park, Paul Roux, Rosendal

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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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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.

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