Umvoti Local Municipality

Umvoti Municipality (Zulu: UMasipala wase Umvoti) is a local municipality within the Umzinyathi District Municipality, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.

Umvoti
Local municipality
Seal
Location in KwaZulu-Natal
Country	South Africa
Province	KwaZulu-Natal
District	uMzinyathi
Seat	Greytown
Wards	14
Government [1]
• Type	Municipal council
• Mayor	Philani Mavundla (ABC)
Area
• Total	2,516 km2 (971 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[2]
• Total	103,093
• Density	41/km2 (110/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [2]
• Black African	94.6%
• Coloured	0.8%
• Indian/Asian	2.2%
• White	2.2%
First languages (2011) [3]
• Zulu	90.9%
• English	5.0%
• Other	4.1%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal code	KZN245

The municipality is named after the Umvoti River, which runs from the west to the east towards the Indian Ocean. The municipality is situated nearer the mouth of the river.^[4]

Greytown, a small but vibrant town, is the main provider of higher income jobs in senior management, and professional and technical services, providing 26.8% of all jobs in the Umvoti area. The manufacturing sector makes the second largest contribution to the local economy. There is limited economic activity taking place within the traditional authority areas.^[5]

Main places

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

Place	Code	Area (km2)	Population
Amakhabela	52301	352.14	13,734
Bomvu	52302	120.15	18,054
Cele Nhlangwini	52303	26.60	6,447
Enhlalakahle	52304	1.45	8,530
Greytown	52305	6.83	7,290
Hlongwa	52306	12.24	21
Kranskop	52307	1.47	834
Mgome	52308	28.54	2,195
Mthembu	52309	54.98	9,031
Ngcolosi	52310	75.63	5,006
Ntanzi	52311	6.91	214
Remainder of the municipality	52312	1,824.16	20,935

Politics

Main article: Umvoti Local Municipality elections

The municipal council consists of twenty-seven members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Fourteen councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in fourteen wards, while the remaining thirteen 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) lost its majority, obtaining a plurality of ten 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	11,847	35.97	6	11,921	36.29	4	10
	Inkatha Freedom Party	10,797	32.78	5	11,113	33.83	4	9
	Abantu Batho Congress	8,004	24.30	3	8,162	24.85	4	7
	Democratic Alliance	749	2.27	0	766	2.33	1	1
	Economic Freedom Fighters	594	1.80	0	511	1.56	0	0
	Independent candidates	511	1.55	0				0
	African Mantungwa Community	246	0.75	0	158	0.48	0	0
	National Freedom Party	113	0.34	0	137	0.42	0	0
	African Transformation Movement	75	0.23	0	82	0.25	0	0
Total		32,936	100.00	14	32,850	100.00	13	27
Valid votes		32,936	98.50		32,850	98.03
Invalid/blank votes		501	1.50		661	1.97
Total votes		33,437	100.00		33,511	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		59,501	56.20		59,501	56.32

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
31 May 2022[8]	13		African National Congress		African National Congress
3 August 2022[9]	52405005		Inkatha Freedom Party		Inkatha Freedom Party