Umhlabuyalingana is one of the five local municipalities that comprise Umkhanyakude District. Umhlabuyalingana is located in northern KwaZulu-Natal along the border with Mozambique to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, Jozini Municipality to the west and the Big Five False Bay Municipality to the south. The municipality is generally rural, with the population being spread among the 17 municipal wards and four traditional council areas (Tembe, Mashabane Mabaso and Zikhali). 

SITUATION ANALYSIS 

The Umhlabuyalingana municipality is situated in the North Eastern part of KwaZulu-Natal. The Municipality has an area of 3621 km2 and a population of approximately 163 694 people, with an average household size of 6 people per household, according to the Statistics South Africa 2007 Community survey. The municipality is one of five municipalities that constitute the Umkhanyakude district Municipality. The Municipality has a rural character with 99% of the municipality classified as rural, and consists of 17 wards. Nearly 60 % of the municipal area falls under traditional authority ownership, with the remaining 40% consisting of commercial farms and conservation areas.