Mantsopa Local Municipality

"Mantsopa" redirects here. For the Basotho prophet, see 'Mantsopa.

Mantsopa Municipality (Sotho: Masepala wa Mantsopa) is a local municipality within the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa.

Mantsopa
Local municipality
Seal
Location in the Free State
Country	South Africa
Province	Free State
District	Thabo Mofutsanyane
Seat	Ladybrand
Wards	9
Government [1]
• Type	Municipal council
• Mayor	Mamsie Tsoene (ANC)
Area
• Total	4,291 km2 (1,657 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]
• Total	55,897
• Density	13/km2 (34/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2022) [2]
• Black African	86.4%
• Coloured	4.0%
• Indian/Asian	1.3%
• White	8.3%
First languages (2011) [3]
• Sotho	82.1%
• Afrikaans	9.8%
• English	4.1%
• Sign language	1.4%
• Other	2.6%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal code	FS196

Origin of the name

Basotho prophet 'Mantsopa Makhetha^[4] was a cousin to King Moshoeshoe I, who banished her from the Kingdom when he suspected that her powers were greater than his. When she arrived at Modderpoort there were no houses and, according to legend, she stayed in a cave. In 1886 a group of men called The Brotherhood of St Augustine arrived at Modderpoort, and 'Mantsopa accommodated them in her cave. The missionaries decided to stay and they turned the cave into a chapel. 'Mantsopa later joined the church and was baptised and given the name Anna. 'Mantsopa's grave continues to be visited and offerings are still placed on or near it.^[5]

Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:^[6]

Place	Code	Area (km2)	Population	Most spoken language
Borwa	40601	0.42	3,294	Sotho
Dipeleng	40602	0.15	822	Sotho
Excelsior	40603	11.37	485	Afrikaans
Hobhouse	40604	11.79	2,589	Sotho
Ladybrand	40605	43.05	4,214	Afrikaans
Mahalatswetsa	40606	1.64	4,881	Sotho
Manyatseng	40608	2.64	14,177	Sotho
Thaba Phatswa	40609	2.17	434	Afrikaans
Thusanong	40610	0.56	2,989	Sotho
Tweespruit	40611	3.04	1,056	Sotho
Remainder of the municipality	40607	4,213.08	20,377	Sotho

Politics

Main article: Mantsopa Local Municipality elections

The municipal council consists of eighteen members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Nine councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in nine wards, while the remaining nine 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 eleven seats on the council.

The following table shows the results of the election.^[7]

Party		Ward			List			Total seats
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	African National Congress	7,285	58.96	8	7,374	60.23	3	11
	Democratic Alliance	2,959	23.95	1	2,925	23.89	3	4
	Economic Freedom Fighters	1,225	9.91	0	1,241	10.14	2	2
	Congress of the People	360	2.91	0	321	2.62	1	1
	Independent candidates	186	1.51	0				0
	5 other parties	341	2.76	0	383	3.13	0	0
Total		12,356	100.00	9	12,244	100.00	9	18
Valid votes		12,356	98.52		12,244	98.51
Invalid/blank votes		185	1.48		185	1.49
Total votes		12,541	100.00		12,429	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		27,612	45.42		27,612	45.01