Ditsobotla Municipality () is a local municipality within the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality, in the North West province of South Africa. The seat of the municipality is Lichtenburg.
Main places The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:Lookup Tables - Statistics South Africa Place Code Area (km2) Population Most spoken language Bakwena Ba Ga Serobatse 609012.371,392Tswana Banogeng 609020.72502Tswana Boikhutso 609032.2216,914Tswana Coligny 609043.502,271Afrikaans Ga-Raphalane 6090626.3424,104Tswana Itekeng 609070.352,591Tswana Itsoseng 609087.6222,879Tswana Kopano 609096.788,325Tswana Lichtenburg 6091087.1311,927Afrikaans Mosiane 609111.731,056Tswana Tlhabologang 609120.635,852Tswana Remainder of the municipality 609056,325.4945,059Tswana
Politics
The municipal council consists of thirty-nine members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Twenty councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in twenty wards, while the remaining nineteen 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 majority of twenty-one seats on the council. The following table shows the results of the election.
After infighting between two African National Congress factions, resulting in the council having two mayors and two speakers, the council was dissolved by the national and provincial governments. A by-election to elect an entirely new council will be held in December 2022.
Municipal collapse The municipality has experienced a collapse in basic services due to corruption, financial mismanagement and political instability. In 2025, it failed to submit financial reports to the Auditor General for scrutiny.
In November 2022, President Cyril Ramaphosa described it as "a town taken over by gangsterism".
The council was dissolved, and by-elections held in December 2022.
However, the situation did not improve, and in October 2023, the court ordered the council be placed under provincial intervention.
In April 2025, after continued deterioration, non-profit organisation Sakeliga is seeking the highest form of intervention, national intervention.
In July 2025, the court ordered the municipality to pay R7.5 million, plus interest, outstanding to a contractor. The contractor had completed electrical repairs in December 2023 according to its contract agreeing a fee of R7.6 million for the services. However, the municipality paid only R100,000, and then later claimed that the procurement was unlawful, making the contract invalid.
In September 2025, cabinet placed Ditsobotla under administration.
References
External links Official site