The Dannhauser Local Municipality is a Category B municipality located in the southern region of the Amajuba District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa.
Overview
| Type of municipality: | Local Municipality (Category B) |
| MIIF classification: | B4 (mostly rural) |
| Province: | KwaZulu-Natal |
| District: | Amajuba |
| Municipal code: | KZN254 |
| Seat: | Dannhauser |
| Number of wards: | 13 |
| Total area: | 1,707 km² (659 square miles) |
| Population: | 142,750 (in 2022) |
| Executive mayor: | B.A Radebe |
About
The Dannhauser Local Municipality is geographically located in the southern region of the Amajuba District Municipality.
The municipality is named after its principal town, Dannhauser, which was in turn named after Renier Dannhauser, a German settler, who purchased the Farm ‘Palmietfontein’ from the Natal Government in 1872. The Dannhausers are an old farming family that lived in that area.
The Dannhauser Local Municipality covers an area of 1,707 km² (659 square miles), making it the smallest of three local municipalities in the Amajuba District, as it accounts for almost a quarter of its geographical area.
The Dannhauser Local Municipality is bordered by:
- Newcastle Local Municipality to the north
- eMadlangeni Local Municipality to the northeast
- Endumeni Local Municipality in the uMzinyathi District Municipality to the east and south
- Alfred Duma Local Municipality in the uThukela District Municipality to the south
- Phumelela Local Municipality in the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality in the Free State Province to the west
The administrative headquarters/seat of the Dannhauser Local Municipality is in Dannhauser, midway between Durban and Johannesburg on the main railway line, about 8 kilometres off the National Road between the two cities.
The town of Dannhauser is surrounded by some of the largest coal-producing mines in KwaZulu-Natal.
Several rivers flow through the Dannhauser Municipality, the most important being the uMzinyathi and Ngagane Rivers, and there are scenic landscapes in the western portion of the municipality.
Dannhauser operates as a small rural service centre (providing agricultural industries and services, and commercial and service facilities). The town is therefore not a large employment generator as residents of the municipality rely on the larger urban centres of Newcastle and Dundee for employment opportunities and higher-order goods and services.
Population
According to the South African National Census of 2022, the Dannhauser Local Municipality has a population of 142,750 people, compared to 105,341 in 2016 and 102,937 in 2011.
The municipality has a population growth per annum of 3.17%.
According to the 2022 Census, 32.5% of the population is under the age of 15, 61.8% is between 15 and 64, and 5.7% is over 65.
Racial makeup
According to the 2022 Census, 97.5% of the population in the Dannhauser Local Municipality describe themselves as Black African, 1.4% as Indian/Asian, 0.8% as White, and 0.3% as Coloured.
Languages
According to the 2022 Census, 93.9% of the population speaks isiZulu as their first language, 2.1% speak English, and 4% speak other languages.
Economy
The main economic sectors of the Dannhauser Local Municipality are mining, agriculture, services, and manufacturing.
Municipal council and management
The Dannhauser municipal council is comprised of 25 members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.
Thirteen councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in 13 wards, while the remaining 12 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) lost its majority, winning a plurality of nine seats on the council.
| Composition of Council (No. of seats by political party) | – ANC: 9 – IFP: 8 – EFF: 3 – ABC: 1 – CFP: – 1 – DA: 1 – INDEPENDENT: 1 – TSSA: 1 |
| Controlling party | Hung Council |
| Executive Mayor | B.A Radebe |
| Deputy Executive Mayor | B.T.D Langa |
| Speaker | S.E Myaka |
| Chief Whip | M.S Mkhumane |
| Other Council Members | – S.E.C Kunene – R.N Made – S Nzuza |
| Municipal Manager | M.S Sithole |
| Chief Financial Officer | D.M Mohapi |
| Senior Management | – L.P Gcabashe (Acting Manager: Technical Services) – E.S Mkhize (Acting Manager: Corporate Services) – S Naidoo (Manager: Community Services) – P.J Ndlovu (Manager: IDP) |
| Communications Officers | K Hlogwane |
Towns/places
Below are the towns/places in the Dannhauser Local Municipality.
- Cloneen
- Dannhauser
- Durnacol
- Hattingspruit
Tourism
The Dannhauser Local Municipality is situated within a tourism node, it has a heritage that needs to be preserved and tapped into by the business sector. It is along the “Battle Fields” that draws both domestic and foreign tourists, and it has resort areas where tourists can come and enjoy themselves.
The municipality has wetlands and foot-trails that visitors have not experienced. The municipality has now initiated the development of its tourism sector. Its main challenge is sourcing funds to develop this sector through public and private infrastructure development.
The Dannhauser Municipality is approximately 130 kilometres from the Okhahlamba Local Municipality, which has the Maloti-Drakensberg Park, a major attraction for domestic and foreign tourists.
Below are some of the tourist attractions in the municipality, although they have not yet been exploited to develop the desired investment inflows due to the lack of marketing and capital investment in this sector of the local economy.
- Chelmsford Nature Reserve
- St Margaret’s Presbyterian church
- Tom Worthington Dam
- Bonani Wild and Wonderful
- Ntshingwayo Dam
- Wetlands
Contact details
The contact details of the Dannhauser Local Municipality are listed in the table below.
| Postal Address: | Private Bag X1011, Dannhauser, 3080 |
| Physical Address: | 8 Church Street, Dannhauser, 3080 |
| Telephone: | 034 621 2666 |
| Fax: | 034 621 3114 |
| Email: | – mayor@dannhauser.gov.za – municipalmanager@dannhauser.gov.za – communication@dannhauser.gov.za |
| Website: | www.dannhauser.gov.za |
| Ambulance: | 10177 |
| Police: | 10111 or 034 621 6500 |
| Fire Department: | 082 788 5943 |
| Water Services: | 034 392 7200 |
| Court: | 034 621 2227 |
| Dannhauser CHC: | 034 621 6100 |
| Animal Pound: | 072 225 8665 |
