The Nketoana Local Municipality is a Category B municipality located in the northern region of the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality in the Free State Province of South Africa.
Overview
| Type of municipality: | Local Municipality (Category B) |
| MIIF classification: | B3 (small towns) |
| Province: | Free State |
| District: | Thabo Mofutsanyana |
| Municipal code: | FS193 |
| Seat: | Reitz |
| Number of wards: | 9 |
| Total area: | 5,611 km² (2,166 square miles) |
| Population: | 66,488 (in 2022) |
| Executive mayor: | Connie Msibi |
About
The Nketoana Local Municipality was established in terms of Section 14 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, Act No 117 of 1998, and was published in Provincial Gazette No 109 dated 28 September 2000.
The municipality is named after the Nketoana River that passes through the municipal area. The Highlands water flows into the Caledon River, then into the As River, and continues into the Nketoana River near Reitz and Petrus Steyn. As the water flows from one river into another, the river changes names. The river passing near Reitz/Petrus Steyn is called Nketoana in Sesotho.
Nketoana Local Municipality is geographically located in the northern region of the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality.
Nketoana Local Municipality comprises 9 wards and covers an area of 5,611 km² (2,166 square miles), making it the second-largest of six municipalities in the Thabo Mofutsanyana District.
The administrative headquarters/seat of Nketoana Local Municipality is in Reitz.
The municipality comprises four urban areas, namely Arlington, Reitz, Lindley, and Petrus Steyn, as well as their surrounding rural areas.
Nketoana Local Municipality is bordered by:
- Phumelela Local Municipality to the east
- Dihlabeng Local Municipality to the south
- Setsoto Local Municipality to the southwest and west
- Moqhaka Local Municipality in the Fezile Dabi District Municipality to the west
- Ngwathe Local Municipality in the Fezile Dabi District Municipality to the west and north
- Mafube Local Municipality in the Fezile Dabi District Municipality to the north
Approximately 54.4% of the municipal area has remained as a natural habitat. Wetlands cover 1.6% of the municipal area.
There are no formal land-based protected areas or Ramsar sites in the municipality. There are two nature conservation areas, namely the Sandveld Nature Reserve and the Bloemhof Dam Nature Reserve.
Grassland is the only biome found in the municipality. Eight vegetation types are found in the municipal area, namely: Central Free State Grassland, Bloemfontein Karroid Shrubland, Eastern Free State Sandy Grassland, Eastern Free State Clay Grassland, Frankfort Highveld Grassland, Eastern Temperate Freshwater Wetlands, Vaal-Vet Sandy Grassland, and Northern Free State Shrubland.
There is one endangered ecosystem, namely Vaal-Vet Sandy Grassland, covering 0.11% of the municipality.
Ten rivers run through the municipality, including the Soutvlei, Cornelis, Renoster, Liebenbergsvlei, Rus se Spruit, Tierkloof, Sand, Vals, and Wilge.
Topography and drainage
The terrain morphology indicates that the Nketoana consists of slightly undulating plains and hills, and slightly irregular undulating plains and hills. The whole Nketoana area falls in the Vaal River drainage region. Several small dams located on farms are found in the municipal area.
Climate
Nketoana falls almost entirely in the 350-500 mm annual rainfall zone. There is only a small strip of land south of Reitz that falls in the 500-650 mm annual rainfall zone. The average daily maximum temperature ranges between 27° C during summer and 16.5° C during winter. The average daily minimum temperature ranges between 13° C during summer and -2° C during winter.
Population
According to the South African National Census of 2022, Nketoana Local Municipality has a population of 66,488 people, compared to 64,893 in 2016, and 60,3248 in 2011.
The municipality has a population growth per annum of 0.94%.
According to the 2022 Census, 26.9% of the population is under the age of 15, 65.6% is between 15 and 64, and 7.4% is over 65.
Racial makeup
According to the 2022 Census, 91.4% of the population in Dihlabeng Local Municipality describe themselves as Black African, 7.8% as White, 0.3% as Coloured, and 0.2% as Indian/Asian.
