| Gamagara | |
| Settlement Type: | Local municipality |
| Seal Size: | 150x100px |
| Coordinates: | -27.6667°N 23°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Northern Cape |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | John Taolo Gaetsewe |
| Seat: | Kathu |
| Parts Type: | Wards |
| Parts: | 8 |
| Government Footnotes: | [1] |
| Government Type: | Municipal council |
| Leader Party: | DA |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Henriette du Plessis[2] |
| Area Total Km2: | 2619 |
| Population Footnotes: | [3] |
| Population Total: | 41617 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Racial makeup |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 55.0% |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 28.7% |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 0.6% |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 14.0% |
| Demographics Type2: | First languages |
| Demographics2 Footnotes: | [4] |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 53.9% |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 33.7% |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 3.6% |
| Demographics2 Info4: | 1.4% |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 7.4% |
| Timezone1: | SAST |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Municipal code |
| Blank Info Sec1: | NC453 |
Gamagara Municipality (af|Gamagara Munisipaliteit; tn|Mmasepala wa Gamagara) is a local municipality within the John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality, in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.
The name Gamogara is of Setswana origin. The municipality is named after a dry river which was in turn named after a man called Mogara of the Makwere clan (Batlhaping). During the early days of exploration, Mogara was the first person to settle in this part of the country. After 1887, the area became dominated by White farmers who then changed the name as they were unable to pronounce it correctly. Hence it was called Gamagara instead of Gamogara. The name is derived from a dry river that ran from Dibeng to join the Kuruman (Segonyana) river at Dikgatlong tsa ga Kganyile. Incidentally, this is the route the Ba ga Motlhware followed on their way to their headquarters, Maje a Mokhothu (Langeberg).[5]
The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:[6]
| Place | Code | Area (km2) | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32401 | 8.58 | 4,023 | ||
| 32402 | 1.56 | 2,866 | ||
| 31903 | 0.62 | 3,044 | ||
| 32404 | 8.53 | 8,247 | ||
| 31907 | 3.51 | 3,985 | ||
| Remainder of the municipality | 32403 | 2,449.38 | 1,048 |
See main article: Gamagara Local Municipality elections. The municipal council consists of fifteen members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Eight councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in eight wards, while the remaining seven 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 no party obtained a majority of seats on the council. The following table shows the results of the election.[7] [8]
| Gamagara local election, 1 November 2021 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | Seats | ||||||
| Ward | List | Total | % | Ward | List | Total | ||
| 4,973 | 4,961 | 9,934 | 43.1% | 6 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 3,931 | 4,005 | 7,936 | 34.4% | 2 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 1,556 | 1,503 | 3,059 | 13.3% | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 861 | 798 | 1,659 | 7.2% | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 220 | 218 | 438 | 1.9% | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 6 | 36 | 42 | 0.2% | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 11,547 | 11,521 | 23,068 | 8 | 7 | 15 | ||
| Valid votes | 11,547 | 11,521 | 23,068 | 98.7% | ||||
| Spoilt votes | 146 | 151 | 297 | 1.3% | ||||
| Total votes cast | 11,693 | 11,672 | 23,365 | |||||
| Voter turnout | 11,707 | |||||||
| Registered voters | 23,135 | |||||||
| Turnout percentage | 50.6% | |||||||