Dipaleseng Local Municipality is a Category B municipality located in the western region of the Gert Sibande District Municipality in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa.
Overview
| Type of municipality: | Local Municipality (Category B) |
| MIIF classification: | B3 (small towns) |
| Province: | Mpumalanga |
| District: | Gert Sibande |
| Municipal code: | MP306 |
| Seat: | Balfour |
| Number of wards: | 6 |
| Total area: | 2,645 km² (1,021 square miles) |
| Population: | 35,980 (in 2022) |
| Executive mayor: | NB Khanye |
About
Dipaleseng Local Municipality is geographically situated in the western part of the Gert Sibande District Municipality.
Dipaleseng Local Municipality is located southeast of the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, just off the R23 that leaves the N3 north of Heidelberg and heads into the province of Mpumalanga.
Dipaleseng annually explodes with varying pink and white cosmos flowers providing a breathtaking and refreshing sight to people visitors and passersby. That is how the municipality was named Dipaleseng, which is a Sotho word meaning a “place of flowers”.
Dipaleseng Local Municipality covers an area of 2,645 km² (1,021 square miles) making it the smallest local municipality in the Gert Sibande District.
The area has strong history from the Apartheid era and also boosts monumental sites relating to it.
The administrative headquarters/seat of Dipaleseng Local Municipality is in Balfour, which is also the municipality’s major town. It is located approximately 80 kilometres southeast of Johannesburg.
Balfour nestles in a region given over mostly to farms, game farms, and bushveld. It is a small coal-mining and mostly maize-farming town.
The close proximity of Dipaleseng Local Municipality to Gauteng allows for the spillover effects of development in Gauteng to be enjoyed in this municipality.
The municipality is divided into 6 wards.
Dipaleseng Local Municipality is bordered by:
- Lekwa Local Municipality to the east
- Govan Mbeki Local Municipality to the northeast
- Lesedi Local Municipality in the Sedibeng District in Gauteng Province to the north
- Midvaal Local Municipality in the Sedibeng District in Gauteng Province to the west
- Metsimaholo Local Municipality in the Fezile Dabi District in the Free State Province to the southwest
- Mafube Local Municipality in the Fezile Dabi District in the Free State Province to the south
The three major urban areas in the municipality are Balfour, Greylingstad (officially renamed to Nthorwane), and Grootvlei (officially renamed to Thaba-Kgwali).
The major roads that pass through Dipaleseng Local Municipality area are; the N3, which runs from Johannesburg to Durban and the R23 from Pretoria to Volksrust. The Johannesburg – KwaZulu-Natal railway system runs through the municipal area.
Dipaleseng is well placed to benefit from regional economic growth given its strategic location at the nexus of major tourism, farming, logistics, and industrial routes, and as the seat of government in Balfour.
Dipaleseng Local Municipality is centrally located halfway between Johannesburg and the harbours of Durban and Richards Bay, contributing to the export of manufactured goods, and distribution to the Gauteng market.
Dipaleseng is also provided with good access infrastructure to these areas, which includes road and rail networks.
The municipality is situated on the national rail route between the Durban Container Terminal and Town Deep in Gauteng, and has within its confines, major rail exchange yards, supporting railway stations and extensive goods conversion/warehousing opportunities.
The growth in mining economic activities in Johannesburg and farming in the area resulted in massive population growth of natives in the area which resulted in the birth of Siyathemba in Balfour, in which the population of Dipaleseng is highly dense.
Dipaleseng Local Municipality has a generally low-income population with most people living in abject poverty as they do not have a reliable source of income. Those who earn some income earn less than R38,200 per annum or R3,183.33 per month. Dependence on grants funding such as welfare grants and pension is also relatively high.
Population
According to the South African National Census of 2022, Dipaleseng Local Municipality has a population of 35,980 people, compared to 45,232 in 2016, and 42,390 in 2011.
The municipality has a population growth per annum of -1.59%.
According to the 2022 Census, 25.4% of the population is under the age of 15, 68.2% is between 15 and 64, and 6.4% is over 65.
Racial makeup
Over the years a new set of cultures has been born with the fusion of the different ethnic groups through work spaces, residential areas, schools, leisure and even religion.
According to the 2022 Census, 89.8% of the population in Dipaleseng Local Municipality describe themselves as Black African, 8.6% as White, 0.9% as Indian/Asian, and 0.5% as Coloured.
Languages
According to the 2022 Census, 56.1% of the population speaks isiZulu as their first language, 24.2% speak Sesotho, 9% speak Afrikaans, 3% speak English, and 7.7% speak other languages.
Economy
The main economic sectors of Dipaleseng Local Municipality are mining and agriculture.
Municipal council and management
The Dipaleseng municipal council is comprised of 12 members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.
Six councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in 6 wards, while the remaining 6 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 eight seats on the council. The following table shows the results of the election.
| Composition of Council (No. of seats by political party) | – ANC: 8 – EFF: 2 – DA: 1 – VF PLUS: 1 |
| Controlling party | ANC |
| Executive Mayor | NB Khanye |
| Deputy Executive Mayor | n/a |
| Speaker | Xolani Shozi |
| Chief Whip | Tryphinah Tshabalala |
| Other Council Members | – Ahmed-Nazir Carrim – Mojalefa Miya (MMC: Infrastructure Services, Public Safety, and Planning and Development) – Amos K Nyamande (MPAC Chairperson) |
| Municipal Manager | Lwazi Cindi (Acting) |
| Chief Financial Officer | M H Thokoane |
| Senior Management | – Inga Mlonyeni Inga Mlonyeni (Acting Director: Planning and Economic Development) – B Khanye (Director: Community Services and Public Safety) – Lucky Msibi (Director: Infrastructure Services) – Sombu Radebe (Acting Director: Corporate Services) – MH Thokoane (Director: Budget and Treasury) |
| Communications Officers | Phindile Sidu |
Towns/places
Below are the towns/places in Dipaleseng Local Municipality.
- Balfour
- Greylingstad
- Grootvlei
- Siyathemba
Contact details
The contact details of Dipaleseng Local Municipality are listed in the table below.
| Postal address: | Private Bag X1005, Balfour, 2410 |
| Physical address: | Cnr Johnny Makoena Drive & Themba Shozi Street, Balfour |
| Telephone: | 017 004 0027 |
| Fax: | 017 773 0169 |
| Website: | www.dipaleseng.gov.za |
| Firefighters: | 082 828 1794 |
| Ambulance: | 017 773 1146 |
