Rustenburg Local Municipality

Rustenburg Municipality (Tswana: Mmasepala wa Rustenburg; Afrikaans: Rustenburg Munisipaliteit) is a local municipality within the Bojanala Platinum District Municipality, in the North West province of South Africa. Rustenburg is situated at the foot of the Magalies mountain range. Rustenburg (meaning "town of rest" or "resting place" in Afrikaans) was proclaimed a township in 1851. The city of Rustenburg is situated some 112 km northwest from both Johannesburg and Pretoria. It is a malaria-free area. Rustenburg is the fastest growing municipality in South Africa, with the population rising from 387,096 in 2001 to 449,776 in 2007. It is the most populous municipality in the North West province.

Rustenburg Metropolitan Rustenburg Local Municipality
Local municipality
Seal
Location in the North West
Coordinates: 25°40′S 27°20′E
Country	South Africa
Province	North West
District	Bojanala Platinum
Seat	Rustenburg
Wards	45
Government [1]
• Type	Municipal council
• Mayor	Sheila Mabale-Huma (ANC)
Area
• Total	3,423 km2 (1,322 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[2]
• Total	549,575
• Density	160/km2 (420/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [2]
• Black African	88.5%
• Coloured	0.9%
• Indian/Asian	0.8%
• White	9.4%
First languages (2011) [3]
• Tswana	53.9%
• Afrikaans	9.9%
• Xhosa	9.6%
• Tsonga	5.6%
• Other	21%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Municipal code	NW373

Rustenburg is a Dutch name meaning "town (originally castle) of rest".^[4]

Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:^[5]

Place	Code	Area (km2)	Population	Most spoken language
Bafokeng	60301	1,040.98	132,277	Tswana
Bakwena Ba Magopa	60302	297.74	16,049	Tswana
Baphalane	60303	2.85	3,399	Tswana
Bapo Ba Ga Mogale	60304	29.41	8,412	Tswana
Boitekong	60305	2.15	21,547	Tswana
Hartebeesfontein	60306	5.89	23,965	Tswana
Magaliesberg Nature Reserve	60307	132.58	1,196	Tswana
Mankwe	60308	1.50	1,463	Tswana
Meriting	60309	1.88	10,711	Tswana
Monakato	60310	3.42	7,602	Tswana
Paardekraal Platinum Mine	60312	0.37	24	Xhosa
Paardekraal	60311	1.91	7,215	Tswana
Phatsima	60313	2.23	5,921	Tswana
Rooikoppies	60314	0.46	3,670	Tswana
Rustenburg Part 1	60315	183.39	67,196	Afrikaans
Rustenburg Part 3	60320	2.58	4,662	Tswana
Sunrise Park	60316	2.14	10,312	Tswana
Tlhabane	60317	5.12	31,338	Tswana
Waterval	60318	0.57	979	Afrikaans
Remainder of the municipality (Rustenburg Part 2)	60319	1,774.55	37,581	Tswana

Politics

Main article: Rustenburg Local Municipality elections

The municipal council consists of eighty-nine members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Forty-five councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in forty-five wards, while the remaining forty-four 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 no party won a majority on the council.

The following table shows the results of the election.^[6]

Party		Ward			List			Total seats
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	African National Congress	46,291	45.51	35	48,875	47.96	8	43
	Economic Freedom Fighters	17,574	17.28	1	18,896	18.54	16	17
	Democratic Alliance	14,322	14.08	7	14,016	13.75	6	13
	Tsogang Civic Movement	7,806	7.67	1	8,155	8.00	6	7
	Independent candidates	7,525	7.40	1				1
	Freedom Front Plus	3,614	3.55	0	3,514	3.45	3	3
	Arona	540	0.53	0	1,603	1.57	1	1
	African Independent Congress	408	0.40	0	1,193	1.17	1	1
	Forum for Service Delivery	425	0.42	0	1,159	1.14	1	1
	African Christian Democratic Party	814	0.80	0	757	0.74	1	1
	United Democratic Movement	546	0.54	0	615	0.60	1	1
	Botho Community Movement	470	0.46	0	433	0.42	1	1
	13 other parties	1,377	1.35	0	2,694	2.64	0	0
Total		101,712	100.00	45	101,910	100.00	45	90
Valid votes		101,712	97.96		101,910	97.29
Invalid/blank votes		2,118	2.04		2,836	2.71
Total votes		103,830	100.00		104,746	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		288,347	36.01		288,347	36.33