Bushbuckridge Local Municipality is a Category B municipality located in the northeastern region of the Ehlanzeni District Municipality in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa.
Overview
| Type of municipality: | Local Municipality (Category B) |
| MIIF classification: | B4 (mostly rural) |
| Province: | Mpumalanga |
| District: | Ehlanzeni |
| Municipal code: | MP325 |
| Seat: | Bushbuckridge |
| Number of wards: | 38 |
| Total area: | 10,248 km² (3,957 square miles) |
| Population: | 750,821 (in 2022) |
| Executive mayor: | Matlanatso Lydia Moroane |
About
Bushbuckridge Local Municipality is geographically situated in the northeastern part of the Ehlanzeni District Municipality and Mpumalanga Province.
The municipality was declared a presidential nodal point by the President of the Republic of South Africa in 2001.
Bushbuckridge Local Municipality covers an area of 10,248 km² (3,957 square miles), making it the largest local municipality in the Ehlanzeni District as it accounts for over a third of its geographical area.
The administrative headquarters/seat of Bushbuckridge Local Municipality is in Bushbuckridge.
The municipality is divided into 38 wards.
Bushbuckridge Local Municipality is bordered by:
- Nkomazi and the City of Mbombela Local Municipalities to the south
- Thaba Chweu Local Municipality to the west
- Maruleng Local Municipality in the Mopani District in Limpopo Province to the west
- Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality in the Mopani District in Limpopo Province to the north
- The Republic of Mozambique to the east
The municipality includes the southern part of the famous Kruger National Park.
Commercial farming, which consists of pine and bluegum plantations, tobacco, cotton, sub-tropical fruits, and vegetables, is practiced in the municipality’s countryside.
The municipal area provides a link to Lydenburg and other centres in the Lowveld, particularly Hoedspruit, Pilgrim’s Rest, and Graskop. Bushbuckridge Local Municipality can therefore be called the gateway to the major tourist attraction points in Mpumalanga and the eastern part of the Limpopo Province.
History
The name Bushbuck Ridge was given because of the large herds of bushbuck found there in the 1880s, and the prominent WNW-ESE ridge in the southeastern part of the municipality.
The town of Bushbuckridge grew around a trading store that opened in 1884. Prior to the colonial and apartheid era, the land known today as Bushbuckridge and Hazyview was well known as Mapulaneng, it had been home to the Mapulana people for centuries before the Shangaan people and the Swazi people were allowed to settle in the area during the reign of Mapulana chief Maripe Mashile.
Mapulaneng was replaced during the white conquest and named Bushbuckridge. Mapulaneng proper stretches from the Eswatini border to Ermelo in the south, Olifants River (Lepelle) in the north, Lebombo Mountains in the east, and also includes the whole town of Hazyview, Nelspruit, Sabie, Graskop, Hoedspruit, Barberton, Lydenburg and Dullstroom in the west.
In Sepulana, Mapulaneng means “Place of the Mapulana people”. The tribe derived their name from their founding leader, Lepulana who later changed his name to Chiloane.
Mapulana are descendants of Morolong and their origin can be traced back to Kgalagadi before they settled in Thaba Chueu, in what is today eastern Lesotho and Shakwaneng (Carolina) in the 1500s.
Mapulana of Matshwe I got their name from their leader Pulane and they are of Amazizi of Nguni origin and they join the other Mapulana of Mohlomi at Thaba Chueu after the death of their leader Tsosane. Mapulana successfully defended the area from Swazi armies who they annihilated at the battle of Moholoholo in December 1864.
Population
According to the South African National Census of 2022, Bushbuckridge Local Municipality has a population of 750,821 people, compared to 546,215 in 2016, and 538,593 in 2011.
The municipality has a population growth per annum of 3.23%.
According to the 2022 Census, 32.6% of the population is under the age of 15, 61.9% is between 15 and 64, and 5.4% is over 65.
Racial makeup
According to the 2022 Census, 99.5% of the population in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality describe themselves as Black African, 0.2% as White, 0.1% as Coloured, and 0.1% as Indian/Asian.
Languages
According to the 2022 Census, 56.88% of the population speaks Xitsonga as their first language, 24.52% speak Sepedi, 7.83% speak siSwati, 5.42% speak Sesotho, and 5.35% speak other languages.
Economy
The main economic sectors of Bushbuckridge Local Municipality are agriculture and tourism.
Municipal council and management
The Bushbuckridge municipal council is comprised of 76 members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.
Thirty-eight councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in 38 wards, while the remaining 38 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 1 November 2021, the African National Congress (ANC) won a majority of fifty-three seats on the council.
| Composition of Council (No. of seats by political party) | – ANC: 53 – EFF: 8 – ISANCO: 5 – APC: 2 – BRA: 2 – DA: 2 – ATM: 1 – BLOM: 1 – DCM: 1 – SAHRA: 1 |
| Controlling party | ANC |
| Executive Mayor | Matlanatso Lydia Moroane |
| Deputy Executive Mayor | n/a |
| Speaker | Busisiwe Ruth Raganya |
| Chief Whip | Bhunu Witness Malandule (MMC: Technical Services) |
| Other Council Members | – Patricia Gubayi (MMC: EDEP) – Malamule Prince Gumede (MMC: Arts, Culture and Sports) – Mathalaza Lizah Lekhuleni (Chairperson: MPAC) – Lebelelang Malebe (Chairperson: Service Delivery) – Leonard Malomane (Economic Development, Planning and Environment) – Sylvia Mathebula (MMC: Corporate Services) – Virginia Mzimba (MMC: Social Development) – Thembinkosi William Ngomane (MMC: Finance) – Prince Moxe Sanbo (MMC: Public Safety) |
| Municipal Manager | Jasper Ngobeni |
| Chief Financial Officer | Thembisile Mary-Anne Mathabatha |
| Senior Management | – Mpho Makhavhu (Acting Director: Technical Services) – Constance Thembi Mathebula (Acting Director: Corporate Services) – Aubrey Mnisi (Director: Community Services) – Solomon Nyembe (Manager: LED) – Flomina Timba (Acting Director: Economic Development, Planning and Environment) |
| Communications Officers | Aubrey Mnisi |
Towns/places
Below are the towns/places in Bushbuckridge Local Municipality.
- Bushbuckridge
- Sabie Park
Contact details
The contact details of Bushbuckridge Local Municipality are listed in the table below.
| Postal address: | Private Bag X9308, Bushbuckridge, 1280 |
| Physical address: | R533 Graskop Road, Opposite Mapulaneng Driving Licensing Testing Centre, Bushbuckridge |
| Telephone: | 013 065 0983 |
| Fax: | 013 799 1865 |
| Email: | – info@bushbuckridge.gov.za – complaints@bushbuckridge.gov.za |
| Website: | www.bushbuckridge.gov.za |
