UMfolozi Local Municipality

uMfolozi Local Municipality (formerly Mbonambi Local Municipality) is a local municipality within the King Cetshwayo District Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It is situated around the town of KwaMbonambi, to the north of Richard's Bay, stretching from the Indian Ocean to the edge of the Hluhluwe–Imfolozi Park.

uMfolozi Mbonambi
Local municipality
Seal
Location in KwaZulu-Natal
Country	South Africa
Province	KwaZulu-Natal
District	King Cetshwayo
Seat	KwaMbonambi
Wards	15
Government [1]
• Type	Municipal council
• Mayor	Cllr Xolani Bhengu[2]
Area
• Total	1,210 km2 (470 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[3]
• Total	122,889
• Density	100/km2 (260/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [3]
• Black African	98.8%
• Coloured	0.2%
• Indian/Asian	0.2%
• White	0.8%
First languages (2011) [4]
• Zulu	92.6%
• English	2.9%
• Southern Ndebele	1.5%
• Other	3%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal code	KZN281

It was originally named Mbonambi Local Municipality, renamed to Mfolozi Local Municipality on 21 May 2009,^[5] and renamed again to uMfolozi Local Municipality on 12 February 2015.^[6] The name "Mbonambi" refers to the Mbonambi Local Tribal Authority, which covers most of the municipal area.^[7] The name Mfolozi/uMfolozi refers to the Umfolozi River which forms the northern boundary of the municipality.

The municipality was enlarged at the time of the South African municipal election, 2016 when part of the disbanded Ntambanana Local Municipality was merged into it.^[8]

Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:^[9]

Place	Code	Area (km2)	Population
Kwambonambi Forest Reserve	53702	62.25	222
KwaMbonambi	53701	2.35	1,894
Mapelane Nature Reserve	53703	52.78	54
Mbonambi	53704	86.04	22,984
Mhlana	53705	515.65	64,527
Sokhulu	53706	98.17	12,632
Remainder of the municipality	53707	391.24	4,623

Politics

Main article: uMfolozi Local Municipality elections

The municipal council consists of thirty-five members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Eighteen councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in eighteen wards, while the remaining seventeen 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 Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) won a narrow majority of eighteen seats on the council. The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.^[10]

Party		Ward			List			Total seats
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	Inkatha Freedom Party	18,884	48.83	14	19,572	50.57	4	18
	African National Congress	14,622	37.81	4	14,230	36.77	9	13
	Economic Freedom Fighters	3,223	8.33	0	3,359	8.68	3	3
	Independent candidates	632	1.63	0				0
	National Freedom Party	292	0.76	0	304	0.79	1	1
	Democratic Alliance	303	0.78	0	272	0.70	0	0
	African Independent Congress	145	0.37	0	375	0.97	0	0
	Abantu Batho Congress	170	0.44	0	161	0.42	0	0
	African People's Movement	109	0.28	0	125	0.32	0	0
	African Christian Democratic Party	100	0.26	0	93	0.24	0	0
	South Africa Vuka Movement	87	0.22	0	69	0.18	0	0
	African Mantungwa Community	53	0.14	0	53	0.14	0	0
	African Transformation Movement	23	0.06	0	53	0.14	0	0
	United Christian Democratic Party	31	0.08	0	34	0.09	0	0
Total		38,674	100.00	18	38,700	100.00	17	35
Valid votes		38,674	98.35		38,700	98.35
Invalid/blank votes		647	1.65		648	1.65
Total votes		39,321	100.00		39,348	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		74,081	53.08		74,081	53.11

By-elections from November 2021

The following by-elections were held to fill vacant ward seats in the period from the election in November 2021.

Date	Ward	Party of the previous councillor		Party of the newly elected councillor
3 August 2022[11]	52801003		Inkatha Freedom Party		Inkatha Freedom Party