Lekwa Local Municipality is a South African local municipality situated in the southwest of the Gert Sibande District Municipality of Mpumalanga. Standerton, an urban node, is the seat of the Lekwa Local Municipality. The municipality was inaugurated on the 5th of December 2000 after the amalgamation the Standerton, Sakhile and Morgenzon councils. Agriculture, forestry and fishing constitute about 30% of its economy. It is situated on open grassland plains of the Highveld region, which is traversed by the west-flowing Vaal River, for which it is named. Lekwa is the Sotho name for the Vaal River. Lekwa's first two decades were marked by increasing maladministration, which culminated in a collapse in governance and service delivery by 2020. This had negative consequences for its residents an