Mbombela is a siSwati word meaning "a lot of people in a small space".

[4][1] So, the town of Barberton is now part of the Mbombela Local Municipality.

The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:[5] The municipal council consists of ninety members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.

Forty-five councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in forty-five wards, while the remaining forty-five 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 African National Congress (ANC) won a majority of fifty-nine seats on the council.