Letsemeng Local Municipality
Local municipality in Free State, South Africa
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Letsemeng Municipality (Afrikaans: Letsemeng Munisipaliteit; Sotho: Masepala wa Letsemeng; Xhosa: uMasipala wase Letsemeng) is a local municipality within the Xhariep District Municipality, in the Free State province of South Africa.
Letsemeng | |
|---|---|
|
Seal | |
 Location in the Free State | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Free State |
| District | Xhariep |
| Seat | Koffiefontein |
| Wards | 6 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal council |
| • Mayor | Thandiwe Reachable |
| Area | |
• Total | 9,829 km2 (3,795 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | |
• Total | 43,101 |
| • Density | 4.385/km2 (11.36/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2022) | |
| • Black African | 66.7% |
| • Coloured | 23.2% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.6% |
| • White | 9.1% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Afrikaans | 63.7% |
| • Sotho | 12.4% |
| • Xhosa | 10.8% |
| • Tswana | 9.7% |
| • Other | 3.4% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Municipal code | FS161 |
Main places
The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:[4]
| Place | Code | Area (km2) | Population | Most spoken language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boitumelong | 40101 | 0.24 | 330 | Afrikaans |
| Bolokanang | 40102 | 0.92 | 6,343 | Tswana |
| Diamant Hoogte | 40103 | 0.11 | 1,208 | Afrikaans |
| Ditlhake | 40104 | 2.21 | 8,727 | Afrikaans |
| Jacobsdal | 40105 | 2.25 | 1,709 | Afrikaans |
| Koffiefontein | 40106 | 33.79 | 1,443 | Afrikaans |
| Luckhoff | 40108 | 30.38 | 2,388 | Afrikaans |
| Oppermans | 40109 | 0.26 | 1,167 | Afrikaans |
| Petrusburg | 40110 | 1.99 | 588 | Afrikaans |
| Ratanang | 40111 | 0.62 | 4,852 | Afrikaans |
| Relebohile | 40112 | 0.15 | 671 | Afrikaans |
| Remainder of the municipality | 40107 | 10,155.00 | 13,533 | Afrikaans |
Politics
The municipal council consists of thirteen members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Seven councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in seven wards, while the remaining six are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received. In the 2021 South African municipal elections the African National Congress (ANC) won a majority of nine seats on the council.
The following table shows the results of the 2021 election.[5]
| Party | Ward | List | Total seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||
| African National Congress | 6,188 | 64.02 | 7 | 6,220 | 65.04 | 2 | 9 | |
| Democratic Alliance | 1,531 | 15.84 | 0 | 1,562 | 16.33 | 2 | 2 | |
| Economic Freedom Fighters | 1,009 | 10.44 | 0 | 1,064 | 11.13 | 1 | 1 | |
| Freedom Front Plus | 484 | 5.01 | 0 | 494 | 5.17 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent candidates | 286 | 2.96 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2 other parties | 167 | 1.73 | 0 | 223 | 2.33 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 9,665 | 100.00 | 7 | 9,563 | 100.00 | 6 | 13 | |
| Valid votes | 9,665 | 97.69 | 9,563 | 96.72 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 229 | 2.31 | 324 | 3.28 | ||||
| Total votes | 9,894 | 100.00 | 9,887 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 19,472 | 50.81 | 19,472 | 50.78 | ||||
Corruption
In August 2025, the ANC Provincial Executive Committee resolved to fire all its leaders in the underperforming local municipalities to address governance failures, corruption, and service delivery challenges ahead of the 2026 local elections. Letsemeng was one of those municipalities affected after years of wasteful expenditures and irregular expenses.[6]