Dipaleseng Local Municipality (DLM) is one of the seven local municipalities that make up Gert Sibande District. It is located on the northwest corner of Mpumalanga, and borders onto Gauteng and Free State Provinces to the west and south respectively. Lekwa and Govan Mbeki local municipalities are located along the Eastern and Southern boundary. It covers an area of approximately 2616.5km2.
It is located south east of the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, just off the R23 that leaves the N3 north of Heidelberg and heads into the province of Mpumalanga. Balfour nestles in a region given over mostly to farms, game farms and bushveld. It is a small coal mining and mostly maize farming town.
The Municipal boundaries were delineated in terms of the Municipal Demarcation Act, (Act No. 27 of 1998) and takes into account population movement trends, regional economic patterns and current land use pattern. As such, the boundaries are not just administrative, but are also intended to promote social and economic development while also strengthening regional economic and functional linkages.
The growth in mining economic activities in Johannesburg and farming in the area resulted in massive population growth of natives in the area which resulted in the birth of Siyathemba in Balfour, in which the population of Dipaleseng is highly dense.
The official government figures reflected in the 2011 census data estimates the total population of the DLM to 42 390 people. This marks a net population increase of 0.87% per annum between 2001 and 2011.
Dipaleseng accounts for 12% of the district population. 20% of the district population resides in Siyathemba while only 7% is found in Nthoroane.
Dipaleseng Municipality has a generally low income population with a large number of people (R15 196) living in abject income poverty as they do not have a reliable source of income. Those who earn some income earn less than R38 200 per annum or R3 183.33 per month. Dependence on grants funding such as welfare grants and pension is also relatively high.
