Municipality: Motheo District Municipality

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Address

Provideamus Building
184 Nelson Mandela Drive
Bloemfontein, Free State 9300
South Africa
Phone: 051-407-3200
Fax: 086-536-2994
23° 8' 25.296" S, 22° 22' 5.3904" E
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Description

"Motheo" is the Basotho word for "foundation" or "strong base of a building", a reference to the fact that this region lies at the centre of the province. In the middle of the region lies Bloemfontein, the provincial capital and the judicial capital of South Africa, as well as the business and cultural hub of the Free State. 

The District has a population of 827,662 and stretches over 13,998.64 km², comprising the Local Municipalities of Mangaung, Mantsopa and Naledi. 90% of the population reside in urban areas, where the majority of the population is under the age of 35.

The district economiy is characterised by commercial farming of wheat, maize and sheep, as well as tourism and nature reserves. Although agriculture (livestock and mixed farming) has traditionally been a major contributor to the district's economy, the sector is declining, which has caused migration to the towns. 

General government (including health, welfaer and community services) is the district's main employer, although finance, trade and transport are also important employment sectors. 

Critical infrastructure

More than 90% of households have access to water, but more than 50% do not have waterborne sanitation and make use of the bucket system. Approximately 38& of households do not have electricity connections. Education provision is also unequally distributed in Motheo. Also schools in some outlying areas are inadequate, lacking even basic facilities and often overcrowded.

People in rural areas also frequently experience access problems to roads and highways. There is a lack of proper roads, and those that do exist are poorly maintained and insufficiently protected against flooding.   

Strengths

A number of national roads cross the municipal area (N1, N6, N8) and a number of provincial, secondary and tertiary roads service the area. There is a national airport at Bloemfontein, a small aircraft airport at Tempe, and a landing strip at Ladybrand. The area is well serviced with rail infrastructure in a north-south, east-west and south-easterly direction, connecting the municipal area with the Western Cape, Geuteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. 

Weaknesses

The urban centres are unable to provide sufficient work opportunities, partly because there is a general lack of education and training in the workforce, a high proportion of which is illiterate.