About Lephalale
BRIEF PROFILE OF THE MAYOR OF LEPHALALE MUNICIPALITY
Updates about the new Mayor Cllr. Jack Maeko will follow soon
The Municipality is located in the northwestern part of the Waterberg District of Limpopo Province of the Republic of South Africa. It borders with four local municipalities (Blouberg, Modimolle, Mogalakwena and Thabazimbi). Its northwestern border is also part of the international border between South Africa and Botswana. The Lephalale municipality is the biggest municipality in the Limpopo province (covering 14 000 km²). The town of Lephalale is located a mere 280 km from Tshwane and a recognised gateway to Botswana and other Southern African countries. The town Lephalale is located approximately 40 km from the border of Botswana. It is situated between 23°30' and 24°00' south latitude, and 27°30' and 28°00' east longitude.
Nestled at the spur of the Waterberg Mountains, Lephalale is a place of peace and breathtaking beauty. Highlights like the awe inspiring D’Nyala Nature Reserve, Marakele National Park and the spectacular Mokolo Dam & Nature Reserve, underscores why Lephalale is called “the heartbeat of the Waterberg bushveld”. As part of the Waterberg biosphere, the Lephalale area is richly blessed with pristine natural beauty and an abundance of fauna and flora. Lephalale offers an infinite variety of scenic contrasts and encompasses the unique Waterberg wilderness with its extraordinary beauty which boasting superb vistas, mountain gorges, clear streams and rolling hills. Geological sites and rock art is a strong draw-card for the region, suggesting its links to many previous generations.
Lephalale has been identified by the Limpopo Employment Growth and Development Plan as a petrochemical cluster and has attained the status of national development node. The Waterberg coal fields, which boast more than 40% of the total coal reserve of South Africa, is located in Lephalale. The Municipality is on the verge of huge economic development related to mining and energy generation due to the recent announcement of a new power station and expansion of mining activities. The construction of the 40 000 MW power station, known as Medupi, next to Matimpa power station, is at an advanced stage and the building of a third one is under consideration by Eskom. Investigation by Sasol for the exploration of a coal to liquid plant has reached an advanced stage. The importance of the tourism industry to the economy of the area is likely to continue to grow into the future. This is likely to be related to the hunting and ecotourism industries, but could also be linked to any expansion of the industrial operations and the related business tourism. Agriculture, especially red meat, is one the potential economic activities which is likely to grow in the municipal area.
The Lephalale area falls in the summer rainfall region with an average annual rainfall of 350 to 400 mm. During summer time average sunshine duration is 65%, and the temperature varies around 32 degrees celcius. The summer evening temperatures are moderate. The sunshine duration throughout the winter months is as high as 80% while the temperature varies around 21 degrees celcius.