Gamagara Municipality (; ) is a local municipality within the John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality, in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.
Name
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). South African Languages - Place names
Main places The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:Lookup Tables - Statistics South Africa Place Code Area (km2) Population Dibeng 324018.584,023 Dingleton 324021.562,866 Ditloung 319030.623,044 Kathu 324048.538,247 Olifantshoek 319073.513,985 Remainder of the municipality 324032,449.381,048
Demographics According to the 2022 South African census, the municipality had a population of 29,580 people. Of these, 46.2% identified as "Black African," 33.8% as "Coloured," and 18.8 as "White."
Household income
Gamagara is the municipality with the highest average taxable income in the entirety of South Africa. This is as a result of a small tax base and highly lucrative employment opportunities. Mining town and rail jobs related to the iron ore industry are known to often be well-paid, and average taxable income across a small population is therefore skewed by a small number of high earners.
In January 2026, according to the South African Revenue Service, Gamagara's average taxable income across its 10,979 taxpayers was R508,901 - significantly (57%) above the national average of just over R323,000.
Politics
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. 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%
References
External links Official website