Umzimkhulu Local Municipality

Umzimkhulu Municipality is a local municipality within the Harry Gwala District Municipality, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Umzimkhulu is an isiXhosa and isiZulu word meaning "big/great house". Prior to the Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa in 2005, confirmed by the Thirteenth in 2007, it was part of the Eastern Cape.
About 90.8% of the population reside in rural areas, while the remaining 9.2% are urban-based. The municipality faces severe backlogs with respect to water, sanitation and electricity provision. In addition, road infrastructure remains poor and provides only limited access to the area.

Main places

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

Place	Code	Area	Population
Bisi		0.64	57
Clydesdale		2.43	1,774
Dumakude		178.10	10,252
Fodo		237.33	17,311
Ibisi		2.56	2,442
Indawana		231.34	18,411
Jogilizwe		39.00	5,222
Jongilizwe		19.44	3,004
Ladamu		78.41	6,701
Mabandla		129.08	3,671
Malenge		91.61	4,232
Mvolozi		162.26	16,006
Nqozama		4.26	287
Rietvlei 1		40.55	2,666
Rietvlei 2		4.25	700
Rietvlei 3 Part 1		3.91	4,374
Rietvlei 3 Part 2		0.13	221
Sandile		133.94	8,735
Silahla		126.47	13,275
Singisi		1.36	813
Straalhoek Forrest Station		0.20	66
Straalhoek		0.13	135
Umzimkhulu		12.56	6,519
Zwelethu		203.23	17,240
Remainder of the municipality		732.90	30,251

The municipal council consists of forty-three members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Twenty-two councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in twenty-two wards, while the remaining twenty-one 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 won a majority of thirty-three seats on the council.
The following table shows the results of the election.