The Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality (; ; ; ; ) is a

metropolitan municipality A metropolitan municipality is a municipality established to serve a metropolitan area. Canada In generic terms and in practical application within Canada, a metropolitan municipality is an urban local government with partial or complete consol ...

which governs

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

and surrounding towns in the Free State province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. ''Mangaung'' is a

Sesotho Sotho (), also known as ''Sesotho'' (), Southern Sotho, or ''Sesotho sa Borwa'' is a Southern Bantu languages, Southern Bantu language spoken in Lesotho as its national language and South Africa where it is an official language. Like all Ba ...

word meaning "place of cheetahs", as it was not uncommon for the

Basotho The Sotho (), also known as the Basotho (), are a Sotho-Tswana ethnic group indigenous to Southern Africa. They primarily inhabit the regions of Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. The ancestors of the Sotho people are believed to h ...

to name warrior regiments after ferocious animals. Before the municipal elections of 18 May 2011, Mangaung was a local municipality within the Motheo District Municipality. In the municipal elections held on 1 November 2021, the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

won 51 out of 100 seats on the Metro Council, while the Democratic Alliance won 26 seats and the

Economic Freedom Fighters The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a South African communist and black nationalist political party. It was founded by expelled former African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) president Julius Malema, and his allies, on 26 July 20 ...

won 12 seats.

Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:

Politics

The municipal council consists of one hundred members elected by

mixed-member proportional representation Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a type of representation provided by some mixed electoral system, mixed electoral systems which combine local Winner-take-all system, winner-take-all elections with a Compensation (el ...

. Fifty councillors are elected by

first-past-the-post voting First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or first-preference, and the candidate with more first- ...

in fifty wards, while the remaining fifty are chosen from

party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...

s so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received. In the

2021 South African municipal elections The 2021 South African Municipal Elections were held on 1 November 2021, to elect councils for all district, metropolitan and local municipalities in each of the country's nine provinces. It was the 6th municipal election cycle held in South Af ...

of 1 November 2021 the

(ANC) won a majority of fifty-one seats on the council. The following table shows the results of the election.

Maladministration

Since April 2022, the municipality is under administration, one of 32 in the country, and three in the Free State where the provincial executive has intervened due to maladministration.

Mayors of Mangaung

The following people have served as the Executive Mayor of the municipality since its founding in 2000: * Pappi Mokoena (ANC), 2001–2005 * Eva Moiloa (acting) (ANC), 2005–2006 * Gertrude Mothupi (ANC), 2006–2008 * France Kosinyane "Playfair" Morule (ANC), 2008–2011 * Thabo Manyoni (ANC), 2011–2016 *

Olly Mlamleli Sarah Matawana "Olly" Mlamleli (born 1957) is a South African politician who served as the mayor of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality from August 2016 until August 2020. A member of the African National Congress, she served as the Member of ...

(ANC), 2016–2020 *

Lebohang Masoetsa Lebogang or Lebohang is a South African given name which is often shortened to Lebo. It may refer to: * Lebogang Mabatle (born 1992), South African football defender * Lebogang Manyama (born 1990), South African footballer * Lebogang Mashile (born ...

(acting) (ANC), 2020–16 August 2021 *

Mxolisi Siyonzana Mxolisi Siyonzana is a South African politician who served as the Executive Mayor of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality in the Free State Province from 16 August 2021 until 6 March 2023. He replaced Olly Mlamleli, who was removed in a motion ...

(ANC), 16 August 2021–6 March 2023 * Papi Mokoena (AASD), 14 April 2023 – 20 April 2023 * Gregory Nthatisi (ANC), 13 October 2023 – present (acting since 26 April 2023)

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Municipalities of the Free State (province) Metropolitan Municipalities of South Africa