# Mafube Local Municipality

Mafube Municipality (Sotho: Masepala wa Mafube; Zulu: UMasipala wase Mafube) is a local municipality within the Fezile Dabi District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa.
Mafube is a Sesotho word meaning "dawning of the new day".

## Main places

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:
| Place | Code | Area (km$^2$) | Population | Most spoken language |
| Cornelia | 42001 | 1.95 | 1,502 | Sotho |
| Frankfort | 42002 | 32.64 | 1,900 | Zulu |
| Mafahlaneng | 42003 | 145.68 | 5,367 | Sotho |
| Namahadi | 42005 | 4.28 | 19,413 | Sotho |
| Ntshwanatsatsi | 42006 | 0.36 | 1,867 | Sotho |
| Qalabotjha | 42007 | 1.95 | 17,244 | Sotho |
| Villiers | 42008 | 24.27 | 984 | Zulu |
| Remainder of the municipality | 42004 | 4,371.52 | 9,363 | Sotho |

## Politics

The municipal council consists of seventeen members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Nine councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in nine wards, while the remaining eight 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 reduced majority of ten 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 | 7,315 | 55.69 | 9 | 7,590 | 58.28 | 1 | 10 |
| | Economic Freedom Fighters | 1,708 | 13.00 | 0 | 2,036 | 15.63 | 3 | 3 |
| | Freedom Front Plus | 1,216 | 9.26 | 0 | 1,242 | 9.54 | 2 | 2 |
| | Democratic Alliance | 1,026 | 7.81 | 0 | 1,195 | 9.18 | 2 | 2 |
| | Independent candidates | 1,446 | 11.01 | 0 | | | | 0 |
| | 3 other parties | 424 | 3.23 | 0 | 960 | 7.37 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 13,135 | 100.00 | 9 | 13,023 | 100.00 | 8 | 17 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 13,135 | 98.40 | | 13,023 | 98.25 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 213 | 1.60 | | 232 | 1.75 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 13,348 | 100.00 | | 13,255 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 29,510 | 45.23 | | 29,510 | 44.92 | | |

## Mismanagement

In 2015 the municipal manager, Nkabi Hlubi, allegedly awarded tenders to the value of R21 million to Pit Dog Trading. The latter company allegedly manipulated its tender grading and provided Hlubi with kickbacks of R1 million each time a municipal payment was made. Hlubi appeared in the Bloemfontein magistrate's court in 2021 on charges of fraud and corruption.
As of January 2024, the municipality is under administration, one of 32 in the country, and three in the Free State where the provincial executive has intervened due to maladministration
In September 2024, the Municipal Workers Retirement Fund took the municipality to court after the municipality had deducted close to R38 million from workers for pension fund contributions, but never paid this over to the pension fund. The court ordered the municipality to pay the outstanding pension fund money. In January 2025 the Bloemfontein High Court found Mafube mayor Tlhoare Motsoeneng and the CFO personally responsible for the pension fund money that has been missing from the municipal workers. They were both ordered to pay more than 14.6 million within 60 days.
In January 2025, the municipality was listed as one of the top ten municipalities in arrears on their pension contributions.