Languages
According to the 2022 Census, 75.9% of the population speaks Sesotho as their first language, 10.7% speak isiZulu, 8.7% speak Afrikaans, 1.7% speak South African Sign Language, and 3% speak other languages.
Economy
The main economic sectors of Nketoana Local Municipality are agriculture and retail business.
Municipal council and management
The Nketoana municipal council is comprised of 18 members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.
Nine councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in 9 wards, while the remaining 9 are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received.
In the 2021 South African municipal elections, the African National Congress (ANC) won a reduced majority of 10 seats on the council.
| Composition of Council (No. of seats by political party) | – ANC: 10 – DA: 3 – EFF: 2 – VF PLUS: 2 – AULA: 1 |
| Controlling party | ANC |
| Executive Mayor | Connie Msibi |
| Deputy Executive Mayor | n/a |
| Speaker | Buyisiwe Makoba |
| Chief Whip | n/a |
| Other Council Members | M Moloedi (Chairperson: Technical and Community Services) M Mphaka (Chairperson: Corporate Services) G Nhlapo (Chairperson: Finance) |
| Municipal Manager | SM Nhlapo |
| Chief Financial Officer | X Malindi |
| Senior Management | M Letshela (Director: Community Services) Mr Jomo Mahamotsa (Manager: LED) Bela Mokhali (Complaints and Customer Care Officer) P Morokole (Director: Infrastructure and Technical Services) Mr SM Nhlapo (Director: Corporate Services) |
| Communications Officers | Jabu Msibi |
Towns/places
Below are the towns/places in Nketoana Local Municipality.
- Arlington
- Lindley
- Petrus Steyn
- Reitz
Contact details
The contact details of Nketoana Local Municipality are listed in the table below.
| Postal Address: | P.O. Box 26, Reitz, 9810 |
| Physical Address: | Corner Voortrekker and Church Street, Reitz, 9810 |
| Telephone: | 058 863 2811 |
| Fax: | 058 863 2523 |
| Website: | www.nketoana.fs.gov.za |
Corruption and service delivery protests
In 2019, residents of Mamafubedu torched the house of Mayor Mamikie Mokoena, accusing her of failing to deliver water for a week to residents of Mandela Park. Allegations of tender corruption arose involving a contractor linked to the mayor and her cousin.
In June 2024, the Democratic Alliance accused the municipality of purchasing a truck for R2.3 million in May 2023, but never using it, leaving it parked at the municipal offices.
In August 2024, Mamiki Mokoena was accused of using a rented car that cost Nketoana Local Municipality R100,000 in a single month. The municipality suffered a net loss of R170 million for the period ended 30 June 2023, and its liabilities exceeded its assets by R740 million.
There was also R47.6 million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure in the 2022/23 financial year, which was due to interest and penalties on overdue accounts.
In September 2024, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in the Free State opened a criminal case against mayor Maditsoako Mamiki Mokoena related to the car hire. Nketoana Local Municipality’s municipal manager and the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) have been requested to open a criminal case against Baleri ba Aforika and investigate the alleged irregularities in the procurement processes over the supply and delivery of Personal Protective Equipment.
In August 2024, Disebo Motaung, a director at the municipality, came under fire after making a ‘kill the boer’ comment, referring to Dubul’ ibhunu on a senior managers’ WhatsApp group. The matter was reported to the South African Police Service for investigation and then referred to the South African Human Rights Commission. A fraud case was opened against the Nketoana Local Municipality speaker for ‘suspect travel claims’ in the same month.
In September 2024, the mayor faced R17 million nepotism allegations. On 8 October 2024, a top municipal employee was charged with fraud after the allegation of approving a car allowance for an unqualified employee.
On 24 October 2024, municipal manager Mokete Nhlapo suspended one of the general employees, Mangaliso Hlongwane, who accused him of fraud and corruption.
