Dihlabeng Local Municipality

Dihlabeng
Local municipality
Seal
Location in the Free State
Country	South Africa
Province	Free State
District	Thabo Mofutsanyana
Seat	Bethlehem
Wards	20
Government
• Type	Municipal council
Area
• Total	4,880 km2 (1,880 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	128,704
• Density	26/km2 (68/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	87.4%
• Coloured	1.5%
• Indian/Asian	0.5%
• White	10.4%
First languages (2011)
• Sotho	77.5%
• Afrikaans	11.9%
• Zulu	4.8%
• English	2.4%
• Other	3.4%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal code	FS192

Dihlabeng Municipality (Sotho: Masepala wa Dihlabeng; Afrikaans: Dihlabeng Munisipaliteit) is a local municipality within the Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa. It was established after the first general local government elections on 5 December 2000, which heralded the final phase of local government reform as envisaged in 1994 at the onset of the process of democratisation and the end of apartheid. The seat is Bethlehem.

Geography

The Dihlabeng Local Municipality is situated within the boundaries of the Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality in the Eastern Free State. The geographical area is 7550.4910 km². The Municipality consists of the towns Bethlehem (incl. Bohlokong & Bakenpark), Clarens (incl. Kgubetswana), Fouriesburg (incl. Mashaeng), Paul Roux (incl. Fateng-Tse-Ntsho) and Rosendal (incl. Mautse).

Bethlehem is situated approximately 240 km north-east of Bloemfontein, 140 km east of Kroonstad and 90 km west of Harrismith. The town is strategically situated in the heart of the picturesque north-eastern Free State and originally developed as a service centre. Growth is stimulated by the strategic location of the area that serves as a central regional centre, situated adjacent to the N5 between Bloemfontein and Durban.

The scenic town of Clarens, often referred to the “Switzerland” of South Africa is situated ± 34 km south-east of Bethlehem. Clarens is a mere 20 km from the Golden Gate Highlands National Park.

Fouriesburg is situated on the R26 route and in close proximity of Lesotho. The town has the predominant function of a small service centre and is increasingly being supported by the tourism industry. 67% of the population resides in urban areas and 33% in surrounding rural areas.

Paul Roux is situated 35 km west of Bethlehem, on the N%. The area is mainly focused on agricultural significance.

Rosendal is located at the foot of the Witteberg mountain range on the R70.

Economy

The economic activities within the Municipality are dominated by farming (29.4%) and private business (17.2%). At ± 15% and 11% respectively, social services and trade operations are also relatively high economic activities.

Of a total farmland area of ± 3 000 ha in the Eastern Free State, 34% thereof is located within the Dihlabeng area – a factor that confirms the Agricultural comparative advantage that the sub region has in the Free State Province. The normal industrial incentives, with specific reference to affordable purchase prices, endorsed by Dihlabeng Local Council, ensure growth in the epithelium industrial area. The significance of the Lesotho Highlands Water and the Bethlehem Hydro Electricity projects are also relevant in this regard. Upmarket Residential, Business and Tourism development of a large scale is currently taking place in the region.

The agricultural sector of the Dihlabeng region is extremely prominent.

Considering small scale processing industries and intensive farming activities will result in future economic growth in the Agriculture sector. Effective productive grazing and small scale farming programmes on the existing and identified land for commonage have future growth potential. As part of Government’s Land Reform Programme, emerging farmers are trained and supported to ensure productive farming practices, which ensures economic growth in Dihlabeng..

Main places

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

Place	Code	Area (km2)	Population	Most spoken language
Bethlehem	41301	17.87	11,815	Afrikaans
Bohlokong	41302	11.28	54,882	Sotho
Clarens	41303	2.58	4,084	Sotho
Fateng-Tse-Ntsho	41305	0.93	5,231	Sotho
Fouriesburg	41306	15.33	2,107	Sotho
Masjaing	41307	1.37	8,815	Sotho
Mautse	41308	0.45	2,447	Sotho
Paul Roux	41309	13.72	484	Afrikaans
Rosendal	41310	9.12	176	Afrikaans
Vaalbank	41311	10.54	27	Sotho
Remainder of the municipality	41304	4,655.83	38,834	Sotho

Politics

Main article: Dihlabeng Local Municipality elections

The municipal council consists of forty members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Twenty councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in twenty wards, while the remaining twenty 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 twenty-three seats on the council.

The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.

Party		Ward			List			Total seats
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	African National Congress	19,420	55.28	18	19,595	56.11	5	23
	Democratic Alliance	4,962	14.12	1	6,450	18.47	6	7
	Economic Freedom Fighters	3,450	9.82	0	3,708	10.62	4	4
	All Unemployment Labour Alliance	1,731	4.93	0	1,530	4.38	2	2
	Independent candidates	2,861	8.14	1				1
	Freedom Front Plus	1,046	2.98	0	1,602	4.59	2	2
	Forum for Service Delivery	867	2.47	0	827	2.37	1	1
	7 other parties	795	2.26	0	1,213	3.47	0	0
Total		35,132	100.00	20	34,925	100.00	20	40
Valid votes		35,132	97.95		34,925	97.35
Invalid/blank votes		735	2.05		952	2.65
Total votes		35,867	100.00		35,877	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		72,298	49.61		72,298	49.62

External links

• Dihlabeng Local Municipality