The Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) has created a new municipality in the Free State by splitting the Kopanong Local Municipality into two. This change will come into effect after the next municipal elections.
On Wednesday, the board handed over its final report to the Electoral Commission (IEC), outlining the country’s new district and municipal boundaries.
The existing Kopanong Local Municipality is divided into nine towns with extensive agricultural land in between. The sheer size of the area made it difficult for the municipality to provide services to all residents and, conversely, for residents to access municipal buildings.
As a result, the chairman of the Municipal Demarcation Board, Thabo Manyoni, declared that they should split Kopanong into two municipalities.
“Our decision will be implemented after the municipal elections. At that time, you have a municipality with five cities and another municipality with four cities. The problem there was that the distance to be covered was too long and too large for officials to provide services within a certain time within one municipality and improve rapid response.”
Manyoni confirmed that the report has been shared with relevant government departments to consider the financial and electoral implications of the decision.
Thabiso Goba
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