Metropolitan municipality (South Africa)

South Africa

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of South Africa

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In South Africa, a metropolitan municipality or Category A municipality is a municipality which executes all the functions of local government for a city or conurbation. This is by contrast to areas which are primarily rural, where the local government is divided into district municipalities and local municipalities.

The Constitution, section 155.1.a, defines "Category A" municipalities. In the Municipal Structures Act it is laid out that this type of local government is to be used for conurbations, "centre[s] of economic activity", areas "for which integrated development planning is desirable", and areas with "strong interdependent social and economic linkages".

The metropolitan municipality is similar to the consolidated city-county in the USA, although a South African metropolitan municipality is created by notice of the provincial government, not by agreement between district and local municipalities.

List of metropolitan municipalities

• Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (East London)
• City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality (Cape Town)
• Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (East Rand)
• eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality (Durban)
• City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality (Johannesburg)
• Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality (Bloemfontein)
• Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality (Port Elizabeth)
• City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (Pretoria)

References

• Government Communication & Information Services (2005) Categories of municipalities
• Parliament of the Republic of South Africa (1996) Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Chapter 7: Local Government
• Parliament of the Republic of South Africa (1998) Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, Act 117 of 1998.
• South African Local Government Association