Steve Tshwete Local Municipality (previously Middelburg Local Municipality) is a Category B municipality located in the Nkangala District Municipality of the Mpumalanga province. The seat of the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality is Middelburg. The local municipality was one of the four to have passed the 2009 / 10 audit by the Auditor-General of South Africa, who deemed it to have a clean administration. The municipality is named after Steve Tshwete, an ANC activist imprisoned by the apartheid authorities on Robben Island from February 1964 to 1983. In 1994, Middelburg and Mhluzi, as well as Hendrina and Kwazamokuhle, amalgamated to form the Transitional Local Councils. In 2001, the Transitional Local Councils of Middelburg and Hendrina, as well as some smaller towns, were amalgamated. A new municipality was formed, namely Steve Tshwete Local Municipality. Cities / Towns: Hendrina, Middelburg, Pullens Hope, Rietkuil

Emalahleni Local Municipality is situated in the Mpumalanga province within the jurisdiction of the Nkangala District Municipality (NDM) . Emalahleni Municipality is one of six local municipalities in the NDM and is situated in the west of the Nkangala District. It forms part of the western regions of the Mpumalanga province and borders onto the Gauteng province. The Thembisile Hani Municipality and Victor Khanye Municipality (Delmas Municipality) in the Nkangala District, and City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, border the Emalahleni Municipality to the north and west. The Steve Tshwete Municipality (Middelburg Municipality) is located to the east and the Gert Sibande District Municipality borders Emalahleni to the south. The Emalahleni Municipality is strategically located in terms of the provincial context and transport network. It is situated in close proximity to the City of Johannesburg, City of Tshwane and Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipalities in Gauteng, and..

Victor Khanye Local Municipality is strategically located in the Highveld in Mpumalanga province on the border line of Gauteng province, less than 100km from Pretoria, Johannesburg and Emalahleni. The municipality is linked by a major freeway, the N12, that was declared a Maputo Corridor. There is a railway line running through to the inner Mpumalanga province and to Mozambique. The municipality is regarded as a gateway to inner Mpumalanga province.