# Govan Mbeki Local Municipality

Govan Mbeki Municipality (Zulu: UMasipala iGovan Mbeki; Afrikaans: Govan Mbeki Munisipaliteit), formerly the Highveld East Local Municipality, is a local municipality within the Gert Sibande District Municipality, in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Secunda is the seat of the municipality. It was named after Govan Mbeki, ANC activist.

## Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:
| Place | Code | Area (km$^2$) | Population | Most spoken language |
| Bethal | 80701 | 101.50 | 8,512 | Afrikaans |
| Brendan Village | 80702 | 0.66 | 277 | Afrikaans |
| Charl Cilliers | 80703 | 1.58 | 210 | Zulu |
| Eendrag | 80704 | 1.85 | 293 | Afrikaans |
| Embalenhle | 80705 | 13.63 | 91,751 | Zulu |
| eMzinoni | 80706 | 5.19 | 31,012 | Zulu |
| Evander | 80707 | 40.15 | 8,212 | Afrikaans |
| Highveld Ridge Mines | 80709 | 71.84 | 325 | Zulu |
| Kinross | 80710 | 3.99 | 4,906 | English |
| Leandra | 80711 | 1.59 | 9 | Zulu |
| Lebogang | 80712 | 3.88 | 19,396 | Zulu |
| Leslie | 80713 | 2.08 | 761 | Afrikaans |
| Leslie Gold Mines | 80714 | 0.19 | 0 | - |
| Mandela Section | 80715 | 0.23 | 1,083 | Xhosa |
| Milan Park | 80716 | 1.74 | 4,760 | Zulu |
| Secunda | 80717 | 150.71 | 26,125 | Afrikaans |
| Sorento Park | 80718 | 0.95 | 12 | Afrikaans/Zulu |
| Trichardt | 80719 | 1.53 | 1,973 | Afrikaans |
| Remainder of the municipality | 80708 | 2,555.68 | 22,132 | Zulu |

## Politics

The municipal council consists of sixty-three members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Thirty-two councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in thirty-two wards, while the remaining thirty-one 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) lost its majority, but remained the largest party, winning twenty-six seats. 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 | 22,287 | 40.31 | 24 | 23,652 | 41.83 | 2 | 26 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 14,707 | 26.60 | 7 | 15,007 | 26.54 | 10 | 17 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 10,836 | 19.60 | 0 | 11,397 | 20.15 | 13 | 13 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 2,538 | 4.59 | 0 | 2,536 | 4.48 | 3 | 3 |
| | Azania Resident Party | 1,154 | 2.09 | 1 | 1,174 | 2.08 | 1 | 2 |
| | African Transformation Movement | 748 | 1.35 | 0 | 715 | 1.26 | 1 | 1 |
| | Independent candidates | 1,450 | 2.62 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | Inkatha Freedom Party | 433 | 0.78 | 0 | 706 | 1.25 | 1 | 1 |
| | 7 other parties | 1,135 | 2.05 | 0 | 1,360 | 2.41 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 55,288 | 100.00 | 32 | 56,547 | 100.00 | 31 | 63 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 55,288 | 98.21 | | 56,547 | 98.37 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 1,010 | 1.79 | | 936 | 1.63 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 56,298 | 100.00 | | 57,483 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 141,058 | 39.91 | | 141,058 | 40.75 | | |

## Corruption

After allegations of endemic corruption a forensic investigation was launched by the Department of Cooperative Governance (DCoG). The Section 106 forensic investigation report released in 2020 revealed extensive political interference in its administration. The report revealed non-implementation of council resolutions, abuse of municipal property and assets, advertisement of tenders without following legislation and awarding of bursaries without following procedures. Senior positions were occupied by politically affiliated persons who lacked the minimum required qualifications or even a matric certificate. In addition several companies that got preferential treatment had senior politicians on their payroll. The senior politician and executive mayor, Ms Thandi Ngxonono, was implicated in the report and took special leave.
In September 2024 the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, said that his office would investigate funds that went missing in 2017 that had been meant to renovate a theatre in Secunda.