Nquthu Local Municipality


Nquthu Local Municipality is an administrative area in the Umzinyathi District of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Nquthu is an isiZulu name meaning "the back of the head".
Isandlwana, the site of the historic Anglo-Zulu war battle which took place on 22 January 1879, is a well known tourist destination worldwide.

Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:
PlaceCodeArea Population
Buthanani88.209,050
Emandleni250.768,877
Godide46.002,191
Hlatshwayo49.505,135
Khiphinkunzi168.7126,233
Mangidini39.482,963
Mbokodwebomvu81.096,083
Molefe547.5561,029
Nondweni7.617,173
Nquthu40.698,113
Vulindlela94.344,335
Zondi40.033,834

Politics

The municipal council consists of thirty-three members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Seventeen councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in seventeen wards, while the remaining sixteen 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 3 August 2016 no party obtained a majority. The Inkatha Freedom Party formed a government with the support of the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters.
The following table shows the results of the election.
As of Feburury 2017, the Nquthu Local Municipality had failed, since August 2016 Local Government elections, to form a council and appoint a mayor. The KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube dissolved the currently elected members positions on 9 February 2017, effective from 23 February with elections to be held 25 May 2017. A coalition of Inkatha Freedom Party, Democratic Alliance and Economic Freedom Fighters held the majority control by one seat over the ANC's coalition of seventeen seats. The DA and IFP blamed the ANC for the lack of progress. The DA would welcome the MEC's decision but the IFP was not happy about it.
In the special election held on 25 May 2017, the IFP won a majority of 58% of the vote and 19 seats on the council. The following table shows the results of the election.