# Msinga Local Municipality

Msinga Municipality (Zulu: UMasipala wase Msinga) is a local municipality within the Umzinyathi District Municipality, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Msinga is an isiZulu word meaning "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". The municipality 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 the municipality, contrary to most other areas in the country. This can be attributed to the fact that the urban areas of municipality are very small and are unable to provide the normal range of goods and services provided in urban areas.
It 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:
| Place | Code | Area (km$^2$) | Population |
| Baso | 52201 | 85.54 | 9,655 |
| Bomvu | 52202 | 371.75 | 30,307 |
| Chunu | 52203 | 367.35 | 41,560 |
| Gwazumlungu Nlovu | 52204 | 9.63 | 753 |
| Khanyile | 52205 | 9.75 | 108 |
| Majozi | 52206 | 10.80 | 1,099 |
| Mawuzini | 52207 | 5.49 | 457 |
| Mthembu | 52209 | 151.80 | 19,160 |
| Mtungwa | 52210 | 4.02 | 1,756 |
| Ngome | 52211 | 3.90 | 1,772 |
| Ngubane | 52212 | 93.45 | 5,849 |
| Othame | 52213 | 8.93 | 1,135 |
| Pomeroy | 52214 | 7.01 | 998 |
| Qamu | 52215 | 628.90 | 50,867 |
| Qizi Mtshshali | 52216 | 6.07 | 694 |
| Remainder of the municipality | 52208 | 737.60 | 1,850 |

## Politics

The municipal council consists of forty-one members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Twenty-one councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in twenty-one 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 Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) won a majority of twenty-seven seats on the council.
The following table shows the results of the election.
| Party | Party | Ward | Ward | Ward | List | List | List | Total seats |
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Total seats |
| | Inkatha Freedom Party | 32,104 | 65.91 | 20 | 32,546 | 68.14 | 7 | 27 |
| | African National Congress | 12,431 | 25.52 | 0 | 12,500 | 26.17 | 11 | 11 |
| | Abantu Batho Congress | 1,008 | 2.07 | 0 | 1,477 | 3.09 | 1 | 1 |
| | Independent candidates | 1,880 | 3.86 | 1 | | | | 1 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 436 | 0.90 | 0 | 463 | 0.97 | 1 | 1 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 276 | 0.57 | 0 | 240 | 0.50 | 0 | 0 |
| | National Freedom Party | 208 | 0.43 | 0 | 120 | 0.25 | 0 | 0 |
| | Justice and Employment Party | 128 | 0.26 | 0 | 142 | 0.30 | 0 | 0 |
| | United Democratic Movement | 92 | 0.19 | 0 | 90 | 0.19 | 0 | 0 |
| | African Mantungwa Community | 62 | 0.13 | 0 | 53 | 0.11 | 0 | 0 |
| | National People's Front | 49 | 0.10 | 0 | 61 | 0.13 | 0 | 0 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 33 | 0.07 | 0 | 49 | 0.10 | 0 | 0 |
| | African Transformation Movement | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 22 | 0.05 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 48,707 | 100.00 | 21 | 47,763 | 100.00 | 20 | 41 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 48,707 | 98.34 | | 47,763 | 97.56 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 820 | 1.66 | | 1,193 | 2.44 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 49,527 | 100.00 | | 48,956 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 86,107 | 57.52 | | 86,107 | 56.85 | | |