# Mbombela Local Municipality

Mbombela Municipality (Swazi: Masipaladi wase Mbombela) is a local municipality within the Ehlanzeni District Municipality, in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Mbombela is a siSwati word meaning "a lot of people in a small space".

## Merger with Umjindi

At the time of the 2016 municipal elections, Umjindi Local Municipality was disestablished and merged into the Mbombela Local Municipality. So, the town of Barberton is now part of the Mbombela Local Municipality.

## Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:
| Place | Code | Area (km$^2$) | Population | Most spoken language |
| Broedershoek | 81501 | 0.60 | 265 | Swazi |
| Gutshwa | 81502 | 179.94 | 34,388 | Swazi |
| Hazyview | 81503 | 4.69 | 1,287 | Afrikaans |
| KaBokweni | 81504 | 4.49 | 12,949 | Swazi |
| Kanyamazane | 81505 | 15.33 | 36,020 | Swazi |
| Khamagugu | 81506 | 1.57 | 1,890 | Swazi |
| Lomshiyo | 81507 | 16.72 | 815 | Swazi |
| Masoyi | 81508 | 60.88 | 54,172 | Swazi |
| Mataffin | 81509 | 30.18 | 3,723 | Swazi |
| Matsulu | 81510 | 11.64 | 37,792 | Swazi |
| Mbuyane | 81512 | 88.69 | 57,213 | Swazi |
| Mdluli | 81513 | 21.22 | 2,753 | Swazi |
| Mpakeni | 81514 | 83.71 | 24,066 | Swazi |
| Msogwaba | 81515 | 37.83 | 82,509 | Swazi |
| Nakambeni | 81516 | 0.23 | 721 | Swazi |
| Mbombela | 81517 | 46.47 | 21,540 | Afrikaans |
| Ngodini | 81518 | 0.11 | 367 | Swazi |
| Ngodwana | 81519 | 1.14 | 759 | Afrikaans |
| Nkambeni | 81520 | 120.72 | 46,746 | Swazi |
| Nsikazi Part 1 | 81521 | 42.35 | 1,411 | Swazi |
| Nsikazi Part 2 | 81525 | 1.01 | 118 | Swazi |
| Rocky Drift | 81522 | 3.18 | 150 | Afrikaans |
| Wendywood | 81523 | 0.30 | 57 | English |
| White River | 81524 | 23.15 | 8,211 | Afrikaans |
| Remainder of the municipality | 81511 | 2,529.46 | 44,904 | Swazi |

## Politics

The municipal council consists of ninety 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-five 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 fifty-nine 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 |
| | African National Congress | 82,923 | 64.50 | 41 | 84,658 | 65.92 | 18 | 59 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 18,780 | 14.61 | 0 | 18,948 | 14.76 | 14 | 14 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 17,386 | 13.52 | 4 | 17,406 | 13.55 | 8 | 12 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 4,221 | 3.28 | 0 | 4,137 | 3.22 | 3 | 3 |
| | Independent candidates | 2,596 | 2.02 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | African Christian Democratic Party | 1,101 | 0.86 | 0 | 1,141 | 0.89 | 1 | 1 |
| | African Transformation Movement | 947 | 0.74 | 0 | 1,001 | 0.78 | 1 | 1 |
| | 5 other parties | 609 | 0.47 | 0 | 1,126 | 0.88 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 128,563 | 100.00 | 45 | 128,417 | 100.00 | 45 | 90 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 128,563 | 98.73 | | 128,417 | 98.58 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 1,655 | 1.27 | | 1,844 | 1.42 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 130,218 | 100.00 | | 130,261 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 318,116 | 40.93 | | 318,116 | 40.95 | | |