Msinga Local Municipality


Msinga Local Municipality is an administrative area in the Umzinyathi District of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The name means a current in the sea where air movement causes ripples on top of the water surface and ends up influencing the nearby climatic conditions through its breeze.
Msinga is largely located in deep gorges of the Tugela and Buffalo Rivers, isolated from the immediate surrounding municipal areas. The population dynamics result in a growing rural area and a declining urban area in Msinga, contrary to most other areas in the country. This can be attributed to the fact that the urban areas of Msinga are very small and are unable to provide the normal range of goods and services provided in urban areas.
Msinga is a poverty stricken area with few economic resources and little economic activity. Social services and private households generate 29% of the income for the area.

Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:
PlaceCodeArea Population
Baso85.549,655
Bomvu371.7530,307
Chunu367.3541,560
Gwazumlungu Nlovu9.63753
Khanyile9.75108
Majozi10.801,099
Mawuzini5.49457
Mthembu151.8019,160
Mtungwa4.021,756
Ngome3.901,772
Ngubane93.455,849
Othame8.931,135
Pomeroy7.01998
Qamu628.9050,867
Qizi Mtshshali6.07694
Remainder of the municipality737.601,850

Politics

The municipal council consists of thirty-six members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Eighteen councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in eighteen wards, while the remaining eighteen 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 3 August 2016 the Inkatha Freedom Party won a majority of twenty-four seats on the council.
The following table shows the results of the election.