Significant portions of the municipality have been neglected in terms of economic development.

There is a great disparity between the level of service and infrastructure provision between settlement nodes, such as the towns of Mkuze and Jozini, and the surrounding rural areas.

Most of the rural area is associated with a lack of development, poverty and poor service provision.

Twenty-three councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in twenty-three wards, while the remaining twenty-two 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 the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) won a majority of twenty-four seats.