Ubuntu Local Municipality

Ubuntu Municipality (Afrikaans: Ubuntu Munisipaliteit; Xhosa: uMasipala wase Ubuntu) is a local municipality within the Pixley ka Seme District Municipality, in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. Its seat is Victoria West. Other towns in the municipality are Richmond, Loxton and two small railway villages Hutchinson and Merriman.

Ubuntu Oeboentoe, in Afrikaans orthography
Local municipality
Location in the Northern Cape
Coordinates: 31°20′S 23°00′E
Country	South Africa
Province	Northern Cape
District	Pixley ka Seme
Seat	Victoria West
Wards	6
Government [1]
• Type	Municipal council
• Mayor	Amelia Kweleta (ANC)
Area
• Total	20,389 km2 (7,872 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]
• Total	15,836
• Density	0.78/km2 (2.0/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2022) [2]
• Black African	20.5%
• Coloured	70.0%
• Indian/Asian	0.9%
• White	8.5%
First languages (2011) [3]
• Afrikaans	82.7%
• Xhosa	12.5%
• English	1.8%
• Other	3%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal code	NC071

Main places

The 2011 census divided the municipality into the following main places:^[4]

Place	Code	Area (km2)	Population	Most spoken language
Hutchinson	369007	2.0	367	Afrikaans
Loxton	369006	77.6	1,053	Afrikaans
Merriman	369001	0.5	78	Afrikaans
Richmond	369003	82.7	3,793	Afrikaans
Sabelo	369004	0.4	1,329	Xhosa
Victoria West	369005	78.9	8,254	Afrikaans
Remainder	369002	20,147.1	3,727	Afrikaans
Total		20,389.2	18,601	Afrikaans

Criticism

The Ubuntu Municipality has been criticised for illegal traffic fines and harassing motorists.^[5][6]

Politics

Main article: Ubuntu Local Municipality elections

The municipal council consists of eleven members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Six councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in six wards, while the remaining five 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 seven seats.

The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.^[7][8]

Ubuntu local election, 1 November 2021
Party		Votes				Seats
		Ward	List	Total	%	Ward	List	Total
	African National Congress	3,515	3,545	7,060	61.5%	6	1	7
	Democratic Alliance	1,584	1,756	3,340	29.1%	0	3	3
	Freedom Front Plus	218	221	439	3.8%	0	1	1
	Economic Freedom Fighters	170	184	354	3.1%	0	0	0
	Independent candidates	286	–	286	2.5%	0	–	0
Total		5,773	5,706	11,479		6	5	11
Valid votes		5,773	5,706	11,479	97.8%
Spoilt votes		94	161	255	2.2%
Total votes cast		5,867	5,867	11,734
Voter turnout		5,870
Registered voters		9,678
Turnout percentage		60.7%