Thursday 5 November 2026 · Updated 07:13
EXPLAINERNation Watch Explains

Metros, districts and local municipalities: what Sedibeng and Emfuleni actually are

South Africa has 257 municipalities of three kinds. If you live in Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark or Sebokeng, two of them serve you at once. Here is how the system fits together.

By Staff Reporter · Published

A roundabout with a garden and clock tower on Loch Street, Meyerton, with shops behind
File photo: Loch Street, Meyerton, in Midvaal Local Municipality, Sedibeng (2010). Illustrative. Photo: Ossewa / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

As at 5 November 2026.

In brief
  • South Africa has 257 municipalities: 8 metropolitan, 44 district and 205 local municipalities.1
  • Metros run everything local on their own. Outside the metros, a district and several local municipalities share the work.2,3
  • Emfuleni is a local municipality within the Sedibeng District Municipality, along with Midvaal and Lesedi.4
  • That is why most Vaal voters get three ballots, and metro voters get two.5

Three categories

The Constitution says the whole country must be covered by municipalities, and it sets out three categories.2

Category Name What it means
A Metropolitan municipality Has exclusive municipal executive and legislative authority in its area2
B Local municipality Shares municipal authority with the district it falls in2
C District municipality Has municipal authority over an area that includes more than one local municipality2

What makes a metro

The Municipal Structures Act says an area must have a single metro if it can reasonably be seen as a conurbation, meaning a large, densely built-up urban area. The Act lists what that looks like:3

  • areas of high population density;
  • intense movement of people, goods and services;
  • extensive development;
  • multiple business districts and industrial areas.

The area must also be a centre of economic activity with a complex economy, and a single area where joint development planning makes sense.3

Every area that does not meet those criteria must have both a district municipality and local municipalities.3

Where the Vaal fits

The Vaal is not a metro. On the Gauteng side, Sedibeng District Municipality covers three local municipalities:4

  • Emfuleni, which includes Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark, Evaton, Sebokeng, Boipatong, Bophelong and Sharpeville
  • Midvaal
  • Lesedi

Across the river, Metsimaholo (Sasolburg) is a local municipality in the Fezile Dabi district of the Free State.6

How the councils are made up

Local councils are elected directly. Half the seats are ward seats, and the rest are filled from party lists so that each party’s total share of seats reflects its share of the vote.3

Emfuleni had a 90-seat council in the 2021 election.7 Lists based on IEC data show 45 Emfuleni wards for 2026.8 The Municipal Demarcation Board’s new ward boundaries took the number of wards nationally from 4,468 to 4,488.9

District councils are made up differently:3

  • About 40% of the seats are elected directly, by the yellow district ballot that voters in the district’s local municipalities receive.5
  • The other 60% are councillors whom each local council sends to the district council. Each local council must appoint them within 14 days after its election result is declared.3

So a Sedibeng district councillor may also sit on the Emfuleni, Midvaal or Lesedi council.

Who does what between district and local

The Structures Act gives districts a coordinating role. They must work towards integrated development across their area by:3

  • drawing up a district-wide integrated development plan;
  • promoting bulk infrastructure;
  • building capacity in weaker local municipalities;
  • spreading resources fairly between them.

The Act assigns districts specific functions, including:3

  • municipal health services;
  • fire fighting serving the whole district;
  • solid waste disposal sites serving the whole district;
  • the promotion of local tourism.

Local municipalities handle the remaining municipal functions in their areas.3

The provincial MEC for local government may move a function from a district to a local municipality, or the other way round, if the municipality that holds it lacks the capacity to perform it. The MEC must first consult the Municipal Demarcation Board.3 The real split therefore varies from place to place. Your municipality’s integrated development plan is the best place to check who does what.

What it means for Vaal residents
  • Two councils serve you. In law, most day-to-day services, such as water, electricity, refuse removal and local roads, are the job of the local municipality, such as Emfuleni. For the detail, read Who does what.
  • Your district vote counts. It helps decide who sits on the Sedibeng or Fezile Dabi council.5
  • Boundaries stay the same. The outer boundaries of municipalities did not change for these elections. Only ward boundaries changed.9
In this series
Sources
  1. Electoral Commission certifies 136 790 candidates to contest the 2026 Local Government Elections, Electoral Commission via gov.za (September 2026)
  2. Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Chapter 7: Local Government, sections 151 and 155, Department of Justice
  3. Local Government: Municipal Structures Act 117 of 1998 (consolidated to 1 November 2022), sections 2, 3, 22, 23, 83, 84 and 85, LawLibrary
  4. Emfuleni Local Municipality IDP Executive Summary 2025/26, Emfuleni Local Municipality (June 2025)
  5. 2026 Municipal Elections Observer Handbook, Electoral Commission, pp 16–17
  6. Municipalities, Free State Provincial Government
  7. Seat calculation detail, Emfuleni (GT421), Local Government Election 2021, Electoral Commission
  8. Emfuleni: Local Government Elections 2026, ESP, based on IEC data
  9. Ward boundaries finalised ahead of local elections, SAnews (11 December 2025)

Forecasts mentioned

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