# 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 is a Dutch name meaning "town (originally castle) of rest".

## Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:
| Place | Code | Area (km$^2$) | 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

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.
| Party | Party | Ward | Ward | Ward | List | List | List | Total seats |
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Total 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 | Total | 101,712 | 100.00 | 45 | 101,910 | 100.00 | 45 | 90 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 101,712 | 97.96 | | 101,910 | 97.29 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 2,118 | 2.04 | | 2,836 | 2.71 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 103,830 | 100.00 | | 104,746 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 288,347 | 36.01 | | 288,347 | 36.33 | | |