Municipalities of South Africa

Municipalities of South Africa
South Africa

This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
South Africa



Other countries · Atlas
Politics portal
view · talk · edit

Municipalities in South Africa are a division of local government that lie one level down from provincial government, forming the lowest level of democratically elected government structures in the country. The foundation for this layer of government is set out in Chapter 7 of the Constitution of South Africa. Various Acts of Parliament have further defined these municipal structures since the inception of the current constitution. There are 279 municipalities in South Africa[1].

Contents

Categories

Municipalities can belong to one of three categories: metropolitan, district and local (referred to in the constitution as categories A, B and C).

Metropolitan municipalities

Metropolitan (or category A) municipalities represent large densely urbanised regions that encompass multiple cities and so constitute a metropolis.

For example, the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality encompasses the city of Durban and surrounding towns.

The Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Area is actually covered by three municipalities: the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, and the West Rand District Municipality.

There are eight metropolitan municipalities in South Africa, with the most recently-created concurrently with the 2011 municipal election being the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality surrounding the metropolitan area of Bloemfontein and Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality around East London.

District and local municipalities

In areas which are primarily rural, the local government is divided into district municipalities and local municipalities.

District (or category C) municipalities are the main divisions of South Africa's provinces; they are subdivided into local (or category B) municipalities. Local municipalities share authority with the district municipality under which they fall.

For example, the Msunduzi Local Municipality is contained within the District Municipality of uMgungundlovu, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.

Layering

District

Metropolitan and district municipalities form the layer of government directly below provinces. Eight metropolitan municipalities and 46 district municipalities cover the entirety of South Africa.

Local

Local municipalities represent a subdivision of the district municipalities, and form the third layer of government. Metropolitan municipalities have no such official subdivisions, but in one case, the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, custom subdivisions have been established, known as administrative regions.

Electoral wards

The final layer of subdivision of electoral regions in South Africa are electoral wards. Local and metropolitan municipalities are subdivided into electoral wards.

Legislation

Apart from Chapter 7 of the South African Constitution, the South African Parliament has passed several pieces of legislation to deal specifically with local government in South Africa.

Name changes

The South African Geographical Names Council is a statutory body that deals specifically with changing names of places in South Africa, including municipalities.

Reference List

See also

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • List of municipalities in South Africa — South Africa This article is part of the series: Politics and government of South Africa …   Wikipedia

  • Districts of South Africa — South Africa This article is part of the series: Politics and government of South Africa …   Wikipedia

  • District municipality (South Africa) — South Africa This article is part of the series: Politics and government of South Africa …   Wikipedia

  • Metropolitan municipality (South Africa) — South Africa This article is part of the series: Politics and government of South Africa …   Wikipedia

  • Outline of South Africa — The Flag of South Africa …   Wikipedia

  • Local municipality (South Africa) — In South Africa, a Local municipality or Category B municipality is a type of municipality that serves as the third, and most local, tier of local government. It falls under the jurisdiction of the district municipality (also known as districts… …   Wikipedia

  • Geography of South Africa — Country geography name = South Africa continent = Africa region = Southern Africa coordinates = coord|29|00|S|24|00|E|type:country area ranking = 25th km area = 1221037 percent land = km coastline = 2798 borders = Total land borders: 4,862 km… …   Wikipedia

  • Government of South Africa — The Republic of South Africa, a constitutional democracy with a three tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating under a Westminster styled parliamentary system. South Africa s government differs greatly from those of other …   Wikipedia

  • South Africa — This article is about the modern country. For other uses, see South Africa (disambiguation). Republic of South Africa …   Wikipedia

  • South Africa — Republic of, a country in S Africa; member of the Commonwealth of Nations until 1961. 42,327,458; 472,000 sq. mi. (1,222,480 sq. km). Capitals: Pretoria and Cape Town. Formerly, Union of South Africa. * * * South Africa Introduction South Africa… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”