# Lesedi Local Municipality

Lesedi Municipality (Zulu: UMasipala wase Lesedi; Sotho: Masepala wa Lesedi; Afrikaans: Lesedi Munisipaliteit) is a local municipality within the Sedibeng District Municipality, in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Heidelberg is the seat of the municipality. During the first war of independence, Heidelberg served as capital of the South African Republic, from 1880 to 1883.
Lesedi is a Sesotho word meaning "light". The name was decided upon because the municipality represents the light of the area.

## Politics

The municipal council consists of twenty-six members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Thirteen councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in thirteen wards, while the remaining thirteen 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 plurality of seats on the council.
In 2013, a proposal was made for the Lesedi Local Municipality to cease being a local municipality under the Sedibeng District Municipality and to be merged into the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality after the 2016 municipal elections. The Democratic Alliance opposed the proposal and challenged it. As a result, the planned absorption of the Lesedi municipality into Ekurhuleni after the 2016 municipal elections was blocked by the High Court of South Africa in 2015.
The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.
Lesedi local election, 1 November 2021 :
| Party | Party | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | Seats | Seats | Seats |
| Party | Party | Ward | List | Total | % | Ward | List | Total |
| | African National Congress | 12,140 | 12,175 | 24,315 | 50.4% | 10 | 3 | 13 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 4,893 | 4,905 | 9,798 | 20.3% | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 3,258 | 3,266 | 6,524 | 13.5% | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 2,227 | 2,129 | 4,356 | 9.0% | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| | Socialist Economic Freedom Movement | 580 | 504 | 1,084 | 2.2% | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| | Independent candidates | 18 | – | 18 | 0.0% | 0 | – | 0 |
| | 8 other parties | 971 | 1,145 | 2,116 | 4.4% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 24,087 | 24,124 | 48,211 | | 13 | 13 | 26 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 24,087 | 24,124 | 48,211 | 98.6% |
| Spoilt votes | Spoilt votes | 346 | 360 | 706 | 1.4% |
| Total votes cast | Total votes cast | 24,433 | 24,484 | 48,917 | |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 24,576 |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | 47,853 |
| Turnout percentage | Turnout percentage | 51.4% |

## Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:
| Place | Code | Area (km$^2$) | Population | Most spoken language |
| Devon | 70601 | 1.72 | 704 | Afrikaans |
| Heidelberg | 70602 | 30.16 | 11,614 | Afrikaans |
| Impumelelo | 70603 | 1.44 | 6,226 | Zulu |
| Ratanda | 70606 | 4.15 | 35,145 | Zulu |
| Remainder of the municipality | 70604 | 1,378.90 | 16,350 | Zulu |

## Management

In 2021 The Hawks arrested Mr Tshepo Malekana, development and planning manager at the municipality, for allegedly defrauding the municipality by selling vacant municipal land unlawfully and illegally between 2017 and 2019. He allegedly received cash payments totaling R100 million.