The early Bantu communities (Sotho, Venda, Kalanga, Nguni and Nyasa) worked on this mountain to mine iron.

[5] The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:[6] The municipal council consists of twenty-three members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.

Twelve councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in twelve wards, while the remaining eleven 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 plurality of 11 seats.

[7] The municipality was dissolved due to dysfunctionality, and a full set of elections, ward and PR, were held to elect a new council in December 2024.