Coalitions Tracker

uMfolozi

IFP

Largest Party

IFP

Coalition leader

IFP

Current Mayor

N/A

Changes of Mayors

The uMfolozi Local Municipality (previously Mbonambi Local Municipality) is a Category B municipality that forms part of the King Cetshwayo District in the KwaZulu-Natal Province.

The municipality is one of the five municipalities that make up the district. In close proximity to the City of uMhlathuze, the town of KwaMbonambi is situated alongside one of the country’s major highways, which runs from Cape Town to the Mozambican border, and carries both tourist and business traffic.

General Information

The biggest proportion of land within the uMfolozi Municipal area is owned by private organisations and Ingonyama Trust Land. This privately owned land is located in the centre of the municipal area surrounding KwaMbonambi. The second-biggest area is Mhlana Traditional Authority, followed by the Sokhulu and Mbonambi Traditional Authorities. The uMfolozi Municipality is close to the St Lucia Estuary, a World Heritage Site, and to the popular fishing spot of Mapelane, as well as the world-famous Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserves. The Owen Sithole College of Agriculture, which is located in the area, contributes to the advancement of agricultural research and training.

Composition of Council

The council has about 35 seats with 4 political parties represented in council. The IFP has the majority of seats with 18 followed by the ANC with 13. The EFF has 3 and NFP has 1 seat.

Key Positions

Name

Party

Position

Cllr. M.N Biyela

N/A

Executive Mayor

Cllr. N.N Gumede

IFP

Deputy Mayor

Cllr. M.M Mthiyane

IFP

Speaker

Historical Timeline

The powers and functions of the Mayor are set out in section 56 of the Structures Act. The Mayor is the political head of the Municipality and exercises both statutory and ceremonial functions. An executive mayor is entitled to receive reports from committees of the municipal council and to forward these reports together with a recommendation to the council when the matter cannot be disposed of by the executive mayor in terms of the executive mayor’s delegated powers.
The speaker’s role in a municipality is key to ensuring oversight, accountability, integrity, discipline of office, and the efficient running of council meetings. As such, impartiality in the exercise of his or her function is essential for the speaker. The speaker must distinguish between his or her activities as a politician and his or her functions as a speaker. It also means that the function of the speaker and the non-partisan exercise of that function must be respected by members, parties and interests represented in the council.

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