The uMgungundlovu District Municipality is a Category C municipality located in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.
uMgungundlovu District Municipality
| Type of municipality: | District (Category C) |
| Province: | KwaZulu-Natal |
| Municipal code: | DC22 |
| Seat: | Pietermaritzburg |
| Local municipalities: | 7 |
| Total area: | 9,602 km² (3,707 square miles) |
| Population: | 1,235,715 (in 2022) |
| Executive mayor: | Muziwokuthula Zuma |
About
The uMgungundlovu District Municipality covers an area of 9,602 km² (3,707 square miles) and its headquarters/seat is Pietermaritzburg.
The district is divided into seven local municipalities namely;
- Impendle Local Municipality
- Mkhambathini Local Municipality
- Mpofana Local Municipality
- Msunduzi Local Municipality
- Richmond Local Municipality
- uMngeni Local Municipality
- uMshwathi Local Municipality
The uMgungundlovu District Municipality is bordered by the country of Lesotho to the west, uThukela District Municipality to the north, uMzinyathi District Municipality to the northeast, iLembe District Municipality to the east, eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality to the southeast, Ugu District Municipality to the south, and Harry Gwala District Municipality to the southwest.
uMgungundlovu is home to Pietermaritzburg the capital city and legislative capital of KwaZulu-Natal, which is located 80km from South Africa’s busiest harbour in Durban and is linked to the country’s industrial hub – Gauteng by the N3 which cuts through the District.
The District enjoys a competitive advantage in the field of agriculture as a large portion of its land falls into the high/good and relatively good potential for agriculture. This, coupled with the abundance of water resources in the form of six significant rivers and five major dams, puts uMgungundlovu into the country’s top bracket for agriculture yield potential.
uMgungundlovu is a water service provider and also a water services authority that continually strives to maintain its Blue Drop and Green Drop Status.
The district is an important industrial, timber, dairy, and agricultural hub that has a modern, sophisticated infrastructure with easy access to airports, the N3 arterial, and railway stations.
The district offers distinguished commercial, education, sporting, and health facilities and is a retirement mecca for senior citizens.
There is however widespread poverty in uMgungundlovu District Municipality and it is estimated that approximately 63.4% of the population in the District is living below the poverty line. Of this 63.4%, approximately 45.6% have no source of income and about 17.8% earn less than R400 per month.
Map
Population
According to the South African National Census of 2022, the uMgungundlovu District Municipality has a population of 1,235,715 residents, compared to 1,095,865 in 2016, and 1,014,572 in 2011.
The municipality has a population growth per annum of 1.91%.
According to the 2022 Census, 24.5% of the population is under the age of 15, 68.4% is between 15 and 64, and 7.2% is over 65.
Racial makeup
According to the 2022 Census, 84.7% of the population in the uMgungundlovu District Municipality describe themselves as Black African, 6.7% as Indian/Asian, 6.3% as White, and 2.0% as Coloured.
Languages
According to the 2022 Census, 76.4% of the population speaks isiZulu as their first language, 15.3% speak English, 1.9% speak isiXhosa, 1.7% speak Sesotho, and 4.7% speak other languages.
Economy
The main economic sectors of uMgungundlovu District Municipality are; community services (25-30%), finance (15-20%), manufacturing (10-15%), agriculture, forestry and fishing (10-15%), wholesale and retail trade (10-15%), transport and storage (10%).
District council and management
| Composition of Council (No. of seats by political party) | – ANC: 10 – DA: 4 – EFF: 3 – IFP: 2 |
| Executive Mayor | Muziwokuthula Zuma |
| Deputy Executive Mayor | SA Dlamini Mabaso |
| Speaker | NMN Gabela |
| Chief Whip | SR Majozi |
| Other Council Members | – ED Dladla (MPAC Chair) – HM Lake – TC Madondo – DS Mkhize – DM Msomi – M Mthethwa – LE Pienaar – SP Zungu |
| Municipal Manager | Dr X Muthwa |
| Chief Financial Officer | Vusi Kunene (Acting) |
| Senior Management | – Ben Cele (Chief Operations Officer) – TSN Hadebe (Acting HOD: Community Services) – TA Hlatshwayo – ND Mkhize (HOD: Corporate Services) – ME Mpulo – ZP Ndlovu (HOD: Infrastructure Services) – LB Ngubane (Acting HOD: Budget and Treasury) – MJ Sithole (HOD: Economic Development and Planning) |
| Communications Officers | Brian Zuma |
Main towns
Below are the major towns in the uMgungundlovu District Municipality.
- Ashburton
- Camperdown
- Cool Air
- Dalton
- Hilton
- Howick
- Impendle
- Mooi River
- New Hanover
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richmond
- Wartburg
Contact details
Contact details of the uMgungundlovu District Municipality are listed in the table below.
| Postal address: | PO Box 3235, Pietermaritzburg, 3200 |
| Physical address: | 242 Langalibalele Street, Pietermaritzburg |
| Telephone: | 033 897 6700 |
| Fax: | 033 342 5502 |
| Email: | info@umdm.gov.za |
| Website: | www.umdm.gov.za |
| 24/7 Toll-Free helpline: | 0800 864 911 |
| Anti-corruption hotline: | 0800 701 701 |
