Free State (province)

The Free State, known as Orange Free State until the 28th of June 1995 when its name was changed, is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Boer republic called the Orange Free State and later Orange Free State Province.

History

The current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans were abolished and reincorporated into South Africa. It is also the only one of the four original provinces of South Africa not to undergo border changes, apart from the reincorporation of Bantustans, and its borders date from before the outbreak of the Boer War.

Law and government

The provincial government consists of a premier, an executive council of ten ministers, and a legislature. The provincial assembly and premier are elected for five-year terms, or until the next national election. Political parties are awarded assembly seats based on the percentage of votes each party receives in the province during the national elections. The assembly elects a premier, who then appoints the members of the executive council.

The provincial legislature meets at the Vierde Raadsaal in Bloemfontein. The premier of Free State is Sisi Ntombela. She has been serving since her appointment in March 2018.

Geography

The Free State is situated on a succession of flat grassy plains sprinkled with pastureland, resting on a general elevation of 3,800 feet only broken by the occasional hill or kopje. The rich soil and pleasant climate allow for a thriving agricultural industry. With more than 30,000 farms, which produce over 70% of the country's grain, it is known locally as South Africa's breadbasket.

The province is high-lying, with almost all land being 1,000 metres above sea level. The Drakensberg and Maluti Mountains foothills raise the terrain to over 2,000 m in the east. The Free State lies in the heart of the Karoo Sequence of rocks, containing shales, mudstones, sandstones and the Drakensberg Basalt forming the youngest capping rocks. Mineral deposits are plentiful, with gold and diamonds being of particular importance, mostly found in the north and west of the province.

Fauna and flora

The flats in the south of the reserve provide ideal conditions for large herds of plain game such as black wildebeest and springbok. The ridges, koppies and plains typical of the northern section are home to kudu, red hartebeest, southern white rhinoceros and buffalo. The Southern African wildcat, black wildebeest, zebra, eland, white rhinoceros and wild dog can be seen at the Soetdoring Nature Reserve near Bloemfontein. The South African cheetahs were reintroduced in the Free State for the first time in June 2013 after a hundred years of regional extinction, at Laohu Valley Reserve near Philippolis. Following the reintroduction of an adult female South African cheetah in early 2016, three wild cheetah cubs were born for the first time in Laohu Valley Reserve in February 2017, making the three new cubs the first cheetahs born in the wild since their disappearance from the Free State province in over a century.

Climate

The Free State experiences a continental climate, characterised by warm to hot summers and cool to cold winters. Areas in the east experience frequent snowfalls, especially on the higher ranges, whilst the west can be extremely hot in summer. Almost all precipitation falls in the summer months as brief afternoon thunderstorms, with aridity increasing towards the west. Areas in the east around Harrismith, Bethlehem and Ficksburg are well watered. The capital, Bloemfontein, experiences hot, moist summers and cold, dry winters frequented by severe frost.
* Bloemfontein averages: January maximum: 31 °C (min: 15 °C), July maximum: 17 °C (min: -2 °C), annual precipitation: 559 mm
* Bethlehem averages: January maximum: 27 °C (min: 13 °C), July maximum: 16 °C (min: -2 °C), annual precipitation: 680 mm

Borders

In the southeast, the Free State borders seven districts of Lesotho:
* Mokhotlong – farthest to the east
*Butha-Buthe – northwest of Mokhotlong and northeast of Leribe
* Leribe – southwest of Butha-Buthe and northeast of Berea
* Berea – southwest of Leribe and north of Maseru
*Maseru – south of Berea and northeast of Mafeteng
*Mafeteng – southwest of Maseru and northwest of Mohale's Hoek
*Mohale's Hoek – southeast of Mafeteng
Domestically, it borders the following provinces:
*KwaZulu-Natal – east
*Eastern Cape – south
*Northern Cape – west
*North West – northwest
*Gauteng – north
*Mpumalanga – northeast
The Free State borders more districts of Lesotho and more provinces of South Africa than any other province.

It is traversed by the northwesterly line of equal latitude and longitude.

Municipalities

The Free State Province is divided into one metropolitan municipality and four district municipalities. The district municipalities are in turn divided into 19 local municipalities:

Metropolitan municipalities

* Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality

District municipalities

* Fezile Dabi District
** Moqhaka
** Ngwathe
** Metsimaholo
** Mafube
* Lejweleputswa District
** Masilonyana
** Tokologo
** Tswelopele
** Matjhabeng
** Nala
* Thabo Mofutsanyana District
** Setsoto
** Dihlabeng
** Nketoana
** Maluti-a-Phofung
** Phumelela
** Mantsopa
* Xhariep District
** Letsemeng
** Kopanong
** Mohokare

Major cities and towns

The Free State's major towns include:
* Bloemfontein & Botshabelo in Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality
* Welkom, Odendaalsrus and Virginia in Lejweleputswa
* Bethlehem, Harrismith and Phuthaditjhaba

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